The path has three anchors. Application Architect and System Architect are granted automatically once you complete their four prerequisite exams each, with Platform Developer shared between them. Technical Architect is the capstone: it requires both intermediate credentials, then a scenario-based Evaluation exam with a CTA judge, followed by the Review Board exam before a panel. Plan your sequence from the prerequisite lists, use the official Architect Journey trailmix and community resources, and complete the yearly maintenance badge if you pass the Evaluation.
How the Salesforce architect path fits together
The path stacks specialist exams into two intermediate credentials, Application Architect and System Architect, which together unlock the Technical Architect capstone.
Salesforce's architect overview lists a family of architect credentials, including Platform Data Architect, Sharing and Visibility Architect, Identity and Access Management Architect, Platform Integration Architect, and Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect, alongside the Application, System, and Technical Architect credentials.
Two of those anchor credentials are not exams you sit. The Application Architect certification is granted automatically after you complete four prerequisites, and the System Architect certification works the same way. This matters for planning: you never book an 'Application Architect exam'; you book its prerequisite exams.
The Technical Architect credential sits on top. Its official exam guide lists exactly two prerequisites: the Application Architect and System Architect certifications. Other architect credentials on the overview page, such as Heroku Architect or Tableau Architect, are separate credentials and are not listed as prerequisites for it.
| Credential | How you earn it | Prerequisite exams |
|---|---|---|
| Application Architect | Granted automatically once all four prerequisites are complete | Platform App Builder; Platform Data Architect; Platform Developer; Sharing and Visibility Architect |
| System Architect | Granted automatically once all four prerequisites are complete | Platform Developer; Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect; Identity and Access Management Architect; Platform Integration Architect |
| Technical Architect | Evaluation exam, then Review Board exam | Application Architect certification plus System Architect certification |
Official sources: Certification - Architect Overview (Trailhead) — Architect Certifications list; Certification - Salesforce Certified Application Architect (Trailhead) — About the Certification; prerequisites; Certification - Salesforce Certified System Architect (Trailhead) — About the Certification; prerequisites; Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification
Technical Architect: eligibility and the Evaluation exam
You need both the Application Architect and System Architect certifications. The Evaluation is a timed scenario you solve and defend before a CTA judge.
The Evaluation exam guide describes the target candidate as someone with roughly five or more years of implementation experience across the software development lifecycle, three or more years in an architect role, and two or more years on the Lightning Platform, including lead-architect experience on complex deployments. These are the published audience recommendations; the stated prerequisite credentials are Application Architect and System Architect.
The format is unusual among Salesforce exams. You review and solve a hypothetical scenario, then present your solution to a CTA judge, followed by a question-and-answer session. You need an external camera, and only one screen is permitted. The allotted time is 60 minutes to read, solution, design, and justify, 30 minutes to present, 30 minutes of Q&A, and 15 minutes of additional feedback.
You work with fixed materials: the scenario in a Google Doc, a Google Slides deck, a Google Sheet, a blank Lucidchart, and an onscreen timer. No other materials are allowed, and the guide states that AI and templates are not permitted.
Official sources: Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification
What the Evaluation actually tests
The published outline covers five areas: System Architecture, Security, Data, Solution Architecture, and Integration.
The exam guide's outline expects hands-on architect experience applied to: choosing the right mix of on- and off-platform systems within platform limits; architecting platform security mechanisms, portal access, and end-to-end identity management; handling large data volumes, data modeling, and migration; combining declarative and programmatic functionality and weighing external applications; and recommending integration landscapes, strategies, and platform-specific technologies with their trade-offs.
Two habits from the guide are worth noting. First, other products and apps can be referenced in your solution, but you must be able to defend any recommendation. Second, Salesforce recommends combining on-the-job experience with self-study; paper preparation alone is not the assessment's target. Link each outline area to its current objectives on the official exam guide rather than memorizing a summary.
Official sources: Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification
The Review Board: the second step to Technical Architect
After a passing Evaluation grade, you face a longer scenario exam presented to a panel of CTA judges, with two extra outline areas.
The Review Board exam guide lists one prerequisite: the Architect Review Board Evaluation completed with a passing grade. The format is scaled up from the Evaluation: three hours to review and prepare the solution, a 45-minute presentation, and a 40-minute Q&A session with the judge panel. Materials again include the Google Doc scenario, Slides, a Sheet, and a blank Lucidchart, this time with access to the Salesforce Shape Library, though Lucidchart templates remain off limits.
Its outline repeats the Evaluation's five areas and adds two more: Development Lifecycle and Deployment Planning, covering project risks, test strategy, environment management, and source control and continuous integration, and Communication, covering how you articulate design choices, use visualization and documentation tools, and handle objections and unexpected roadblocks.
Official sources: Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Review Board Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification
Plan your own exam sequence
Work backward from the prerequisite lists. This exercise shows how quickly the remaining path shrinks once you count the shared Platform Developer exam.
The scenario below uses only the published prerequisite sets, so it has one exact answer. Try it before reading the solution.
Practice exercise
You currently hold exactly two certifications: Platform App Builder and Platform Developer. Assume all exams you book are passed. List every exam you still must pass to become eligible to register for the Technical Architect Evaluation, and state when you receive the Application Architect and System Architect certifications.
Show solution
You must pass five more exams: Platform Data Architect, Sharing and Visibility Architect, Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect, Identity and Access Management Architect, and Platform Integration Architect. The Application Architect certification is granted automatically when Platform Data Architect and Sharing and Visibility Architect complete your four-prerequisite set; the System Architect certification is granted automatically when the other three exams complete yours. Once both intermediate certifications are held, you meet the Evaluation's published prerequisites.
The Application Architect set is Platform App Builder, Platform Data Architect, Platform Developer, and Sharing and Visibility Architect. You hold two of these, so two exams remain. The System Architect set is Platform Developer, Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect, Identity and Access Management Architect, and Platform Integration Architect. Platform Developer is shared with the Application set and is already held, so three exams remain. Neither intermediate credential has its own exam; both are granted automatically on completion of their prerequisites. The Evaluation guide lists exactly two prerequisites, the Application Architect and System Architect certifications, so no additional specialist credential is required.
Official sources: Certification - Salesforce Certified Application Architect (Trailhead) — About the Certification; prerequisites; Certification - Salesforce Certified System Architect (Trailhead) — About the Certification; prerequisites; Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification
Keeping the credentials current
Pass the Evaluation and you must complete its maintenance badge on Trailhead once a year or the certification expires; the Review Board credential currently has no required maintenance.
Build maintenance into your plan from the start. The Evaluation exam guide requires completing the Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation maintenance badge on Trailhead each year, and warns that the certification expires if requirements are not completed by the due date.
The Review Board exam guide, by contrast, states there is no required maintenance for that certification at this time. Confirm the current rules on the official pages when you reach each step, since maintenance policies are Salesforce's to change.
Official sources: Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification; Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Review Board Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification
Official preparation resources and next steps
Salesforce recommends the Architect Journey trailmix, the Architect Trailblazer Community, and the CTA601 workshop, plus documentation study mapped to the exam outline.
Both Technical Architect exam guides point to the same preparation stack: the Architect Journey trailmix for domain-specific practice, the Architect Trailblazer Community for sample scenarios and collaboration, and the Prepare for your Technical Architect Certification (CTA601) workshop, which uses real scenarios with coaching from a CTA facilitator. The guides also advise searching Salesforce Help for the topics in each outline area.
Start with the two prerequisite sets in the table. Platform Developer appears in both, so an existing credential can advance both routes. Use the Evaluation outline to connect your specialist study to an integrated solution, then prepare for the longer Review Board scenario and its additional delivery and communication objectives.
Official sources: Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification; Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Review Board Exam Guide (Salesforce Help) — About the Exam; Exam Outline; Maintaining Your Certification
Official sources
Facts checked against official Salesforce pages:
- Certification - Architect Overview (Trailhead)
- Certification - Salesforce Certified Application Architect (Trailhead)
- Certification - Salesforce Certified System Architect (Trailhead)
- Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Evaluation Exam Guide (Salesforce Help)
- Salesforce Certified Technical Architect Review Board Exam Guide (Salesforce Help)