CKAD exam facts, domains and practice
The CKAD is the developer-side performance exam: two hours of live tasks around designing, building, configuring, and observing applications in Kubernetes. Same environment and rules as CKA, with the focus shifted from cluster operations to application lifecycle.
Who this exam is for
Developers who build and ship applications on Kubernetes: pods, deployments, config, probes, and service networking rather than cluster internals.
Exam facts
| Body | CNCF / The Linux Foundation |
|---|---|
| Format | Performance-based · 15-20 live tasks |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Passing score | 66% |
| Exam cost | $445 · 1 free retake |
| Validity | 2 years |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Allowed resources | See the Linux Foundation allowed-resource rules |
| Delivery | Online · PSI proctored |
| Extras | 2 killer.sh simulator sessions included |
Curriculum domains
| Application Environment, Configuration & Security | 25% |
|---|---|
| Application Design & Build | 20% |
| Application Deployment | 20% |
| Services & Networking | 20% |
| Application Observability & Maintenance | 15% |
Practice coverage
| environment | live cluster |
|---|---|
| tasks per attempt | 17 |
| fixed exam mocks | 3 |
| alternate scenarios | 34 |
| clock | same 2-hour clock |
| scoring bar | official 66% |
| access | 30 days · 5 full-sim attempts |
CKAD access, clearly explained
$39 USD · 30 days · one payment. 17 graded tasks, 5 attempts at the full exam simulation and unlimited single-task practice during the access window. The clock starts when you activate.
Public task descriptions; the selected weekly lab is free with an account. 2 free weekly starts per certification. Read this week's free task →
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Official exam facts last reviewed Aug 19, 2026. Product access reviewed 2026-09-10. Check the exam source. Prepium is an independent practice platform.