Acquia Drupal Front End Specialist: Exam Cost and My Experience

Updated in August 2026: The current Acquia Certified Drupal Front End Specialist exam covers Drupal 10 and 11. Acquia Academy’s certification catalogue lists it at $350; the exam contains 60 questions, lasts 90 minutes and requires 68% to pass. This article preserves my Drupal 9 exam experience from 2021, with the historical details clearly labelled.

I will start with the result: it was not easy, but I passed, and the certificate became a genuinely meaningful achievement for me.

When I took the exam, I had about six years of Drupal experience and had already worked with Acquia. I knew about the certification but had never seriously considered taking it. Two things changed my mind:

1. To test and validate my Drupal front-end knowledge.
2. To increase my value as a Drupal developer.

Let’s look at each one.

Every developer eventually wonders how well they really understand the platform they work with. The exam gave me a structured way to test that knowledge beyond the tasks I encounter every day. A certificate does not replace project experience, but preparing for it can expose gaps that routine work may not reveal.

Some clients value an independent confirmation that a developer understands Drupal’s recommended practices. Certification is not the only measure of skill, but alongside real project experience it provides a clear, recognizable signal of professional knowledge.

Current exam details and my Drupal 9 reference

Current Drupal 10/11 exam details (checked August 2026)

Acquia Academy’s certification catalogue currently lists the Acquia Certified Drupal Front End Specialist exam at $350. It contains 60 questions, lasts 90 minutes, and requires a 68% score to pass. Acquia’s public pages do not always show the same price, so verify the amount on the booking page before paying.

The exam now covers Drupal 10 and 11. Use the current official study guide for the latest domains and objectives. The Drupal 9 details below are preserved as a historical reference to the version I took in 2021.

Historical Drupal 9 exam reference (2021)

Exam name: Acquia Certified Front End Specialist - Drupal 9

Exam duration: 90 minutes

Exam price at the time: $300

Exam length: 60 questions

Pass mark: 68%

What the exam validated

• Designing, developing and deploying Drupal 9 solutions with a front-end focus.
• Understanding Drupal’s architecture and best practices for site building and theme development.
• Developing new Drupal themes.
• Customizing and extending existing themes.

The preparation areas included Drupal setup and configuration, theming, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery. The version has changed, but the broader lesson has not: passing requires both platform knowledge and practical front-end experience.

Historical Drupal 9 domains

The table below shows how the examination domains were weighted when I took the Drupal 9 exam.

Question formats

• Multiple choice: select the one option that best answers the question or completes the statement.
• Multiple response: select more than one option.

For the current Drupal 10/11 domains and objectives, use Acquia’s official Front End Specialist study guide.

My Experience

I needed two attempts. On my first try, I scored 56.66%, below the required 68%. I was disappointed. With about six years of Drupal experience, it was uncomfortable to see such a result, but it also showed me something useful: the exam asks about areas you may not encounter in every project.

I reviewed the domains where my knowledge was weakest and prepared more deliberately. A month and a half later, I registered again. I felt much calmer, passed on the second attempt and was genuinely proud of the result.

When I took the exam, the retake waiting period was 14 days. Acquia’s current policy requires a 24-hour cooling-off period, allows up to three attempts, and requires a waiver for a fourth. Every new attempt must be paid for or covered by a voucher, so check the current policy before booking.

My recommendations

1. Slow down. A calm pace helped me read the wording carefully and avoid preventable mistakes.
2. Use the review flag. Answer the questions you know first, flag the uncertain ones, and return to them with the time remaining.
3. Read every question twice when necessary. Small differences in wording can change what the question is testing.
4. Prepare from the current official objectives. Use Acquia’s study guide as your checklist, then fill the gaps with documentation and hands-on practice.
5. Rest before the exam. Last-minute panic was less useful to me than arriving focused.

Resources

For Drupal 10/11 candidates: start with Acquia’s current Front End Specialist study guide and the courses available through Acquia Academy. I have kept the resources I originally used below because they were an important part of my preparation; Drupal 8 and 9 guides should now be treated as supplementary material rather than the source of current exam objectives.

When I prepared for the exam, these resources helped me most:

1. Drupalize.Me provides structured study material for Acquia certification. Its exam preparation guide gave me a useful framework for identifying gaps and organizing my preparation. For me, it was the most valuable external resource.

2. drupal.org - I believe that without mentioning the main site, every Drupal developer cannot pass this exam. All drupal functions are described in detail, and here you will find answers to most of your questions.
3. Drupal 8 Certification Study Guide - found on GitHub very useful study guide.
4. Study Guide: Acquia Certified Drupal 8 Front End Specialist Exam - another useful resource by Acquia Academy.
5. Five Steps to Get Ready for the Acquia Certified Developer Exam - this very useful article about getting ready for the exam.
6. https://www.youtube.com/c/FreelancerLifeStyle - this youtube channel will be helpful for Russian-speaking front end developers. This guy has powerful skills and he has great teaching videos in front end development (HTML, CSS, JS, etc.)

Conclusion

The exam was not easy for me, but it was worth taking. It gave me a concrete way to identify gaps, improve my preparation and validate what I knew.

When I took it in 2021, the exam cost $300. Acquia Academy’s current catalogue lists the Drupal 10/11 Front End Specialist exam at $350, although Acquia’s public pages are not fully consistent, so confirm the price on the booking page. Retakes are not free: I paid for both of my attempts, and current candidates should budget for that possibility.

Certification does not replace real Drupal project experience. Combined with that experience, however, it can demonstrate disciplined knowledge and give clients a clearer signal of what a developer can bring to their project. If you use this article to prepare, begin with the current Drupal 10/11 objectives and treat the older version-specific material as historical context.

You can view my accreditation certificate below.