HashiCorp Terraform Associate (003): Complete Guide 2026
Infrastructure as Code certification for cloud professionals.

What is Terraform Associate?
The HashiCorp Terraform Associate certification validates your knowledge of Infrastructure as Code concepts and Terraform fundamentals. It's ideal for cloud engineers specializing in operations, IT, or development.
Important: Terraform Associate 003 will be retired on January 8, 2026. Plan to take the exam before January 5, 2026, or prepare for the 004 version.
Quick Exam Facts (003)
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Format: 57 questions (MC, multiple answer, T/F)
- Passing Score: ~70%
- Cost: $70.50 USD (+ tax)
- Validity: 2 years
- Retake: 1 free retake included
Exam Domains
- Understand IaC Concepts - Benefits, patterns, declarative approach
- Terraform Purpose & Basics - Why Terraform, workflow, providers
- Terraform CLI - Commands, workflow, state operations
- Modules - Module structure, sources, versioning
- State Management - State purpose, backends, locking
- Configuration - Variables, outputs, expressions, functions
- HCP Terraform - Cloud features, workspaces, runs
Key Topics
Terraform Workflow
terraform init- Initialize working directoryterraform plan- Preview changesterraform apply- Execute changesterraform destroy- Remove infrastructure
State Management
- Local vs remote state backends
- State locking mechanisms
terraform statecommands- Sensitive data in state
Modules
- Root vs child modules
- Module sources (local, registry, git)
- Module versioning
- Input/output variables
HCP Terraform (Formerly Terraform Cloud)
- Remote state management
- Collaborative workflows
- Policy as Code (Sentinel)
- Private module registry
Career Impact
- Average salary: $110,000 - $150,000 USD
- DevOps Engineer and Cloud Engineer roles
- Platform engineering positions
- Infrastructure automation specialist
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