The ForceFolks Admin Exam Planner explains the Salesforce admin certification, now called Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator. The exam has 60 scored questions and lasts 105 minutes. The English passing score is 68%. Registration costs US$200 plus tax, and a retake costs US$100 plus tax. Agentforce is 8% of the exam.
. Exam facts checked against the official Salesforce guide on October 6, 2026. Check the guide again before booking.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Official name | Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator (Plat-Admn-201) |
| Questions | 60 scored, plus up to 5 unscored |
| Time | 105 minutes |
| Passing score | 68% for English. 65% for Japanese. |
| Fee | US$200 plus tax (JPY 30,000) |
| Retake fee | US$100 plus tax (JPY 15,000) |
| Prerequisite | None. Salesforce recommends 6 or more months of admin experience. |
| Delivery | Proctored online or at a test center. No notes allowed. |
| Exam version | Summer '25 release (current exam guide) |
| Keep it valid | 1 Trailhead maintenance badge each year |
The exam has 8 sections. The table shows each section's weight and the approximate number of questions. We calculate the number as weight x 60 and round it.
| Section | Weight | Questions (approx.) | What to study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data and Analytics Management | 17% | About 10 | Import and export tools, duplicate and validation rules, reports, report types, dashboards |
| Configuration and Setup | 15% | About 9 | Company settings, users and licenses, security controls, sharing model, profiles and permission sets |
| Object Manager and Lightning App Builder | 15% | About 9 | Object relationships, fields, page layouts, record types, Lightning pages, actions |
| Automation | 15% | About 9 | Flow (screen, record-triggered, autolaunched), approval processes, assignment and escalation rules |
| Sales and Marketing Applications | 10% | About 6 | Leads, opportunities, path, forecasting, territory management, campaigns |
| Service and Support Applications | 10% | About 6 | Cases, assignment rules, queues, auto-response and escalation rules |
| Productivity and Collaboration | 10% | About 6 | Activities, Chatter, the Salesforce mobile app, AppExchange and AgentExchange |
| Agentforce | 8% | About 5 | Agentforce use cases, when to use AI, agent permissions, prompts and instructions in Agent Builder |
| Section | Weight | Approximate questions |
|---|---|---|
| Data and Analytics Management | 17% | 10 |
| Configuration and Setup | 15% | 9 |
| Object Manager and Lightning App Builder | 15% | 9 |
| Automation | 15% | 9 |
| Sales and Marketing Applications | 10% | 6 |
| Service and Support Applications | 10% | 6 |
| Productivity and Collaboration | 10% | 6 |
| Agentforce | 8% | 5 |
Agentforce is 8% of the exam, about 5 questions. The official guide lists 2 objectives:
Learn the basics in the Agentforce introduction. Then use a Salesforce practice org with Agentforce enabled and test in conversation preview.
For practice planning, 68% of 60 rounds up to 41 correct answers. The Japanese threshold of 65% equals 39. These are calculations, not an official exam scoring formula. Salesforce publishes percentage thresholds. Its guide also allows up to 5 unscored questions, so answer every question.
| Practice version | Published pass mark | Rounded practice target |
|---|---|---|
| English | 68% | 41 of 60 |
| Japanese | 65% | 39 of 60 |
Enter each section score from your practice test. This comparison uses published weights. It cannot predict your exam result.
Example: 70% in every section gives a weighted practice score of 70%. This is 2 percentage points above the English threshold.
In this example, 10 more points in Data and Analytics adds 1.7 percentage points. Configuration and Setup adds 1.5.
The exam costs US$200 plus applicable tax. A retake costs US$100 plus tax. Self-study on Trailhead is free. Optional instructor-led courses have separate fees, so check their prices before booking.
| Item | Cost (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Exam registration | $200 plus tax | JPY 30,000 in Japan |
| Retake | $100 plus tax | JPY 15,000 in Japan |
| Trailhead modules and Trailmix | $0 | Free self-study |
| Developer Edition org | $0 | Free practice org |
| Trailhead Academy courses (optional) | See Trailhead Academy | CRT101 and ADX201 are the recommended courses |
Salesforce recommends 6 or more months of hands-on admin experience. The 8-week schedule below is a suggested study plan, not a Salesforce requirement. Adjust it to your practice results and available time. Spend more time on sections with the highest weights.
| Week | Focus | Weight covered |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Configuration and Setup: users, licenses, security controls, sharing model | 15% |
| 2 | Object Manager and Lightning App Builder: relationships, fields, layouts, record types | 15% |
| 3 | Data and Analytics Management, part 1: import, export, validation and duplicate rules | 17% |
| 4 | Data and Analytics Management, part 2: reports, report types, dashboards | (continued) |
| 5 | Automation: Flow types, approval processes, assignment and escalation rules | 15% |
| 6 | Sales and Marketing, Service and Support | 20% |
| 7 | Productivity and Collaboration, Agentforce | 18% |
| 8 | 2 timed practice exams (60 questions, 105 minutes). Review every wrong answer. | All |
Use the official exam guide's recommended Trailmix, Object Relationships Superbadge and Flow Administration Superbadge. The guide links to each resource. For other learning opportunities, check the Salesforce events calendar.
These 6 questions follow the exam style. We wrote them. They are not from the real exam.
Strong answer: Use the role hierarchy. Put each manager above their reps. For standard objects, users above the record owner in the hierarchy get access. You do not need a sharing rule for this.
Red flag: Change the org-wide default to Public Read Only, which opens all opportunities to everyone.
Strong answer: Use an after-save record-triggered flow. Run it only when the opportunity first meets the Closed Won condition. Check for an existing renewal before creating one, so later updates do not create duplicates.
Red flag: Build a new Workflow Rule or Process. Salesforce ended support for both on December 31, 2025.
Strong answer: Use Data Loader. The Data Import Wizard handles up to 50,000 records at a time, so it is not enough for one 60,000-record load.
Red flag: Ask users to enter the records by hand or split the file without a plan for duplicates.
Strong answer: Use an Accounts report with a cross filter: Accounts without Opportunities. This filters out accounts that already have an opportunity.
Red flag: Export all accounts and opportunities and compare them in a spreadsheet.
Strong answer: Freeze the user at once to stop logins. Transfer the records to a new owner. Then deactivate the user. You cannot delete a Salesforce user.
Red flag: Delete the user, which Salesforce does not allow.
Strong answer: Check the permissions of the user that the agent runs as. Make sure it can read the Case object and the fields the agent needs. Then test again in conversation preview.
Red flag: Rewrite the instructions again without checking permissions.
Learn the difference between access tools in profiles vs. permission sets. Learn when to use Flow in Flow vs. Apex.
The certification can help demonstrate platform knowledge when a role asks for it. It does not guarantee a job or a pay increase. Compare the US$200 exam fee, study time and job requirements. Use the Salesforce salary guide to review published pay evidence separately.
The certification shows employers that you know the core platform. It does not replace experience. In interviews, you must explain real decisions. Practice with our Salesforce interview questions.
Complete 1 Platform Administrator maintenance badge on Trailhead each year. If you miss the due date, the certification expires. Check your due date on your Trailhead profile.
The next admin step is Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator II. It requires the Platform Administrator certification. For the full list of tracks, see Salesforce certifications.
The exam has 60 scored questions. It can also have up to 5 unscored questions that Salesforce uses to test new items. You have 105 minutes for the full exam.
The passing score is 68% for English and 65% for Japanese. For a 60-question practice test, those percentages round up to 41 and 39 correct answers. The counts are planning calculations. ForceFolks checked the official exam guide on October 6, 2026.
The exam costs US$200 plus tax. A retake costs US$100 plus tax. Trailhead self-study is free.
Most questions describe a business scenario. You must pick the best configuration, not only define a feature. Salesforce does not publish a pass rate. Hands-on practice in a Developer Edition org helps most.
Salesforce recommends 6 or more months of admin experience. The ForceFolks Admin Exam Planner provides an optional 8-week study plan. Adjust it to your practice results and available time. It is not an official study-time requirement or a promise that you will pass.
Yes. You can take a proctored exam online or at a test center. You cannot use notes or other materials during the exam.
Complete 1 Platform Administrator maintenance badge on Trailhead each year. If you miss the due date, the certification expires.
These links support the platform facts, not an endorsement of this resource. The questions and study suggestions are original editorial material.
This is a ForceFolks learning resource, not an official Salesforce exam guide or a collection of real exam questions.
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