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Cert++

Resource Pack
·Study Checklist

Platform Developer 1

The Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I credential is the starting point for a Salesforce developer career. It proves you can write Apex, build Lightning Web Components, query data with SOQL and SOSL, write trigger logic that respects governor limits, and deploy code through proper channels. If you already have your Admin cert, this is the natural next step. If you don't, I'd recommend working through the admin concepts before tackling this one - the exam assumes you understand the declarative layer before asking when to go programmatic.

3-Step Path to Passing

  1. 1

    Complete the PD1 Trailmix

    Salesforce maintains an official trailmix for this exam. Work through it completely. Pay extra attention to Apex Basics and Database, Apex Triggers, Asynchronous Apex, and the LWC modules - those are the heaviest tested areas.
  2. 2

    Attempt Practice Exams

    I recommend my own practice exams, but I have linked other options in the Study Resources section below. PD1 is a code-comprehension exam, so if you are guessing on questions with code snippets, keep studying before you book a seat.
  3. 3

    Schedule Your Exam

    Exams run daily. There is no need to book far in advance. When you are consistently scoring above 80% on practice exams, schedule with a few days' notice and go pass it.

Core Resources

Exam Overview

Questions

65

60 scored + 5 unscored

Duration

105 min

1 hour 45 minutes

To Pass

65%

Minimum Score

Question Format

The exam tests your ability to read and reason about Apex code, SOQL/SOSL syntax, trigger context, governor limits, LWC component structure, and Salesforce deployment tools.

Scored

92%

60questions

Unscored

8%

5questions

Exam Details

Pricing

$200 registration · $100 retake

Delivery

Online proctored or at a testing center

Experience

Hands-on experience building on the Salesforce platform recommended

Prerequisites

Platform Administrator recommended but not required

Exam Topics

Each topic section shows the topic weight, learning objectives, and links to study resources.

Developer Fundamentals27%

Multi-tenant architecture, MVC on the Salesforce platform, declarative vs. programmatic decision-making, governor limit awareness, data modeling with objects and relationships, external IDs, formula fields, roll-up summaries, and Agentforce for Developers awareness.

  • Understand multi-tenant concepts and design frameworks, such as MVC architecture and Lightning Component Framework.
  • Given a scenario, identify common use cases and best practices for declarative versus programmatic customizations, including governor limits, formula fields, and roll-up summaries.
  • Given a scenario, determine, create, and access the appropriate data model including objects, fields, relationships, and external IDs.
  • Understand use cases and limitations of using Agentforce for Developers.

Resources

Process Automation and Logic28%

Apex class and trigger authoring, variables, constants, access modifiers, interfaces, control flow, SOQL and SOSL syntax, DML statements, governor limits, bulkification patterns, save order of execution, asynchronous Apex, exception handling, and combining declarative automation with code.

  • Identify the capabilities of the declarative process automation features.
  • Understand how to declare variables, constants, methods, modifiers, Apex interfaces, and the appropriate use cases for each.
  • Given a scenario, assess how Apex control flow statements will execute and when to apply different control flow statements.
  • Given a scenario, write SOSL, SOQL, and DML statements in Apex, and assess what they will return.
  • Given a scenario, follow best practices to write Apex classes and triggers.
  • Given a scenario, understand governor limits and their implications on Apex transactions.
  • Describe the relationship between Apex transactions, the save order of execution, and the potential for recursion and/or cascading.
  • Implement exception handling in Apex, including custom exceptions as needed.
  • Given a scenario, use declarative functionality and Apex together to automate business logic.

Resources

User Interface25%

LWC component model, @api/@track/@wire decorators, lifecycle hooks, event handling and bubbling, Lightning Data Service, Apex integration via wire and imperative calls, Visualforce standard and custom controllers, view state, and security vulnerabilities in UI code.

  • Given a scenario, prevent user interface and data access security vulnerabilities.
  • Given a scenario, display and use custom user interface components, including Lightning components, Flow, and Visualforce.
  • Describe the use cases and best practices for Lightning Web Components, including the framework, benefits, and events.
  • Given a scenario, implement Apex to work with various types of page components, including Lightning components, Flow, and Agentforce.

Resources

Testing, Debugging, and Deployment20%

Writing Apex test classes with proper coverage, Test.startTest/stopTest for governor limit resets, HttpCalloutMock for callout testing, debug logs and the Developer Console, Salesforce CLI and VS Code extensions, sandbox types (Developer, Developer Pro, Partial, Full), change sets, and SFDX-based deployment.

  • Write and execute tests for triggers, controllers, classes, and flows using various sources of test data.
  • Given a scenario, know how and when to use the Salesforce Developer tools such as Salesforce DX, Salesforce CLI, and Developer Console.
  • Describe how to approach debugging system issues and monitoring flows, performance, asynchronous, and batch jobs.
  • Describe the environments, requirements, and process for deploying code and associated configurations.

Resources

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