Salesforce Platform App Builder
Certification Information
The Salesforce Platform App Builder Certification is the certification that demonstrates that you are able to declaratively customize the standard applications or declaratively build a totally custom application.
"Declaratively" is a term that Salesforce uses to distinguish between building application using 'point and click' and 'programmatic' meaning using Visualforce and Apex coding.
The Platform App Builder certification does not require detailed knowledge and skills of programming, but it does require knowing when it is appropriate or necessary to use coding to achieve an objective. Once you have achieved this certification, you will be a Certified Platform App Builder.
Key Facts
The exam is made up of 60 multiple choice questions
105 minutes to complete
The passing score is 63%
There are no prerequisites
Cost is USD $200 and the retake fee is USD $100 if you are unsuccessful
This guide will explain everything you need to think about if you’re interested in becoming Platform App Builder certified and the core topics of the exam.
In Platform Platform App Builder, there are 5 topics covered. The topic with the highest weighting is Logic and Process Automation. As it is weighted at 28%, this is an area that you must focus on to do well in the exam.
Objective | Weighting |
---|---|
Logic and Process Automation | 28% |
Salesforce Fundamentals | 23% |
Data Modeling and Management | 22% |
User Interface | 17% |
App Development | 10% |

Platform App Builder Certification Topic Weightings Chart
Salesforce Platform App Builder
Certification Contents
The following are the core topic areas of the Salesforce Platform App Builder certification and what you're expected to know:
Salesforce Fundamentals
In this section, you need to be familiar with the capabilities of the base system objects and know the capabilities and use cases for declarative customization solutions versus programmatic . You should also know the use cases for using an AppExchange app.
As part of declaratively building or customizing an application, you must always keep in mind the appropriate level of object, record and field access for different types of users. This section will present scenarios and you will need to determine the appropriate access and sharing solution, using features such as profile object access, permission sets, role hierarchy, sharing rules, manual sharing and field level security.

Data Modeling & Management
The Data Modeling and Management topic has the second largest weighting in the exam, so you should spend time to be familiar with topic objectives. In order to pass the data modeling and management section of the Platform App Builder certification exam, you must be familiar with a variety of topics related to data management. These topics include being able to determine the appropriate data model given a scenario, the different relationship types and implications of selecting one on the user interface, reporting and record access.
You should be familiar with the use cases and capabilities of external objects and when it is appropriate to use them as part of your data model design. In order to work visually with the data model, you should know the capabilities of the schema builder. Finally you should be familiar with the options for importing and exporting data into and out of Salesforce.

Business Logic & Process Automation
The Business Logic and Process Automation topic is the highest weighted section at 27% so you should make sure that you are very familiar with all of the topic objectives. This topic requires you to know how to apply business logic to your application, using record types, formula fields, validation rules and roll-up summary fields. You also need to understand the capabilities and use cases for the various automation tools, including Approval Processes, Workflow, Flow Builder and Process Builder. Finally you should understand the potential for field updates to cause recursion.
Recursion is a valid programming technique, used when a method calls itself to solve a complex problem, however it can cause a problem in Salesforce, if an update on one field triggers an update on another field which causes an update back on the first field, resulting in a recursive loop.

User Interface
In the User Interface section, you need to understand how to declaratively customize the user interface and when and how to use custom buttons, links and actions. You should also be familiar with how Lightning Components can be incorporated into an application.

App Development
In this section, you need to be familiar with the options and best practices for deploying an application from a sandbox through to production. This includes understanding the different types of sandboxes and when it is appropriate to use each type. It is important to understand the capabilities and role of unmanaged packages in app development and deployment. Change sets are one way of deploying metadata from a sandbox, you will need to understand the capabilities and use cases.

To prepare successfully for the certification exam, we recommend to work through our
Platform App Builder Study Guide and Platform App Builder Practice Exams
Platform App Builder
Study Guide
Every topic objective explained thoroughly.
The most efficient way to study the key concepts in the exam.
Platform App Builder
Practice Exams
Test yourself with complete practice exams or focus on a particular topic with the topic exams. Find out if you are ready for the exam.
Comments
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Copyright 2019 - www.FocusOnForce.com
Copyright 2019 - www.FocusOnForce.com
Just passed my admin cert and starting my app builder. FOF helped me prepare so much before. Thank you FOF/Martin for this affordable and easy-to-use resource!
Awesome news, KC! Congratulations on clearing the exam! We are glad to know that we are able to help! Cheers!
Is that % up to date???
Hi Konrad, yes the %s are up to date. There was a recent update on the official exam guide for App Builder – https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/help?article=Salesforce-Certified-Platform-App-Builder-Exam-Guide#outline
We also created a blog post about this recent update for App Builder – https://focusonforce.com/certification/app-builder-exam-update-february-2021/
I passed my Platform App Developer certification exam today, after getting my Admin 101 last month, both thanks in large part to your practice admin exams, filling in the gaps in my knowledge with your study guides. You have created a great one-stop-shop for developing a broad understanding of features into an exam-ready knowledge arsenal!
Now on to Developer 1!
Hi Jeremy, that’s great news, congrats on passing! We’re happy to hear that our materials helped!
I passed Platform App Builder today thanks to Focusonforce your online resources material. I’ll use it again in the next future.
Hi Hedy, congrats on passing the exam, it’s great that our materials were so helpful!