CCAR-F vs CCA-F: the Claude exam codes Pearson VUE prints, and the one it does not

Checked against the official sources on 6 November 2026: Pearson VUE’s Anthropic page and Find an exam list, and the four v1.0 exam guides in English and Japanese. The other sources are Partner Academy’s certifications table, exam pages and certification FAQ.

From Anthropic, the sources are its registration guide, the launch post of 12 March 2026 and the certification article of 23 July 2026. The Certification Terms and the Exam Policy were read too. Credly’s pages are dated copies read that day. Cred Farmer could not read the Partner Hub, the partner application form, the Program Guide, the Partner Agreement, the webinar recordings or any signed-in page.

Is it CCA-F or CCAR-F: which exam code is correct?

CCAR-F is the correct code for Claude Certified Architect - Foundations. The exam’s v1.0 guide prints “Exam code: CCAR-F” on its first page and again under Exam Details at a Glance. Pearson VUE’s Anthropic page lists “Claude Certified Architect - Foundations (CCAR-F)”. Neither prints CCA-F, as read on 6 November 2026.

The code also shows at booking. Step 12 of Anthropic’s registration guide pictures a Pearson dashboard whose exam catalog reads “CCAR-F: Claude Certified Architect - Foundations”. The Partner Academy checkout in that guide names the exam and shows no code.

A case-insensitive search of rendered page text and guide text found no CCA-F. A second search, of raw page source and freshly extracted PDFs, allowed for spaces and other dashes, and also found none. Neither search covers the pages Cred Farmer could not read.

What do the exam codes CCAO-F, CCDV-F, CCAR-F and CCAR-P stand for?

The exam codes CCAO-F, CCDV-F, CCAR-F and CCAR-P each stand for one exam, and Pearson VUE prints the pairs. CCAO-F is Claude Certified Associate - Foundations, CCDV-F is Claude Certified Developer - Foundations, CCAR-F is Claude Certified Architect - Foundations and CCAR-P is Claude Certified Architect - Professional. No official page Cred Farmer could read explains the letters.

Cred Farmer reads each code in three parts: CC for Claude Certified, two letters for the role, and one for the level. That split is Cred Farmer’s reading, not a published key. It leans on official labels: each Partner Academy exam page prints a Role and a Level, such as Architect and Foundations.

On that reading, CC is Claude Certified and not Claude Code, because every exam name starts with those two words. Is there a Claude Code certification takes the other question. No page read says why the Associate’s letters are AO, and Pearson VUE’s Anthropic page names a “Practitioner” role where Anthropic’s FAQ says “Associate”. The Claude certification cost guide has the discounts.

Where the Claude exam codes are printed, and where they are not

The Claude exam codes are printed in the v1.0 exam guides and on Pearson VUE’s Anthropic page and exam list. Partner Academy’s exam pages, Anthropic’s FAQ and the December notice name the exams and print no code, as read on 6 November 2026. So Cred Farmer’s advice is to check any code you meet against a guide or Pearson VUE.

Each v1.0 guide, English and Japanese, prints its code twice. Pearson VUE’s Anthropic page pairs four names with codes, and its Find an exam list prints five.

• Partner Academy. Its certifications table and exam pages, such as the CCAR-F registration page, print the name and fee and no code.
• Anthropic’s FAQ. Its fee line names the exams, starting with “Claude Certified Associate ($99)”, and prints no code.
• Credly. A copy of its public Architect - Foundations badge page, read on 6 November 2026, prints the name and no code. The badge image and earners’ pages were not read.
• The December notice. It names three exams with updated content from 7 December 2026. It prints no codes, and that notice omits CCAR-F.

The Architect - Foundations name moves more than its code. The launch post wrote “Claude Certified Architect, Foundations”, the article of 23 July 2026 wrote “Claude Certified Architect: Foundations”, Pearson VUE and Credly’s title use a hyphen, Partner Academy’s exam page a longer dash. Partner badges print no exam code on the pages read, and Claude certificate vs certification sets them apart.

CCAR-F vs CCA-F: what the letters cannot tell you

CCA-F cannot name one exam on its letters alone, because C, C, A and F fit two names: Claude Certified Architect - Foundations and Claude Certified Associate - Foundations. Their printed codes are CCAR-F and CCAO-F. That fit is Cred Farmer’s check of the names.

If a page writes CCA-F, Cred Farmer’s advice is three checks, in this order.

On a CV, Claude certification on your resume puts the code after the full name. A code settles which exam you mean, not whether to sit it: is the Claude certification worth it and which Claude certification fits your work take those questions.

Where CCA-F comes from: what can be checked

No official page Cred Farmer could read says where CCA-F comes from, so any origin story is a guess. One match can be checked: the launch post of 12 March 2026 named the first exam “Claude Certified Architect, Foundations” and printed no code, and C, C, A and F are that name’s initials. The match is Cred Farmer’s observation.

• September 2026. Cred Farmer’s comparison data first uses CCA-F on 3 September, and on 17 September an exam page and a post add notes on it. Its exam data has carried CCAR-F since its first commit, 29 August 2026.
• July 2026. The v1.0 guides, effective that month, print “Exam code”, the earliest dated code Cred Farmer read.

Cred Farmer’s older notes called CCA-F March 2026 shorthand and said third parties misuse it. Cred Farmer cannot tie either line to an official page, so this page does not stand on them. This page claims nothing about who prints CCA-F and names no one. Claude certification changes keeps the dated record.

The fifth code: what Pearson VUE’s list shows for CCDV-P

CCDV-P is a fifth code on Pearson VUE’s Find an exam list, printed beside Claude Certified Developer - Professional in two reads on 6 November 2026. Anthropic’s FAQ answers “Which certifications are available?” with “Four”, and no official page Cred Farmer could read prints a guide, a fee or a date for CCDV-P.

Pearson VUE’s Anthropic page, Partner Academy’s certifications table and a dated copy of Credly’s issuer page all stop at four exams. Cred Farmer did not use the list’s Select control, so it cannot say whether that exam can be booked.

Anthropic’s article of 23 July 2026 says every path “advances to the professional-level”, and Partner Academy writes “advance to Professional where available”. Neither names CCDV-P. Cred Farmer’s advice is to plan on the four exams with a guide unless Partner Academy lists CCDV-P with its own. The Claude certification eligibility guide covers who may register.

Key takeaways

• CCAR-F is the printed code for Claude Certified Architect - Foundations. Its v1.0 exam guide and Pearson VUE both print it, as read on 6 November 2026.
• CCA-F is on no official page Cred Farmer could read on 6 November 2026. The Partner Hub, application form, Program Guide, Partner Agreement and webinar recordings could not be read.
• CCA-F’s letters fit two Claude exam names, on Cred Farmer’s check. Those are Architect - Foundations and Associate - Foundations, so Cred Farmer’s advice is to read the full name.
• The three-part reading of a Claude exam code is Cred Farmer’s. It reads CC, then two role letters, then a level letter, and no official page it could read explains them.
• Pearson VUE’s Find an exam list printed a fifth code, CCDV-P, on 6 November 2026. Anthropic’s FAQ says four certifications are available, and no page read prints a guide or fee for CCDV-P.