Databricks Certifications

Here is the list of Databricks Certifications offered up to June 2025, based on official Databricks documentation and up‑to‑date industry sources ():


🏅 Core Certifications

Data Analyst

  • Databricks Certified Data Analyst Associate
    Validates skills in Databricks SQL, analytics, dashboards, and data management using Databricks SQL service (, ).

Data Engineer

  • Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate
    Covers the Databricks Lakehouse Platform, Spark SQL/Python ETL, incremental data processing, pipelines, governance (updated syllabus from July 25, 2025) ().
  • Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional
    For advanced data engineers: tooling, processing, modeling, security & governance, monitoring, testing & deployment ().

Machine Learning

  • Databricks Certified Machine Learning Associate
    Focuses on basic ML with Spark ML, AutoML, Feature Store, MLflow, and ML workflows ().
  • Databricks Certified Machine Learning Professional
    Advanced-level: model lifecycle, experimentation, deployment, monitoring, drift detection ().

Developer / Specialty

  • Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark
    Tests your knowledge of Spark architecture and DataFrame API tasks (Python or Scala) ().
  • Databricks Certified Hadoop Migration Architect
    Designed for architects/migrators: Hadoop-to-Databricks migration design of data/code and cutover strategies ().

🔹 Additional Specialty Accreditations (Badges)

  • Platform Administrator (accreditation)
    Focuses on user/group management, compute resources, governance/security administration within Databricks (, ).
  • Cloud Platform Architect badges:
    • Azure Platform Architect
    • AWS Platform Architect
    • GCP Platform Architect
      These certifications validate best‑practice deployment, security, and integration for Databricks on each respective cloud (, , ).

📋 Certification Summary Table

Certification / BadgeLevelFocus Area
Data Analyst AssociateAssociateDatabricks SQL, dashboards, analytics
Data Engineer AssociateAssociateData engineering basics (Spark, ETL, governance)
Data Engineer ProfessionalProfessionalAdvanced data engineering tools, modeling, testing
ML AssociateAssociateFundamentals of ML with Spark, MLflow, workflows
ML ProfessionalProfessionalProduction-level ML deployment and monitoring
Apache Spark Associate DeveloperAssociateSpark API proficiency (DataFrame, filtering, joins)
Hadoop Migration ArchitectSpecialistHadoop-to-Databricks migration design & execution
Platform Administrator (accreditation badge)BadgeAdmin governance, access, compute & security setups
Cloud Platform Architect (Azure/AWS/GCP) badgesBadgeCloud deployment, integration and security best practices

ℹ️ Things to Know

  • All certifications (aside from badges) are valid for 2 years and need recertification thereafter (, , ).
  • Exams are delivered online, proctored, with durations of ~60 – 120 minutes depending on level, and require ~70% passing score or higher (65% for Spark Associate) ().
  • New syllabus for Data Engineer Associate exam takes effect from July 25, 2025, with updated topics like Lakehouse Federation, DLT, Delta Sharing, and Unity Catalog ().
  • Specialty badges are shorter assessments tied to learning paths (e.g., platform admin or cloud-specific deployment), often included as part of the Databricks Academy training programs ().

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