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Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator

The Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator credential is Salesforce's certification for administrators. It covers the configuration knowledge needed to run a Salesforce org day to day: users and permissions, Object Manager and Lightning App Builder, reports and dashboards, and automation with Flow. The exam is 60 multiple-choice questions, plus up to five unscored questions, in 105 minutes, and there are no prerequisites. It can be taken at a Pearson VUE test center or online with a proctor, in English or in Japanese. The current exam outline includes Agentforce as a section of its own, weighted at 8%, so AI features are inside the scope of what an administrator is expected to know. The credential is not permanent: it lapses unless you complete the maintenance badge on Trailhead. Two things are worth checking before you register. First, the passing score is stated inconsistently across the official guides — the English guide gives 68% for the English version and 65% for the Japanese version, while the Japanese guide gives 68%. Second, the credential has been renamed; the older "Salesforce Certified Administrator" URL now redirects to the Platform Administrator page.

Official page

Who takes it

  • In-house administrators responsible for configuring and running Salesforce
  • IT and sales-operations staff at companies that have deployed Salesforce
  • Junior consultants and engineers at Salesforce partner firms
  • Anyone aiming at a higher credential such as Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator II, which has this credential as its prerequisite

What it lets you do

  • There are no prerequisites, so it works as the starting point of the Salesforce certification hierarchy
  • It satisfies the prerequisite for the higher-level Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator II
  • The exam outline is published officially as eight areas with percentage weights, so study can be planned against numbers
  • The current outline gives Agentforce a weight of 8%, so the exam reflects the scope of today's administrator work, AI features included
  • An annual maintenance badge is a condition of keeping the credential, which builds the habit of tracking release-by-release changes into the credential itself
  • The exam can be taken in Japanese, with an official Japanese exam guide and a yen-denominated fee

The exam

As published by Salesforce. Anything we could not confirm is left out. Check the official page before you apply.

Questions
60 multiple-choice questions (plus up to five unscored questions)
Time
105 minutes
Pass mark
The official guides do not agree. The English exam guide states "Passing score: English version 68%; Japanese version 65%"; the Japanese exam guide states 68%. Check the current guide for the language you intend to sit in before registering
Fee
JPY 30,000 / US$200, excluding tax. Retake fee: JPY 15,000 / US$100, excluding tax
Format
At a Pearson VUE test center or online with a proctor (Pearson OnVUE). No hard-copy or online reference material may be used during the exam. No prerequisites
Languages
Japanese and English (an official Japanese exam guide and a yen-denominated fee are published)
When it runs
On demand. Sign in to Trailhead Academy and pick the date and time you want; this is not an exam with a fixed number of sittings per year
Validity and renewal
Not permanent. The Japanese exam guide states that to maintain the Platform Administrator credential you must complete the badge released once a year on Trailhead; miss the deadline and the credential expires

How hard it is

Pass rate not published (Salesforce does not publish pass rates for its credentials). There are no prerequisites; 60 multiple-choice questions in 105 minutes. The official guides do not agree on the passing score: the English exam guide states "Passing score: English version 68%; Japanese version 65%", while the Japanese exam guide states 68%.

How long people study

Not published by the exam body. The official exam guide gives no number of hours. It strongly recommends combining hands-on experience with self-study to maximise your chance of passing, and points to a Trailmix for preparation.

Syllabus

  • Configuration and Setup15%
  • Object Manager and Lightning App Builder15%
  • Sales and Marketing Applications10%
  • Service and Support Applications10%
  • Productivity and Collaboration10%
  • Data and Analytics Management17%
  • Automation15%
  • Agentforce8%

Our apps and books for this exam

  • Salesforce Nintei Administrator Shiken Taisaku

    Japanese only

    Salesforce Certified Administrator exam preparation

    This app's interface and questions are in Japanese.

    Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

  • SFDC Certified Admin Exam Prep

    Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Questions people ask

Isn't it called "Salesforce Certified Administrator"?
The current official name is Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator. The old URL trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/administrator now redirects to /credentials/platformadministrator. The credential has not been retired; the change was the addition of "Platform" to the name.
So which is it, 68% or 65%?
The official guides split on this. The English exam guide says "Passing score: English version 68%; Japanese version 65%", while the Japanese exam guide says only "Passing score: 68%". Because the passing score for a Japanese-language sitting cannot be settled from what is published, open the exam guide for the language you intend to sit in and check the current wording before you register.
Do I need another certification first?
No. The exam guide lists the prerequisites as none. In the other direction, this credential is itself the prerequisite for Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator II.
Is that the end of it once I pass?
No. The Japanese exam guide states that to maintain the Platform Administrator credential you must complete the badge released once a year on Trailhead. Miss the deadline and the credential expires.
Are there Agentforce (AI) questions?
Yes. The current exam outline includes Agentforce as a section of its own, weighted at 8%. Study material written before 2025 may be missing this area entirely.
If I fail, do I pay full price again?
The retake fee is JPY 15,000 / US$100, excluding tax — half the initial fee of JPY 30,000 / US$200, excluding tax.

Sources

These are the pages the figures came from. Some are published in Japanese only, and are marked as such — we keep the original titles rather than translating them, so you can match what you find on the official site. Exam rules change; check the official page before you apply.

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