Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate Certification Preparation
The Data Engineer Associate credential shows you can handle everyday data engineering work on Databricks: ingestion, medallion-style transformation, orchestration, deployment and governance. This four-day course tracks the exam version in force since May 2026 and mixes SQL and PySpark labs with practice questions.
Next session : 9–12 November 2026 — Casablanca, in-person — Price on request. View session
The essentials
Publisher : Databricks
Certification : Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate
Duration : 4 days (28 h)
Level : Intermediate
Formats : Live virtual class · In-person in Casablanca · On-site (intra-company)
Languages : French or English
Exam facts : 45 scored multiple-choice items · 90 min · passing score not published · English, Japanese, Portuguese (BR), Korean
Exam voucher: included or optional depending on the package — contact us.
Place the platform building blocks: Delta Lake, Unity Catalog and the compute options
Load batch, streaming and incremental data with COPY INTO, Auto Loader and Lakeflow Connect
Clean, join and deduplicate data from bronze through to gold
Orchestrate work with Lakeflow Jobs: dependencies, retries, branching and triggers
Promote code across environments with Git and Declarative Automation Bundles
Diagnose slow jobs (skew, shuffle, spill) and make use of Liquid Clustering
Secure tables and columns with grants, masking and Unity Catalog ABAC policies
Program
Databricks Intelligence Platform (6%)
Architecture, Delta Lake and Unity Catalog
Choosing compute by capability, limits and cost
Data ingestion and loading (21%)
Batch, streaming and incremental loads
COPY INTO, Auto Loader and Lakeflow Connect
Semi-structured and unstructured data
Picking a method by volume, frequency and governance needs
Data transformation and modeling (22%)
Cleaning and typing from bronze to silver
Joins, deduplication and tuning
Views, materialized views and streaming tables in gold
Data quality checks
Working with Lakeflow Jobs (16%)
Tasks, dependencies and the DAG
Retries, branching and looping
Scheduled, file-arrival and table-update triggers
Implementing CI/CD (10%)
Branches, commits and pull requests through Git
Per-environment variables
Declarative Automation Bundles and the Databricks CLI
Troubleshooting, monitoring and optimization (10%)
Run history and pipeline health
Data skew, shuffle and disk spill
Liquid Clustering and predictive optimization
Governance and security (15%)
Managed and external tables
GRANT, REVOKE and DENY across the Unity Catalog hierarchy
Column masking, row filters and ABAC policies
Prerequisites
Solid SQL and basic Python
Familiarity with ETL and common file formats (CSV, JSON, Parquet)
Some hands-on time in a Databricks workspace and with Apache Spark is recommended
Databricks sets no formal prerequisite for the exam
Target audience
Data engineers building pipelines on Databricks
ETL and BI developers moving to a lakehouse
Analysts and data scientists putting their workloads into production
Platform teams in charge of Unity Catalog governance
The exam
The exam has 45 scored multiple-choice items, possibly alongside a few unscored ones, with a 90-minute limit and no test aids. Databricks does not publish the passing score, which it sets and adjusts statistically. You register on Webassessor and sit the exam online with a Kryterion proctor or at a test centre, in English, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese or Korean. After a failed attempt you wait 14 days before retaking. The certification lasts two years; to renew it you pass the current version of the exam again.
Preparation tips
Practise Auto Loader and COPY INTO on real files: ingestion and transformation make up 43% of the exam
Deploy at least one bundle end to end with the Databricks CLI
Review the Unity Catalog privilege hierarchy and how managed and external tables differ
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What is the passing score?
Databricks does not publish it: the cut score is set statistically and can shift as questions change. Aim to be comfortable with every domain rather than chasing a percentage.
Did the exam change in 2026?
Yes. The guide effective 4 May 2026 has seven domains, including Lakeflow Jobs, CI/CD with bundles and troubleshooting. Databricks keeps only one live version of each exam.
Can I take the exam in French?
No. It is offered in English, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Korean. Our trainers help French speakers get used to the English wording.
How long is the certification valid?
Two years. To keep it, you pass the full exam again in its current version.
Which course formats and languages?
Live online, in person in Casablanca or on-site at your organization, in French or English.
Securevalley training — online and in-person sessions. Contact us for pricing and registration terms.
Securevalley is not a Databricks training partner. Databricks, Lakeflow, Unity Catalog and related product names are trademarks of Databricks.