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Snowflake SnowPro Specialty Snowpark Quick Facts
This overview gives you everything you need to move forward with clarity and confidence as you prepare for the Snowflake SnowPro Specialty Snowpark certification. It highlights the core exam areas and helps you connect the dots between Snowpark concepts and practical application.
How does the SnowPro Specialty Snowpark certification advance your expertise?
The Snowflake SnowPro Specialty Snowpark certification validates your ability to design, build, and optimize data applications using Snowpark. It ensures you can fluently work with APIs, DataFrames, user-defined functions, stored procedures, and performance optimization techniques directly inside Snowflake. By earning this credential, you show that you can harness Snowpark to unify data engineering, data science, and application development within a single environment, boosting both team efficiency and scalability.
Who should pursue the SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark certification?
The SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark certification is designed for technical professionals who want to validate their expertise in working with Snowflake’s powerful Snowpark developer framework. It is especially valuable for:
- Data engineers building pipelines with Snowpark DataFrames
- Machine learning and AI engineers leveraging Snowflake for advanced analytics
- Data scientists writing scalable transformations in Python or PySpark
- Application developers creating reusable UDFs, UDTFs, and stored procedures within Snowflake
- Analysts with programming experience who want to enrich and transform datasets directly in Snowflake
If you already work with Snowpark or plan to adopt Snowflake as the foundation for your machine learning, analytics, or data applications, this certification is the ideal way to stand out in the market and showcase your skills to employers.
What kinds of job opportunities can I unlock with this certification?
Earning the SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark certification signals that you can apply advanced data engineering and application development capabilities within Snowflake. This can open the door to specialized and high-paying job roles such as:
- Snowflake Data Engineer
- Data Scientist (focused on machine learning within Snowflake)
- AI Engineer or ML Engineer leveraging Snowpark
- Data Application Developer building Python-powered apps in Snowflake
- Analytics Engineer or Advanced BI Developer
As companies continue to centralize analytics, ML, and data transformations on Snowflake, certified professionals are increasingly in demand. The certification establishes your ability not only to query and transform data but also to design optimized, production-grade Snowpark workflows.
What is the current version of the Snowflake SPS-C01 exam?
The most up-to-date exam version for this certification is SPS-C01. This is the version you should register for and prepare against, as it reflects Snowflake’s latest Snowpark features, domain structure, and best practices. Always be sure that your study materials are aligned with SPS-C01 for the best results.
How much does the SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark exam cost?
The registration fee for the SnowPro Snowpark certification exam is $225 USD. For candidates based in India, the exam costs $180 USD. Payment is managed directly through the Pearson VUE testing platform when scheduling your exam. In addition, many employers are willing to cover certification costs as part of professional development budgets, so consider checking with your manager to see if reimbursement is possible.
How many questions are included in the Snowpark SPS-C01 exam?
The exam consists of 55 total questions. These are a mix of multiple-choice, multiple-select, and interactive questions. Some questions are scored while others are included on a trial basis for future exams, but you won’t know which are unscored, so it’s smart to treat every question equally.
How much time will I have to complete this certification exam?
Candidates are given 85 minutes to complete the exam. This is more than enough time if you manage your pacing well—most questions are concise, though scenario-based items may take longer to read. A smart approach is to first move through all questions once, marking any for review, and then use your remaining time to revisit marked items for careful consideration.
What score is required to pass the SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark exam?
The passing score is set at 750 on a scaled scoring system from 0 to 1000. This scaled model means that performance across different test forms is standardized for fairness. Importantly, you don’t need to pass each individual section—the exam uses compensatory scoring, so your overall performance matters more than per-domain scores.
In which languages can candidates take this Snowpark certification exam?
The SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark exam is currently available in English. Because Snowflake certifications are often taken globally, candidates in non-English speaking regions should ensure they are comfortable with technical English terminology in Snowflake’s documentation and training resources before test day.
What are the key domains tested on the SPS-C01 exam?
The exam blueprint is divided into four major domains, each focusing on different aspects of Snowpark usage:
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Snowpark Concepts (15%)
- Understand Snowpark architecture, execution model, and lazy evaluation
- Work with core Snowpark objects like DataFrames, UDFs, UDTFs, stored procedures, and file operations
- Set up development environments in Snowflake Notebooks, Jupyter, or VS Code
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Snowpark API for Python (30%)
- Create and manage sessions and authentication methods
- Load and manipulate structured and unstructured data using Snowpark DataFrames
- Register and secure UDFs, UDTFs, and stored procedures
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Snowpark for Data Transformations (35%)
- Build pipeline logic with joins, filters, windows, and aggregations
- Handle semi-structured data like JSON or Parquet directly in Snowflake
- Persist transformations back as tables, views, or files, and perform DML operations
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Snowpark Performance Optimization (20%)
- Use Snowpark-optimized warehouses for execution efficiency
- Incorporate caching, temporary tables, and vectorized UDFs
- Troubleshoot errors using logs, event tables, and query history
What prerequisites are required before taking this certification?
To sit for the SnowPro Snowpark exam, you must hold an active SnowPro Core Certification or SnowPro Associate: Platform Certification. This ensures that all candidates already have a solid foundation in Snowflake architecture and core features before specializing in Snowpark.
How long is the certification valid after passing?
Your SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark certification is valid for two years from the date of issuance. Renewal can be achieved by taking another Snowflake certification at the same or higher level, or by completing eligible continuing education (CE) through official Snowflake instructor-led training courses.
Is the Snowpark SPS-C01 exam difficult to pass?
This exam is designed at a specialty level, which means it builds upon your prior Snowflake knowledge with Snowpark-specific skills. With at least one year of hands-on Snowpark experience, the exam becomes an excellent opportunity to validate and showcase your knowledge. The key to confidence is practicing with real-world scenarios and preparing with well-constructed practice exams that emulate the timing and complexity of the actual test.
We recommend preparing with top-rated Snowflake SnowPro Specialty Snowpark practice tests that replicate the exam environment and provide detailed explanations for every answer.
What are some of the top skills you’ll demonstrate once certified?
By passing this exam, you prove your ability to:
- Build end-to-end data pipelines in Snowflake using the Snowpark API
- Write and register Snowpark UDFs and stored procedures in Python
- Work with structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data at scale
- Optimize warehouse resources, caching strategies, and query execution
- Solve real-world business problems using native Snowflake functions and Snowpark-specific features
This makes you highly marketable for modern data and analytics roles that blend data engineering and advanced data science.
How does the SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark certification differ from SnowPro Core?
The SnowPro Core certification validates your general understanding of Snowflake including its architecture, security, and data loading. In contrast, the Snowpark Specialty exam is highly technical and focuses specifically on coding with Snowpark APIs. If Core is about understanding the platform, Specialty is about building real applications and data solutions on top of it.
What types of questions can I expect on the test?
The question types include:
- Multiple-choice (one correct answer)
- Multiple-select (choose two or more correct answers)
- Interactive or scenario-based questions that simulate real-world tasks
Snowflake often uses scenario-driven questions to assess practical application of Snowpark features. This means you should be prepared not just to recall concepts, but to apply them in a business context.
How should I prepare for SPS-C01 to maximize my success?
The best preparation strategy combines multiple study techniques:
- Use the Snowflake-provided Exam Guide and domain breakdown to build your study plan
- Take Snowflake’s Snowpark DataFrame Programming training course
- Get hands-on practice writing Python transformations, creating UDFs, and modifying warehouses
- Review documentation, blogs, and Snowflake articles
- Join webinars and hands-on labs for guided workshops
- Validate your readiness with challenging practice exams before test day
Where can I take the Snowflake SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark exam?
You have two options for scheduling your SPS-C01 exam:
- Online Proctoring – Take the exam from home or office with a webcam and stable internet connection.
- Testing Center – Choose a Pearson VUE center near you for an in-person proctored environment.
Both delivery methods give you the same experience in terms of scoring and content, so select the location that provides the most comfortable test-taking environment for you.
How do I register for the SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark certification?
To register:
- Create an account at Snowflake’s learning platform
- Schedule the SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark (SPS-C01) exam via Pearson VUE
- Choose your delivery option (online or in-person)
- Select your date and time, then complete your payment
- Confirm your booking and get ready to certify your Snowpark expertise
For the official steps, always check the Snowflake certification registration page.
The SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark certification (SPS-C01) is a powerful credential that validates advanced coding, transformation, and optimization skills within Snowflake’s next-generation developer platform. With careful preparation, you can earn this certification and set yourself apart as a true expert in building scalable, production-ready Snowpark solutions.
