- What Is the ACP-120 Passing Score?
- How ACP-120 Grading Works
- Exam Format and Question Types Explained
- Domain Weights and Where Points Come From
- Registration, Fees, and the Certiverse Transition
- Who Pursues ACP-120 and Why It Matters
- What You Must Actually Know: Domain-by-Domain
- A Domain-Sequenced Approach to Studying
- Renewal and Keeping Your Credential Current
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The ACP-120 passing score is 63%, meaning you must answer roughly 48 of 75 questions correctly.
- Product and Project Access and Permissions is the largest domain at 30-35% of the exam-prioritize it heavily.
- The exam has up to 75 questions delivered in 180 minutes via Certiverse as of 2026.
- The registration fee is approximately $249-$250 USD plus applicable tax, paid through Atlassian University.
What Is the ACP-120 Passing Score?
The ACP-120 - Atlassian Certified Professional: Jira Administration for Cloud - has a commonly published passing threshold of 63%. With up to 75 questions on the exam, that translates to correctly answering roughly 47 to 48 questions, depending on the exact number of scoreable items delivered to you on test day.
That number sounds achievable, but the question types are designed to test applied judgment, not just memorization. You are not simply picking a definition from a list. Atlassian builds scenario-based and configuration-reasoning items that require you to understand why a permission scheme behaves a certain way in a specific project context, or what happens when a workflow transition fires under a particular role condition. Candidates who study conceptually without hands-on Jira Cloud experience frequently find the 63% threshold harder to clear than it appears on paper.
How ACP-120 Grading Works
Atlassian administers the ACP-120 through Atlassian University, and exam delivery moved to Certiverse in 2026 following the retirement of earlier testing partners. Certiverse handles real-time score reporting, and in most cases candidates see a pass or fail result immediately upon completing the exam.
The exam is not adaptive - meaning the difficulty of subsequent questions does not change based on your previous answers. You receive a fixed set of up to 75 questions and are graded against the 63% threshold. Atlassian does not publicly disclose whether any questions are unscored (pilot items), so you should treat every question as if it counts toward your final result.
Multiple-Choice vs. Multiple-Response Items
The ACP-120 mixes three item types: multiple-choice (single correct answer), multiple-response (select all that apply), and scenario/configuration-reasoning items that present a Jira Cloud configuration scenario and ask what outcome it produces or what the correct administrative action is.
Multiple-response questions are particularly demanding because you must identify every correct answer to receive full credit. Missing even one option on a "select all that apply" question can cost you the point entirely, depending on how Atlassian scores those items. This makes thorough domain knowledge - not guessing - essential for clearing 63%.
Exam Format and Question Types Explained
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | Up to 75 |
| Time Limit | 180 minutes (3 hours) |
| Passing Score | 63% |
| Question Formats | Multiple-choice, multiple-response, scenario/configuration-reasoning |
| Delivery Platform | Certiverse (as of 2026) |
| Registration Fee | ~$249-$250 USD + applicable tax |
| Exam Topics Version | ACP-120 Exam Topics v3, April 2021 |
| Renewal Cycle | 24 months |
| Prerequisites | None formal; practical Jira Cloud admin experience strongly implied |
With 180 minutes for up to 75 questions, you have an average of about 2 minutes and 24 seconds per question. That is generous for straightforward multiple-choice items, but scenario-reasoning questions describing complex permission inheritance or workflow post-function behavior can easily consume 4-5 minutes each. Pacing your review strategically - flagging difficult items for a second pass rather than stalling - is an important test-day habit.
Practicing under realistic timed conditions before test day is one of the best ways to calibrate your pace. The ACP-120 Exam Prep practice tests are structured to reflect the same timed, scenario-heavy format you will encounter on Certiverse.
Domain Weights and Where Points Come From
Understanding the domain weight distribution is the most important tactical decision you make as an ACP-120 candidate. The exam follows the ACP-120 Exam Topics v3 (April 2021), and each domain is weighted by percentage range. Here is the full breakdown:
Domain 3: Product and Project Access and Permissions (30-35%)
The single largest domain - roughly a third of your total score. Mastery here is non-negotiable if you intend to clear 63%.
- Global permissions vs. project permissions: how they layer and interact
- Permission schemes: creating, editing, and applying them to projects
- Project roles: defining roles, populating them, and distinguishing them from groups
- Atlassian Access and product access controls for Cloud organizations
- How permission inheritance works when a user belongs to multiple roles or groups
Domain 5: Issue Types, Fields and Screens (15-20%)
The second-largest domain, covering the configuration layer that most Jira users interact with daily - but rarely understand administratively.
- Issue type schemes and how they associate with projects
- Custom fields: types, contexts, and which contexts apply to which projects and issue types
- Screens, screen schemes, and issue type screen schemes - and how they chain together
- Field configuration schemes and required/optional field behavior
Domain 1: User Features (10-15%)
Covers how end users experience Jira Cloud and the administrative controls that shape those experiences.
- User management at the Atlassian organization level vs. product level
- Managed accounts and how administrators control user identity
- Personal settings and user-level preferences administrators should understand
Domain 4: General Project Configuration (10-15%)
Addresses how projects are created, categorized, and maintained in Jira Cloud.
- Company-managed vs. team-managed projects: configuration differences and limitations
- Project categories, project keys, and project templates
- Shared configuration: what is shared when a scheme is reused across projects
Domains 2, 6, 7, and 8 (5-10% Each)
Each of these domains contributes a smaller but meaningful slice of the exam. None should be entirely skipped.
- Domain 2 (Global Settings and User Communications): Jira Cloud global configuration, announcement banners, look-and-feel settings
- Domain 6 (Workflows and Automation): Workflow statuses, transitions, conditions, validators, post-functions; Jira Automation rule structure
- Domain 7 (Notifications and Email): Notification schemes, event-driven notifications, outgoing mail configuration
- Domain 8 (Administering and Extending Jira): App management via Atlassian Marketplace, audit logs, system health
When you read through the ACP-120 Passing Score and Grading Explained 2026 overview with domain weights in mind, the study allocation decision becomes clear: Domain 3 alone could represent as many as 26 questions out of 75. Failing Domain 3 alone makes clearing 63% extremely difficult.
Registration, Fees, and the Certiverse Transition
ACP-120 is purchased and registered through Atlassian University at approximately $249-$250 USD plus applicable taxes in your region. There are no bundled retake vouchers - if you do not pass, you repurchase the exam at the same price.
The platform shift to Certiverse in 2026 means the proctoring and delivery experience may differ from what older study guides describe. If you previously held an Atlassian certification and are renewing or upgrading, verify your exam booking flows through the current Atlassian University portal, which now links to Certiverse for scheduling and delivery rather than legacy partners.
No formal prerequisite is listed for ACP-120. However, the exam is explicitly designed for candidates with practical, hands-on Jira Cloud administration experience - project administration, permission configuration, workflow building, and scheme management. Candidates who attempt ACP-120 without genuine product experience tend to struggle with scenario-reasoning items regardless of how much theory they have read.
Who Pursues ACP-120 and Why It Matters
The ACP-120 credential signals competency that is valued across several professional contexts. Atlassian Solution Partners require certified staff to maintain partner tier status, making the certification important for consultants and implementation specialists. Enterprise IT teams use ACP-120 as a benchmark when hiring or promoting internal Jira administrators, particularly in organizations running Jira Cloud at scale with complex permission structures across dozens or hundreds of projects.
Professionals who typically pursue ACP-120 include:
- Jira Cloud administrators managing multi-project environments in mid-to-large organizations
- Atlassian Solution Partner consultants fulfilling partner certification requirements
- IT operations specialists standardizing project tooling across departments
- Agile coaches and project managers who have assumed Jira administration responsibilities and want formal credential recognition
- DevOps engineers and toolchain owners who configure Jira Cloud as part of a broader software delivery platform
The certification does not expire your knowledge - but it does expire your credential. The 24-month renewal cycle means that maintaining active certification status requires ongoing engagement with Atlassian's renewal process, which is relevant for anyone listing ACP-120 on a résumé or a partner profile.
What You Must Actually Know: Domain-by-Domain
Beyond domain weights, the ACP-120 tests specific technical depth. Here are the areas where candidates most commonly encounter difficulty:
Permissions: The Layered Mental Model
Domain 3 (30-35%) demands that you build a mental model of how Jira Cloud evaluates permission requests. Global permissions sit at the top and govern whether a user can log in and administer at all. Project permissions sit at the project level and are governed by permission schemes. Project roles connect users (or groups) to permission scheme entries. Understanding why a user can comment in one project but not another - and how to diagnose and fix that - is exactly the type of scenario the exam presents.
Field Configuration Chains
Domain 5 (15-20%) tests a chain of configuration objects that many Jira admins know exist but struggle to articulate: field configuration → field configuration scheme → project. Alongside this, you need to understand how screen schemes and issue type screen schemes attach to projects and control what fields appear on create, edit, and view screens per issue type. Misconfiguring any link in this chain is a common real-world problem - and a common exam scenario.
Workflow Mechanics
Domain 6 (5-10%) is smaller by weight but conceptually complex. Understand how workflow conditions prevent transitions, how validators check data before a transition completes, and how post-functions execute after a transition. Know the difference between a global transition and a directed transition, and understand how workflow schemes attach workflows to issue types within a project.
Notification Architecture
Domain 7 (5-10%) focuses on notification schemes and the events that trigger them. Know which Jira events (issue created, issue updated, comment added, etc.) exist by default, how notification schemes are configured to route those events to specific recipients (project role, group, current assignee, reporter), and how outgoing mail settings affect delivery.
Reinforcing all of these domain areas with scenario-based practice is the most efficient path to 63%. The ACP-120 Exam Prep practice tests are specifically designed to mirror these configuration-reasoning scenarios across all eight domains.
A Domain-Sequenced Approach to Studying
Because domain weights are publicly known, a sequenced study plan is more effective than a linear read-through of documentation. The following four-week structure prioritizes point density while ensuring no domain is entirely neglected.
Foundation: Permissions and User Management
- Deep dive into Domain 3 (Product and Project Access and Permissions) - global permissions, permission schemes, project roles
- Domain 1 (User Features) - Atlassian organization-level user management, managed accounts
- Build a test Jira Cloud site and configure permission schemes from scratch for different project types
Configuration Depth: Fields, Screens, and Projects
- Domain 5 (Issue Types, Fields and Screens) - master the full configuration chain from custom field to screen scheme
- Domain 4 (General Project Configuration) - company-managed vs. team-managed, categories, shared schemes
- Practice identifying misconfiguration scenarios - what breaks when a screen scheme is wrong
Process and Communication: Workflows, Notifications, and Global Settings
- Domain 6 (Workflows and Automation) - conditions, validators, post-functions, automation rule triggers and actions
- Domain 7 (Notifications and Email) - notification schemes, events, outgoing mail
- Domain 2 (Global Settings) - site-wide configuration options, announcement banners
Completion and Exam Simulation
- Domain 8 (Administering and Extending Jira) - Marketplace apps, audit logs, system health checks
- Full timed practice exams simulating the 75-question, 180-minute format
- Review all flagged scenario-reasoning questions; revisit Domain 3 weak spots
For a more granular day-by-day breakdown, the ACP-120 Study Schedule: 30-Day Exam Prep Plan maps each domain to specific dates and includes recommended activity types for each study session.
Key Takeaway
Allocate at least 40% of your total study time to Domain 3. If you clear Domain 3 reliably in practice, you have already secured a substantial portion of the points needed to reach 63%. Then use remaining time to build competency across the mid-weight domains (Domain 5 at 15-20% and Domains 1 and 4 at 10-15% each) before polishing the smaller domains in the final week.
Renewal and Keeping Your Credential Current
ACP-120 certification operates on a 24-month renewal cycle under Atlassian's current certification renewal policy. This means your credential has an expiration date, and maintaining it in active status requires action before that date passes.
Atlassian's renewal mechanisms have evolved over time, so verify the exact renewal pathway through Atlassian University at the time your renewal window opens. In some periods, Atlassian has offered renewal through continuing education activities; in others, recertification has required a new exam attempt. Given the Certiverse platform transition in 2026, renewal processes may have been updated alongside delivery changes.
For professionals using ACP-120 to satisfy Atlassian Solution Partner certification requirements, the 24-month cycle ties directly to partner tier compliance. Lapses can affect your organization's partner status, making timely renewal a business-level concern, not just a personal one.
Frequently Asked Questions
The ACP-120 passing score is commonly published as 63%. With up to 75 questions on the exam, this means correctly answering approximately 47-48 questions. Atlassian does not publish a scaled score breakdown or domain-level score reports after the exam.
The ACP-120 exam fee is approximately $249-$250 USD plus applicable tax in your region. The exam is purchased through Atlassian University. There are no multi-attempt bundles published, so each attempt is charged at the standard fee.
Domain 3 (Product and Project Access and Permissions) at 30-35% of the exam should be your first and longest focus area. It is the single largest domain and represents roughly a third of all possible points. Without strong Domain 3 knowledge, reaching the 63% passing threshold is very difficult regardless of performance on other domains.
Atlassian transitioned its credentialing exams to Certiverse in 2026. The ACP-120 is scheduled and delivered through Certiverse, accessed via Atlassian University. This replaced the testing partners used in prior years. Candidates should confirm current scheduling instructions through the Atlassian University portal when booking.
ACP-120 certification is valid for 24 months under Atlassian's current renewal policy. You must complete the renewal process before the expiration date to maintain an active credential status. The specific renewal mechanism - continuing education or re-examination - should be confirmed through Atlassian University as policies are subject to update.