Okta Certification Program Handbook

Introduction

This Handbook sets forth the policies and procedure that apply to all credentials offered by the Okta Certification Program. By taking an Okta exam, you acknowledge and agree to abide by the terms and rules described in the Okta Certification Program Agreement, in this Handbook, and as described on the Okta Training and Certification website.

Value

Okta Certification is a Program for IT professionals to validate their knowledge and skills through examination. Okta certifications are granted to individuals, not companies, and establish baseline ability standards for persons who administer, implement, develop, and architect identity and security solutions using the Okta service. Certifications distinguish the holder of the credential in the market and can be used to advance professional career goals. Companies can use certification to improve competitive advantage by managing employee skill development and more easily recruiting new talent with formally validated skill sets.

Benefits

Okta certifications demonstrate commitment to success and provide benefits for the individual and company alike.

Individuals should consider becoming Okta certified to:

Gain confidence and industry recognition for your skill set
Demonstrate expertise working with Okta identity management and security solutions
Improve your performance and grow your professional opportunity
Distinguish yourself and add new value in the workplace
Earn a portable credential to enhance job mobility
Join an elite group of IT professionals who value life-long learning and career development

Companies that endorse Okta certification also realize benefits, including:

Ability to evaluate your staff’s skills and knowledge against a recognized benchmark
Increased productivity
Assurance that your staff is providing comprehensive quality support to your user population
Protection of your Okta investment through validation of staff capabilities
Improved ROI through accelerated knowledge and adoption of new features
Ability to easily distinguish qualified candidates in recruiting new talent to your organization

Role-based credentials

Okta certifications are role-based and designed to set baseline skill standards for key technical personnel involved in implementing or managing an Okta instance. Credentials are earned by passing an Okta certification exam, series of exams, or by fulfilling other performance-based activities.

Target credentials for inclusion in the program include:

Okta Certified Professional
Okta Certified Administrator
Okta Certified Consultant
Okta Certified WIC Developer
Okta Certified CIC Developer
Okta Certified Technical Architect

Okta Certified Professional

The Okta Certified Professional KNOWS Okta. They possess knowledge about secure identity management and mobility concepts. They have hands-on experience completing day-to-day operational tasks to support users of the Okta service. Professionals have familiarity with Okta technology and processes related to simple directory integration, single sign-on federation, and application provisioning aspects of User Life Cycle Management.

Okta Certified Administrator

The Okta Certified Administrator MANAGES Okta. They are technically proficient at managing the Okta service. They have extensive knowledge about how Okta enables advanced User Lifecycle Management scenarios involving mobile devices, security policy frameworks, supported SSO options, and advanced directory integration for cloud and on-premise access. Administrators use the Okta Policy framework to control user access, understand how to map identity attributes and data transformations using Universal Directory, and troubleshoot issues.

Okta Certified Consultant

The Certified Consultant IMPLEMENTS Okta. They are technically proficient at implementing the Okta service in a variety of configurations. Consultants have experience integrating common applications, such as, Office 365, G Suite, Box, and Salesforce with Okta. They also have extensive knowledge and experience scoping and implementing complex Okta integrations involving multi-forest and multi-domain environments, advanced single sign-on (SSO), and inbound federation with Okta. Consultants have working knowledge of Okta APIs and custom configuration options.

Okta Certified WIC Developer

The Okta Certified Developer BUILDS secure, seamless experiences, using Okta APIs and SDKs. They are technically proficient at working with Okta RESTful APIs and developing web applications. They have general understanding of authentication and authorization standards such as OpenID Connect (OIDC) and OAuth, as well as how Okta supports these standards for building authentication, flexible authorization, and role-base access control. Developers also have experience configuring authorization with API Access Management and implementing Single Sign-On (SSO) with OIDC. They have working knowledge of Okta Lifecycle Management and administrative APIs.

Okta Certified CIC Developer

Okta Certified Customer Identity Cloud Developers are identity and access management practitioners who design and implement Okta Customer Identity Cloud/Auth0 in B2B and B2C scenarios. These individuals have extensive backgrounds and experience with identity, consumer app development, and SaaS app development. They have general understanding of authentication and authorization standards such as OpenID Connect (OIDC) and OAuth, as well as how Auth0 by Okta supports these standards for building authentication, flexible authorization, and role-base access control.

Okta Certified Technical Architect

The Okta Certified Technical Architect is Okta's highest level certification. Okta Certified Technical Architects are technically proficient at interpreting business needs and threat drivers efficiently, leading contextual architectural design workshops, creating technical and architectural documentation, and designing scalable identity and access management solutions using the Okta service to match the needs of organizations of all sizes. Technical Architects typically work in a services delivery capacity and also have breadth and depth of knowledge across all Okta products. In addition, they understand integration patterns and components including how Okta integrates and interacts with the ecosystem and complementary systems such as ERP, CRM, ITSM, CI/CD, and SIEM.

Detailed descriptions of candidate qualifications, exam blueprints, and recommended preparation methods are found in the associated exam study guides.

Certification exams are administered and proctored by Examity®. Okta has partnered with Examity, a secure online proctoring service, to protect the integrity of certification exams. Online proctoring means that exams can be taken from most any location at a time that is convenient for you, without travel to a test center. Okta may, at its sole discretion, opt to hold in-person testing sessions.

Read the Examity User Guide for descriptions of the test registration and test taking experience.

Eligibility

To be eligible to register for and take an exam, a candidate must be:

At least eighteen (18) years of age or have a parent or guardian co-sign our Minor Parent-Guardian signature form downloadable here
Must not have been banned from participation in the Program
Additional eligibility requirements apply for the Okta Certified Technical Architect exam. Visit the Okta Technical Architect Certification Overview for more information.

Registering

Our program relies on a single sign-on process through our Credential Manager that will facilitate managing your Certification account, registering for the exam and badge issuing through our integrated platforms. To create and log into your Certification account will only require a sign into our Credential Mangager at certification.okta.com

Scheduling Instructions for Core Exams, Maintenance Exams and Premier Practice Exams (These instructions do not apply to Standard Practice Exams):

On the main page click on the required section (Core Exams, Maintenance Exams, or Premier Practice exams).
Select the exam and click the 'Begin Registration Process' button to access preparation resources for the exam and commence the registration process.
Click 'Next' in the bottom right corner to move forward through the registration process.
When ready to proceed to Examity to schedule your exam, click 'Proceed to Exam Provider'. Make sure to complete your Examity profile if you are scheduling an exam for the first time from this platform by providing your name, company name, email address, phone number, and a current headshot photograph(not an ID). This will be a one-time activity.
Upon completion of your Examity profile, you can proceed with finalizing your exam appointment.

NOTE: Okta does not require the upload of any form of legal identification, such as driver’s license, passport or another government issued ID. You will be required to present formal identification as part of the exam authentication process on the day of your test, but to safeguard against unauthorized access to sensitive test taker credentials, government issued IDs are not recorded or stored in user profiles for Okta certification exams.

The following registration conduct is strictly prohibited:

Providing false or misleading information about your identity or that of any other person
Registering for or taking an Okta exam with another individual’s Examity login
Allowing someone else to register for or take an Okta exam with your Examity login
Creating multiple Examity site profiles
Holding multiple exam registrations at the same time under different Examity logins

Note: The registration process for the Okta Certified Technical Architect exam differs from other Okta Certification exams. To learn more about how to register for the Okta Certified Technical Architect exam, view the Okta Technical Architect Certification Overview.

Fees, cancellations, and reschedules

Examity manages exam scheduling and payment, rescheduling, and cancellation for all Okta certification exams, and you must initiate these actions through our Credential Manager. Pricing, scheduling, and cancellation policies vary by exam.

The Okta Certified Professional, Administrator, Consultant, WIC Developer and CIC Developer Exams are priced at $250 USD each. The Okta Certified Technical Architect Exam is priced at $5,000 USD.

The retake price for the Okta Certified Professional, Administrator, Consultant, WIC Developer and CIC Developer, is $100 USD each, for each subsequent attempt, representing significant retake discounts of $150 USD. The retake price for the Technical Architect Exam is $2,500 each, for each subsequent attempt, representing a significant retake discount of $2,500 USD.

Payment for an Okta exam is made during the scheduling of an appointment and can be done using a credit/debit card or an exam voucher. If cancellation becomes necessary, refunds can be given only if the cancellation policy was adhered to and they will only be granted to the original credit card utilized during the appointment process.

You must register for an exam at least 24 hours prior to your desired appointment time
You may reschedule or cancel an appointment up to 24 hours prior to exam start time
You may not reschedule or cancel an exam appointment once it has started
If you do not complete the exam at the scheduled time and did not contact Examity 24 hours in advance to cancel or reschedule, you will be charged the full exam fee

Special Accommodation: Please contact us at certification@okta.com at least 30 days before the date you would like to take the exam to request an accommodation.

Scoring and results

Cut scores: Exam passing thresholds are set independently using statistical analysis and input from Okta experts and independent psychometricians. Okta reviews, updates, and adjusts exam questions on an ongoing basis as items are updated or refreshed and to ensure item accuracy based upon Okta feature enhancements. For this reason, Okta discloses exam results as Pass or Fail only and does not publish cut-scores.

Exam result: A pass/fail exam result will be sent to you via email within ten (10) business days of taking your exam for the Professional, Administrator, Developer, and Consultant exams. A pass/fail exam result will be sent to you via email within (15) business days of taking your Technical Architect exam. Once all published requirements are met, you will earn the certification credential and be authorized to use the certification title and logo on your business cards and other professional collateral.

Indeterminate results: Okta regularly monitors the performance of all exams to ensure the validity of results and fairness to all test takers. During the monitoring of exam performance, Okta may classify scores as indeterminate. Indeterminate results are not considered valid and will not be eligible for certification. Okta will allow candidates whose results are indeterminate the option of retaking the exam at no cost. If it is determined that a breach of the Program Agreement or any policies described in the Handbook has contributed to the classification of indeterminate, Okta will take additional action as laid out in the Program Agreement.

Candidate retesting: Okta reserves the right to ask any candidate to re-test if there is any suspicion of fraudulent or aberrant test scores.

Appeals: A candidate has the right to appeal their exam results. When an appeal is requested in writing, Okta will review the candidate’s results to determine if any mistakes were made in the determination of their score results.

Scored & unscored questions: Your exam may contain unscored questions in addition to the scored questions, to the total number of questions that are presented to you may be greater than the number shown on the exam page. This is standard testing practice. You will not know which questions are unscored. If your exam contains unscored questions, the time allowed for the exam takes into consideration the time you will need to answer all questions and review your work. Your exam results will reflect your performance on the scored questions only.

Retakes

Rules governing retake are in place to protect the integrity of exam content and allow the candidate additional time to prepare after a failed attempt. Exam retakes are subject to the following conditions:

A candidate for certification can retake a failed exam 24 hours after his or her first failed attempt
A candidate must wait 14 days after each subsequent failed attempt prior to retaking a failed exam
Candidates may only take beta exams one (1) time
Candidates may not retake passed exams
Exam fees must be paid for each attempt and will not be refunded for a failed exam
The exam fees to retake an Okta certification exam is $100 USD for each retake attempt

Violation of the retake policy in any way, including, but not limited to, retaking an exam prior to the designated waiting period or registering for the exam using false credentials may result in exam results being invalidated. A test result found to be in violation of the retake policy will be marked invalid, which will result in no credit awarded for the test taken. Repeat violators will be banned from participation in the Okta Certification Program.

Test taking rules

To ensure the accuracy and validity of test scores, the following rules must be followed through the entire period that you are taking your proctored exam. Violation of any of these rules may results in the suspension and possibly the cancelling of your exam:

The test surface must be clutter free and contain only one computer monitor or screen, one keyboard, and one mouse. Dual monitors or screens are not permitted
No food or beverages are allowed in the testing area
No phone, calculators, or other electronic devices on the test
No notes, study materials, books, or access to other websites is allowed during the exam
Do not wear jackets, hoodies, hats, ties or scarves when taking the exam
You must be alone in the room with no additional person
You may not talk to anyone during the exam; this includes answering the phone
You must remain seated for the duration of the test and may not leave the room for any reason, including using the restroom
Proctors are authorized to pause your exam at any time upon detecting testing irregularity. They may also stop your exam, which means that it will be considered null and void.

Policies

Certification Program Agreement

The Okta Certification Program Agreement (“Agreement”) sets forth the terms and conditions that govern your participation in the Program. It is critical that you read the agreement in advance of registering for an exam, as you will not be permitted to register for or take any Okta Certification Program exam without agreeing to the terms. The Agreement will appear before you can start your exam on test day and failure to accept these terms will mean that you will be unable to take the test and you will not receive a refund. The rights granted to you under the Agreement are not in effect until you successfully pass the exam and otherwise fulfill stated requirements for certification or recertification.

Violation of any terms in the Agreement can prohibit you from taking the exam, invalidate your score, suspend or revoke your certification, or ban you from the Program.

Certification candidate Code of Conduct

No candidates will participate in any cheating, breach of security, misconduct, or any actions that will compromise the integrity or confidentiality of an Okta examination or otherwise compromise the integrity or confidentiality of Okta’s certification programs. Such behaviors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Making public the questions, answers, or any of the content of an exam with any person, without prior written approval from Okta
Discussing exam content prior to or following an examination, without prior written approval from Okta
Obtaining or making a copy of an Okta exam (by any means including reconstruction through memorization), advertising, selling, and/or distributing actual exam content by any means, including web postings, discussion forums, chat rooms, study guides, etc.
Using unauthorized preparation materials (examples of which include, but are not limited to, “brain-dump” materials, actual exam questions, and other unauthorized published exam content) prior to or during an exam
Providing falsified documentation as means of providing false identity or false address information when registering or taking an exam, including impersonating another candidate or soliciting someone to take an exam on your behalf
Using falsified or altered certificates, score reports or other documents or electronic media to misrepresent certification status
Altering or tampering with the testing equipment for the purposes of gaining an unfair advantage on an Okta certification exam
Giving, receiving, or obtaining assistance of any kind for any Okta exam
Causing a disturbance or behaving unprofessionally at any testing facility
Talking or communicating with other exam-takers while testing is in progress
Breaching the terms of the Okta Exam Retake Policy or Candidate Agreement

Classifying scores as indeterminate

Okta monitors the health of all exams to identify violations of the Certification Program Code of Conduct and to ensure the validity of exam results. During the monitoring of exam health, Okta may classify test scores as indeterminate when abnormalities in performance are detected for which there is no satisfactory explanation. A test score may be classified as indeterminate as a result of a breach in this Code of Conduct or other violations. If a test score is classified as indeterminate, the candidate who holds the affected test score will be advised of options for appealing the decision. Scores classified as indeterminate will not be reported to anyone other than the individuals associated with those scores. Indeterminate test scores will be removed from Okta’s system of records for certifications within 30 calendar days from notice of the violation, unless otherwise specified. If a breach of the Code of Conduct has contributed to the classification of indeterminate results, Okta may also take additional action as described below.

Notification of violations of policy and possible sanctions

If Okta determines that a candidate has violated this Code of Conduct, a notice of the violations and applicable sanctions will be sent to the candidate. A certification candidate flagged for violating the Code of Conduct will have an opportunity to provide relevant information for evaluation to challenge the allegation of violation. It is the candidate’s sole responsibility to ensure that your current contact information, including email address, are stored in Okta’s systems of record for certification.

Appeals Process

After a candidate has received notice of a violation and the applicable sanctions from Okta, the candidate will have thirty (30) calendar days to file a written request for an appeal pursuant to the Okta Candidate Appeals Process. All appeals must be submitted to certification@okta.com, with the word “Appeal” in the subject of the e-mail.

Remedies for violating the Code of Conduct

Any candidate determined by Okta to have violated the Code of Conduct will be subject, but not limited to, one or more of the following remedies, if determined necessary by Okta as based on the severity of the incident or violation:

Denial of an Okta certification for the applicable examination for a maximum period of 12 calendar months from the date of such determination
Indetermination of test score
Required to retake an examination
Ineligibility to register and/or schedule ANY Okta examination for a minimum of 6 calendar months
Any and all other appropriate actions, including legal remedies, that Okta deems necessary and appropriate to enforce this Code of Conduct

Questions regarding the Candidate Conduct Policy

It is the goal of Okta to ensure certification candidates are aware of the Code of Conduct and the consequences for violating it. If you have questions regarding the Code of Conduct, please submit them to certification@okta.com, with the words “Code of Conduct” in the subject of your e-mail.

Report a security incident to Okta

Maintaining the value of Okta’s certifications is a collaborative effort. Individuals with information or evidence indicating violations of these policies are encouraged to submit these incidents to Okta by emailing certification@okta.com.

Recertification policy

The Okta service adds new features and functionality at a rapid rate and certification candidates are expected to keep pace with product enhancements. After you become certified, you must meet ongoing requirements to keep your credentials current and use the applicable Okta certification logos. This may include the completion of specific training, maintenance exams, or even sitting for core exams at designated intervals.

Until further notice, individuals who hold Okta certifications must renew their certifications every 24 months or attain a new higher level Okta certification every 24 months.

Details of the recertification process can be found on the recertification program page here: okta.com/stay-current.

You will be notified when it is time to renew your certification. That notification will be sent to the email address you provided during exam registration; please ensure your email address is kept up-to-date by contacting certification@okta.com to request a merger in case you changed your work email address

Programs revisions and exam retirement

Okta has, at its sole discretion, the right to revise, replace, or retire certification exams at any time. Program policies, benefits, and requirements may also be revised at any time. Program announcements are communicated on the Okta certification website and will be sent to the email address provided by participants during exam registration. Ensure your email address is kept up-to-date by contacting certification@okta.com to request a merger in case you changed your work email address.

Use of certification logo

Upon completion of the certification requirements, Okta provides candidate access to logos to promote their achievement. Because certification credentials are earned and held by an individual, not a company, logos may be used solely by the certified individual in the following ways:

On printed or digital business cards
On personal social media profile, such as LinkedIn
On resumes
In an email signature
You promise to adhere to logo usage rights and restrictions as governed by the Okta Certification Program Agreement.

Color

Your role-based certification badge is a specific color or colors which represent the official designation that you earned. You may not change the color(s) of your badge.

Data and privacy

Except as otherwise stated in this Handbook or the Certification Program Agreement, Okta’s Privacy Policy covers the collections, use, and disclosure of personal information any time you interact with Okta.

Okta, the testing service provider and other related third-party services, may collect, process, and use your data to process Exam Materials and certifications, manage the Program, confirm compliance with the Program Agreement, and market and improve program products, training, and services.

Upon request, Okta Certification team will confirm third party requests for exam and certification status by named individual.

Staying informed

Information about the Okta Certification Program can be found on the Okta Training & Certification website. The most common questions are answered in our online FAQ.

If you have additional questions, contact us at certification@okta.com.

Expect the Okta Certification Program to evolve as we keep pace with innovations in the Okta service and add new credentials to the program.

Keep your email address current in our system to receive program announcements by contacting certification@okta.com to request a merger in case you changed your work email address.

Definition of key terms

Below is a list of definitions of key terms as defined by the Okta Certification Team. These terms are used in other certification collateral. They are presented here to help ensure candidates for Okta certifications have a common understanding of key terminologies frequently used by the Okta Certification Team.

Exam Discontinuation: When an exam is discontinued, that exam is no longer available for purchase. It is also no longer available for delivery. A discontinued exam is removed from production and archived. Candidates for certification can no longer take that exam in pursuit of a certification. Discontinued exams do not impact the certification statuses of current certification holders. Certifications already attained by passing an exam that is discontinued remain valid until the date of expiration of those certifications.

Certification Retirement: When a certification is retired, that certification is no longer attainable. Certifications already awarded remain valid until the expiration date of those certification.

Certification Expiration: When a certification expires, that certification is no longer considered valid. Certifications can expire in two ways, both of which are defined by Okta. A certification can expire based on a preset time limit, for example two years from the date attained or based on a program decision. Or, Okta can choose to forcibly expire an individual certification, certification program, or entire certification track.

Okta will provide the public with ample notice prior to the discontinuation of any exams and the retirement and expiration of any certifications. Discontinued exams, as well as retired and expired certifications, will be listed on the certification web page for a period of 12 months.

Okta certification life cycle phases

The following steps describe the life cycle phases for each Okta certification:

Certification program is announced.
Certification exam is released to the public.
Discontinuation of certification exam is announced three to six months before the discontinuation date.
Certification exam is discontinued.
Retirement of certification is announced three to six months before the certification is retired. Certification is valid even after the retirement date. Note: In situations where Okta chooses to forcibly expire a certification program, the expiration of the certification will be announced three to six months before the certification is expired.
Certification is no longer valid once it has expired.