Snowflake SnowPro Advanced Administrator Quick Facts (2025)

SnowPro Advanced Administrator Certification Quick Facts

The SnowPro Advanced: Administrator exam can be daunting for even experienced Snowflake professionals. This exam overview simplifies what you need to know—including format, topics, and preparation tips—to confidently pursue and attain the certification.

What is the SnowPro Advanced Administrator Certification?

The SnowPro Advanced Administrator Certification validates your ability to implement advanced administrative practices across the Snowflake AI Data Cloud platform. It focuses on complex account management, security configuration, resource optimization, disaster recovery, and data shares. Passing this certification demonstrates you have the skills to manage and secure Snowflake deployments across multi-cloud environments at scale.

It’s ideal for individuals who already hold the SnowPro Core Certification and want to excel in infrastructure management and security administration roles in cloud data ecosystems built on Snowflake.

Who Is This Certification For?

This certification is intended for professionals with at least two years of experience in administering Snowflake, including hands-on experience with:

• Multi-cloud infrastructure support
• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Data governance and monitoring
• Advanced authentication and connectivity setup
• Replication and disaster recovery

Typical candidates include:

• Snowflake AI Data Cloud Administrators
• Cloud Infrastructure Administrators
• Cloud Data Platform Engineers
• Solutions Architects
• Database Administrators (DBAs)

What Jobs Can I Get with This Certification?

The SnowPro Advanced Administrator Certification is a valuable credential for senior-level cloud data roles, including:

• Cloud Data Platform Engineer
• Lead Snowflake Administrator
• Senior DBA with Snowflake Expertise
• Data Security Architect
• Multi-Cloud Infrastructure Specialist
• Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) — Data Platform
• Cloud DevOps Engineer working with Snowflake

With the increasing adoption of Snowflake across enterprise organizations, proven expertise in managing security, performance, and governance at scale is in high demand.

What exam version should I take?

The current version of the exam is ADA-C01.

How much does the exam cost?

The exam registration fee is $375 USD. Snowflake periodically offers discount bundles or promotion codes—check their certification page or partner programs for seasonal savings opportunities.

How many questions are on the exam?

The SnowPro Advanced Administrator exam includes 65 questions. These consist of multiple-choice and multiple-select formats designed to reflect real-world, scenario-based administrative tasks.

How much time is given for the exam?

You are given 115 minutes (1 hour and 55 minutes) to complete the exam.

What languages is the exam available in?

Currently, the exam is only offered in:

• English

What's the passing score?

The required passing score is 75%. Unlike the Core exam, this score is not scaled but based directly on correctly answering the majority of the higher-difficulty, practical tasks.

Is the exam hard?

Yes—this is one of Snowflake’s more challenging certifications. It goes beyond knowledge recall and expects candidates to apply practical, multi-step administrative solutions to real-world problems. Most candidates with strong hands-on experience still report the need for focused preparation.

Many succeed by using expert-grade preparatory resources. For realistic, scenario-rich practice questions that simulate the exam experience, check out our Snowflake SnowPro Advanced Administrator certification practice exams.

What domains does the exam cover and what are their weightings?

The exam content is divided among five core domains:

1. Snowflake Security, RBAC, & User Administration (30–35%)

   • Authentication setup, MFA, SSO, and OAuth
   • Role-based access control architecture
   • Key pair authentication and password policies
   • Access control design and privilege inheritance
   • SCIM integration and service accounts

2. Account Management & Data Governance (20–25%)

   • Managing organizations and accounts
   • Data privacy with masking and row access policies
   • Tags, data classification, and EXTERNAL_TOKENIZATION
   • Account identifiers and regional configurations
   • Streams, tasks, and data staging

3. Performance Monitoring & Tuning (20–25%)

   • Virtual warehouse management and scaling
   • Interpreting query profiles and EXPLAIN plans
   • Caching mechanisms, DML concurrency, and data spilling
   • Resource monitors and usage cost analysis
   • Clustering recommendations and micro-partition optimization

4. Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Snowflake Marketplace (10–15%)

   • External and internal data shares
   • Reader accounts and provider listings
   • Snowflake Marketplace publishing
   • Data Exchange functions and usage monitoring

5. Disaster Recovery, Backup & Data Replication (10–15%)

   • Database replication and object cloning across regions/clouds
   • Time Travel and Fail-safe configuration
   • Failover/failback considerations and cost implications
   • DR/BCP strategies and backup design

Are there any prerequisites?

Yes. You must hold a valid SnowPro Core Certification to be eligible for the Advanced Administrator exam.

In addition, Snowflake recommends:

• At least 2 years of real-world Snowflake administration experience
• Familiarity with ANSI SQL and Snowflake’s extended SQL syntax
• Understanding key Snowflake tools, security, sharing, and performance design
• Proficiency navigating Snowsight, SnowSQL, and Snowflake drivers (JDBC/ODBC)

What knowledge areas should I focus on?

Key areas to master include:

1. Security Architecture

   • RBAC inheritance, MFA, OAuth, and provider integrations
   • Security best practices like SCIM and network access policies

2. Data Governance

   • Tagging, masking, classification, tokenization
   • Implementing and auditing row-level security policies

3. Monitoring and Optimization

   • Query performance troubleshooting
   • Clustering strategy and materialized views
   • Using resource monitors for cost control

4. Cross-Region Operations & Replication

   • Time Travel, failover databases, backup automation
   • Understanding replication limitations across editions/clouds

5. Marketplace & Data Exchange

   • Secure sharing mechanisms and listing publication
   • Administration of provider profiles and consumer access

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Often overlooked pitfalls among unsuccessful test takers include:

• Underestimating the exam’s deep focus on scenario application, not definitions
• Not practicing query tuning methods or interpreting Query Profiles
• Misunderstanding differences between ACCOUNTADMIN vs. ORGADMIN roles
• Lack of familiarity with governance objects like tags, classifications, and secure views
• Failing to understand cross-region data replication constraints and billing implications

We recommend using high-quality Snowflake SnowPro Advanced Administrator practice exams to uncover weak areas and prepare under time constraints.

How can I prepare for the exam?

To be fully prepared, follow these key steps:

1. Training Courses

   • Take Administering Snowflake I & II (Instructor-Led)
   • Explore Snowflake documentation and technical white papers

2. Snowflake Docs & Use Cases

   • SCIM provisioning
   • OAuth configurations
   • Managed access schemas

3. Hands-on Practice

   • Use a trial or sandbox account to simulate real-world administrative tasks
   • Configure network policies, perform failovers, optimize clustering

4. Practice Tests

   • Take timed mock exams
   • Review detailed explanations after each attempt
   • Focus on misunderstood topics and retry

How long is the certification valid?

The SnowPro Advanced Administrator Certification is valid for 2 years from the date of passing.

What's next after this exam?

After earning the Advanced Administrator certification, you can expand your expertise through other Snowflake Advanced tracks:

• SnowPro Advanced: Architect
• SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer
• Or renew and elevate your Administrator role by staying current with platform changes and governance best practices

Where can I take the exam?

You can choose from two exam delivery options:

1. Online Proctoring

   • Take the exam at home or office
   • Requires webcam, mic, and strong internet connection

2. Test Center (Onsite Proctored)

   • Professional, supervised testing center
   • Greater scheduling flexibility

How do I register for the exam?

To register:

1. Visit the official Snowflake SnowPro Advanced Administrator certification page
2. Review prerequisites and exam details
3. Click “Register Now”
4. Choose testing method, time, and location
5. Confirm your appointment and pay

Make sure your SnowPro Core Certification is active before scheduling!

What happens if I don't pass?

Don't worry—you can retake the exam after a short waiting period. Use this time to:

• Review feedback in your test report
• Focus preparation on lower-scoring domains
• Gain more hands-on experience
• Retake practice exams to reinforce your skills

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Let this exam overview be your blueprint for success. With hands-on practice, strategic studying, and the right resources, you can earn your SnowPro Advanced Administrator credential and demonstrate your elite Snowflake expertise.