- AEMSAM is Adobe's exam AD0-E117, delivered through the Adobe Certification Portal and easyProctor.
- Passing score is 29 of 50 scored questions (58%), inside a 100-minute window that may include up to 10 unscored items.
- Solution design is the heaviest domain at 44% - build your review plan around it first.
- Standard fee is USD 225 globally, USD 150 in India, with 33% discounts for eligible partner staff and verified students.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This page condenses the essential facts about the Adobe Experience Manager Sites Architect Master credential into a single scannable reference. It is meant to sit next to your notes during final review - not replace the deeper walkthroughs available in the AEMSAM Study Guide 2026 or the domain-by-domain breakdown in the AEMSAM Exam Domains 2026 guide. Every number here traces back to Adobe's published exam standard for AD0-E117, the official exam ID behind the AEMSAM identifier.
If you're still deciding whether to pursue the credential, pair this cheat sheet with the ROI discussion in Is the AEMSAM Certification Worth It? before you register. If you're past that decision and just need a rapid-fire refresher, keep scrolling.
Exam Snapshot: The Core Facts
Adobe administers AEMSAM through its Adobe Customer Experience Certification Program. The table below is the fastest way to confirm you have the logistics right before exam day.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official exam ID | AD0-E117 |
| Certifying body | Adobe (Adobe Customer Experience Certification Program) |
| Delivery | Online via Adobe Certification Portal, proctored through easyProctor |
| Scored questions | 50 |
| Passing score | 29/50 (58%) |
| Unscored questions | Up to 10 additional, within the same time limit |
| Time limit | 100 minutes total |
| Languages | English and Japanese |
| Fee | USD 225 global; USD 150 India; 33% discount for eligible partners/students |
| Validity | 2 years |
| Recommended experience | 3+ years of AEM Sites architecture, including Adobe Managed Services and AEM as a Cloud Service |
| Official prep guide | EPG-E117 |
For a deeper breakdown of exactly how the 29/50 threshold is calculated and why it matters for how you allocate study time, see AEMSAM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The Four Domains at a Glance
AEMSAM's blueprint splits into four content areas. The weighting is not even - one domain carries nearly half the exam, and your review time should reflect that imbalance.
Domain 1: Discovery (18%)
Covers how an architect gathers business and technical requirements before design work begins.
- Stakeholder interviews and requirements-gathering approaches for AEM Sites projects
- Assessing existing content models, integrations, and infrastructure constraints
- Translating business goals into technical scoping decisions
Domain 2: Solution Design (44%)
The largest domain by a wide margin, and the one that separates candidates who pass from those who don't.
- Content architecture, component and template strategy for AEM Sites
- Multi-site and multi-tenant design patterns, including internationalization
- Integration design across AEM as a Cloud Service and Adobe Managed Services environments
- Performance, scalability, and security considerations at the architecture level
Domain 3: Implementation (22%)
Focuses on translating an approved design into a buildable, deployable AEM Sites solution.
- Authoring and delivery pipeline decisions
- Deployment models and environment configuration across cloud and managed services
- Coordinating implementation teams around the architect's design decisions
Domain 4: Maintenance (16%)
Covers what happens after go-live, from an architecture governance standpoint.
- Monitoring, upgrade planning, and long-term platform health
- Governance of content models and components as the site evolves
- Troubleshooting architecture-level issues that surface post-launch
Key Takeaway
Because Solution Design accounts for 44% of the scored questions, most of your final review hours should go there. Discovery, Implementation, and Maintenance combined still make up more than half the exam, so don't skip them - but Solution Design decides most outcomes.
For the full walkthrough of what falls inside each of these four areas, with more granular subtopics, read the AEMSAM Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas. If you want an honest read on where candidates typically struggle, the How Hard Is the AEMSAM Exam? guide breaks that down by domain as well.
Registration & Fee Mechanics
AEMSAM registration runs through the Adobe Certification Portal, and delivery happens via easyProctor. A few mechanics are easy to overlook until they cost you on exam day:
- The standard fee is USD 225 globally, with a reduced USD 150 rate in India.
- Eligible partner employees and verified students can receive a 33% discount off the standard fee.
- This is a closed-book, remote-proctored exam: you'll need a working camera, a physical government-issued photo ID, and whole-screen sharing enabled.
- You must pass a system check and use the Process Tracker before the session starts.
- Adobe's proctoring requirements specifically call for removing the Guardian Browser before testing - leaving it installed can block your session.
A full pricing breakdown, including how the discount tiers apply and what counts as "eligible," is covered in AEMSAM Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you're mapping out when to sit the exam relative to project deadlines or renewal windows, check AEMSAM Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Who Holds and Hires for AEMSAM
Adobe recommends at least three years of hands-on AEM Sites architecture experience before attempting this exam, and that recommendation reflects who the credential is actually built for: architects who have already designed and delivered AEM Sites solutions, including work on Adobe Managed Services and AEM as a Cloud Service. This isn't an entry-level checkpoint - it's a validation exam for people already doing the job.
That experience requirement also shapes how the exam reads. Questions assume familiarity with real deployment tradeoffs - component reuse across sites, integration boundaries between cloud service and managed services environments, and governance decisions that only become visible after you've owned an AEM Sites implementation end to end. If you're not sure whether your background lines up with what Adobe expects, the detailed eligibility breakdown in AEMSAM Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify is worth reading before you register. For a sense of what roles and hiring managers actually look for once you're certified, see AEMSAM Jobs.
Renewal & Validity Rules
AEMSAM is valid for 2 years from the date you pass. A few rules govern what happens next:
- The renewal window opens 180 days before expiration - mark this on your calendar the day you pass, not two years later.
- Renewal requirements are assigned inside the Adobe portal, and you need to complete them before your current credential expires.
- If your credential lapses before you complete renewal, Adobe requires the full paid exam again - there is no discounted "lapsed" retake path.
Key Takeaway
Set a reminder for 180 days before your two-year expiration date. Missing that window means paying full price and re-earning the credential from scratch.
One-Week-Per-Domain Quick Review Plan
If you have roughly a month left before your exam, a domain-anchored review schedule works better than a generic study calendar, because it forces your review hours to mirror the exam's actual weighting rather than your personal comfort zone.
Discovery (18%)
- Review requirements-gathering scenarios and stakeholder scoping questions
- Practice distinguishing business requirements from technical constraints in sample scenarios
Solution Design (44%)
- Devote two full weeks here - this is nearly half the scored exam
- Drill multi-site architecture patterns, component/template design, and integration boundaries between AEM as a Cloud Service and Adobe Managed Services
- Work through security and performance design tradeoffs until they feel automatic
Implementation (22%)
- Review deployment pipeline decisions and environment configuration scenarios
- Connect implementation choices back to the design decisions from Weeks 2-3
Maintenance (16%) + Full Review
- Cover governance, monitoring, and post-launch troubleshooting topics
- Run a full-length timed practice session to confirm you can finish within the 100-minute limit
Notice that Solution Design gets double the calendar time of any other domain - that's deliberate, not arbitrary. If you want a more detailed week-by-week plan with specific resources and checkpoints, the AEMSAM Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt expands on this exact structure. And once you've covered the material, running full-length timed sets on our practice test platform is the fastest way to confirm your pacing holds up under exam conditions rather than just in isolated review.
FAQ
AD0-E117. Adobe administers it through the Adobe Customer Experience Certification Program, and AEMSAM is the site identifier used for the Adobe Experience Manager Sites Architect Master credential specifically.
There are 50 scored questions, and you need 29 correct (58%) to pass. Adobe's program policy also permits up to 10 additional unscored questions within the same 100-minute time limit, so the total number of items you see may exceed 50.
The standard fee is USD 225 globally, with a reduced USD 150 rate in India. Eligible partner employees and verified students can receive a 33% discount off the standard price.
It's valid for 2 years. The renewal window opens 180 days before expiration, and you must complete the renewal requirements assigned in the Adobe portal before your credential expires. If it lapses, you must retake and pay for the full exam again.
Solution Design, weighted at 44% of the exam - nearly half the scored questions come from this domain. Discovery (18%), Implementation (22%), and Maintenance (16%) make up the rest and shouldn't be skipped, but Solution Design deserves the largest share of your review time.
Keep this page bookmarked for a final pre-exam scan, and pair it with hands-on practice - reviewing facts is useful, but working through timed scenario questions on a full practice test is what actually confirms you're ready.