Program Guide & FAQ

• For all candidates attempting their first exam under the new program, please start by filling out this form to connect your Splunk account to your new Pearson VUE account. Candidates must use Latin characters for all form fields. Candidates with foreign scripts on their photo ID will be granted exam access based on standard transliteration guidelines. Please note: this form only needs to be submitted once for account creation.
• Once your accounts are connected (which may take up to 3 business days), you will receive your exam authorizations via email. If you have not received any communication from Pearson VUE after 3 business days, please send an email here for assistance.
• These authorization emails will contain your "Splunk ID" (hint: not your Splunk.com username), which you'll use to create an account with Pearson VUE. Your Splunk ID will look like PV-12345678.
• You can register for the exam at a Pearson VUE testing facility near you, or in your home or office via online proctor. We strongly encourage all candidates considering the online proctored option to read this overview prior to scheduling their exam appointment.
• For any questions regarding exam delivery, please contact Pearson VUE directly.

Please note: exam registration costs $125 USD (or five registrations for $500 USD). This cost applies to each exam attempt.

Generally speaking, there are three ways to purchase a Pearson VUE registration voucher: 

1. Directly from Pearson VUE. This is the most streamlined approach. Follow the steps for account creation and exam registration provided at the Pearson VUE site. Payment will be collected at the time of registration. You can also visit the Pearson VUE voucher store for direct purchase. This is a great option for individuals looking to buy bulk registrations (5 vouchers for $500) or for candidates who need to submit expense reports for reimbursement within a specific time frame, but are not ready to schedule an exam appointment.
2. Convert existing EDU credits to registration vouchers. If you (or your company) hold existing EDU credits and you’d like to use these for exam registration, please email us here for assistance. Our team can convert EDU credit ($500 each) into voucher codes in groups of five (1 credit = 5 vouchers).
3. From Splunk (as an account). Your Splunk Sales Rep can add certification exams to any deal. Once the number of vouchers has been requested, Splunk will email your unique registration codes, which can be used for registration at Pearson VUE.

The certification exams include standard multiple choice and multiselect ("select all that apply") questions. 

We've put together a handy study guide (including links to the test blueprints and a few sample questions!) to help you prepare for the exam(s). 

Remember, your best study materials are the downloadable PDFs you received when you completed the prerequisite courses through Splunk Education.

Great question! We are working closely with testing partner Pearson VUE to ensure a safe, secure testing environment for all candidates in accordance with local recommendations and requirements. 

For the latest information regarding testing center availability near you, please visit the Pearson VUE COVID-19 Update page. 

If your local testing center is not available and you want information on testing from home, please see our Online Proctored Exam Delivery Overview. 

As a reminder, testing accommodations are not available for online proctored exams.

For a comprehensive program guide, please refer to our Splunk Certification Candidate Handbook. 

If you're looking for a specific policy, please refer to the links below: 

• Splunk Certification Agreement
• Retake Policy
• Splunk Recertification Policy
• Testing Accommodations Policy
• Minors' Parental Consent Form
• Splunk Privacy Policy
• Splunk Terms of Use

A beta exam is a soft-launch of an all-new certification exam. All eligible candidates can register for beta exams for free (the registration fee is waived during the beta phase) for a single attempt only. 

Beta exams are typically longer than our standard certification exams (ranging from 90-120 minutes total seat time) and candidates do not receive results upon exam completion. 

The length of the beta phase is typically 3+ months (meaning candidates will not receive results for this amount of time), but is predicated on a sufficient number of beta participants (meaning it can be extended, if needed). 

Performance data from beta candidates is analyzed by a third-party psychometrician to determine the passing score and, ultimately, the content of the final form of the exam. Once this analysis is complete, Splunk Certification distributes results to the beta candidates and publishes the final form of the certification exam. 

For more information on our rigorous exam development process, please see here.

No! You can manage and share all of the badges that are issued to you through Credly within one Credly account.

First and foremost, please double-check your spam and quarantined email folders for emails from admin@credly.com.

As a best practice, we recommend whitelisting this email address ahead of time (or working with your IT department to make this happen). 

If you still cannot locate your email from Credly, you can simply create an account on Credly, using the email address to which your badge was issued. 

To create an account and claim your badge, follow the steps below: 

1. Go to the Credly homepage.
2. Select "Create an Account"
3. Fill in the required fields, then read and agree to the Terms of Use
4. Click "Create My Account" 

Credly will send you a confirmation email (from admin@credly.com). You must click the link in that email to confirm your account. Once you've created and confirmed your account, any badges issued to that email address will be available for you to accept and share. 

For general questions about Credly, including account troubleshooting and general information on sharing your digital badge(s), please visit the Credly Support Site.

A digital badge is a representation of a credential or accomplishment that can be shared across the web. Digital badges contain metadata that allows a third party to verify your accomplishments including the criteria required to earn the badge and the period for which a badge is valid. 

In short: Splunk digital badges are your proof of certification. 

Representing your credential(s) with a digital badge gives you the ability to broadcast your skills and tell your professional story online. It also allows you to securely represent your certification across a growing number of social media outlets and forums. 

Employers, potential employers, and anyone else with whom you wish to share your certification have single-click access to validated credential information without ever contacting Splunk Certification for assistance.

We do! If you have a handicapping condition or medical condition that necessitates a testing accommodation, please review our policy and details found here.

Please note: your request must be submitted a minimum of 30 days prior to your initial exam attempt so the need for accommodations can be verified and the specific accommodations requested can be met. 

Accommodations cannot be applied to existing exam appointments or to retake attempts (unless approved for initial attempt). 

Accommodations are not available for online-proctored exam appointments. 

Please email us here to submit your request.

We cannot offer any extensions or exceptions to the January 31, 2021 deadline.

For full details of next steps based on your current program standing, please refer to ourSplunk Core Certified Consultant FAQ.

Inactive cert-holders will not be required to repeat previously completed coursework, but the exams must be completed in the following order:

• Splunk Core Certified Power User
• Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin
• Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect

No exceptions or extensions will be granted to the recertification policy.

Once a candidate passes a lower level exam, the next-level exam authorization will be automatically issued within 24 hours.

This does not apply to the Architect exam authorization, which will be issued within 7-10 business days of passing the deployment practical lab.

Candidates who have not received their next-level exam authorization should contact us here for assistance.

For additional information and next-steps, please see here.

As of October 1, 2019, all V6.x (and older) certifications are considered out of date. As such, these records have been marked "Inactive".

If you wish to earn a current certification, please see here for your next steps.

Staying current with your certifications proves to your employer, your peers, and prospective employers that you are committed to staying relevent in an ever-changing technical landscape and that your knowledge and skills are sharper than ever.

That being said - you don't have to recertify. Here's what that looks like:

If you have not completed recertification requirements (as outlined in our Splunk Recertification Policy) by your badge expiration date, your certification(s) will be considered out of date and your badges will be marked inactive.

Candidates who let their certifications lapse will be required to restart the program at the Splunk Core Certified Power User exam level.