Checked 28 September 2026. From Veeva's Vault Platform Administrator Certification Exam Guide (the 25R2 edition, checked 28 September 2026) and the exam product page. Veeva says several exams are being updated for 2026; check the guide before you book.
The Vault Platform Administrator exam has an official blueprint, and it is more specific than most course brochures suggest. Veeva's exam guide splits 50 items in 120 minutes across six weighted domains, lists 27 objectives beneath them, and states the software version the questions are written on: Veeva Vault 25R2. This guide sets out the blueprint exactly, turns the weights into an approximate item count, flags the objectives unofficial syllabi skip — the API and SDK, delegated access, login policies, document templates and renditions, login audit logs — and gives you a tracker to work through them. A reminder first: the exam is open only to Veeva customers, partners, employees and customer-paid consultants (see the eligibility guide in this series).
Veeva Vault Platform Administrator exam guide and product page.
The six domains and their weights
| Domain | Weight (official) | About this many of 50 items (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| Vault Fundamentals and Architecture | 12% | 6 |
| Administer Objects and Data | 20% | 10 |
| Administer Documents and Content | 18% | 9 |
| Administer Lifecycles and Workflows | 20% | 10 |
| Manage Users, Groups, and Security | 16% | 8 |
| Monitor and Troubleshoot Vault | 14% | 7 |
Weights are Veeva's. The item column is our arithmetic (weight × 50); Veeva does not publish a per-domain item count, and a given exam form may differ slightly.
Official weights from the exam guide. Objects and Data and Lifecycles and Workflows carry 20% each — 40% of the exam between them.
Where other pages get this wrong
The exam is 50 items in 120 minutes, and Veeva publishes no pass mark.
Commonly published instead: "60–70 multiple-choice questions" and "a passing score of around 65%" (one training institute's page we checked).
Veeva's exam guide and product page give 50 items and 120 minutes. The guide says Veeva does "not share the exact passing score", and the certification FAQ says exact numerical scores were discontinued for all exams. Items are not all four-option multiple choice either: DOMC and multiple-select items are used.
Domain by domain: what the objectives actually ask
1. Vault Fundamentals and Architecture — 12%
Five objectives. You must explain the data-layer components (objects, document types, fields) and how they relate; describe the core security model — license type, security profile, permission sets, atomic security and dynamic access control; describe how business logic is built (lifecycles, workflows, notifications, reporting); identify the developer tools, API and SDK and how they extend Vault; and describe the standard environment tools: configuration report, comparison report, sandbox, snapshot, Vault Loader and VPKs.
2. Administer Objects and Data — 20%
Five objectives: configure objects and object types with lookup, reference and parent-child relationships; configure fields, validation rules and field dependencies; build page layouts with sections and layout rules; manage Vault Pages, Views, Tabs, Tab Collections and search collections; and import and export object data with Vault Loader.
3. Administer Documents and Content — 18%
Three objectives, but broad ones: the document type, subtype and classification hierarchy with inheritance, document relationships and overrides; document fields with inheritance, field layouts and dependencies; and document templates — document, binder, overlay, cover page and eSignature templates — and renditions. In our reading, templates and renditions are the objective candidates most easily leave out.
4. Administer Lifecycles and Workflows — 20%
Four objectives: object lifecycles and document lifecycles (state types, roles and role-based permissions, event actions, entry and user actions, entry criteria, atomic security), and object workflows and document workflows (settings, security, steps and participant controls).
5. Manage Users, Groups, and Security — 16%
Five objectives: create and update user accounts; enable and manage delegated access; configure object-, field- and record-level security; configure default rules, matching rules, custom sharing rules and document type security; and configure password policies, login policies and security settings such as session timeout and IP ranges.
6. Monitor and Troubleshoot Vault — 14%
Five objectives: know the resources for troubleshooting; read Vault logs such as the login audit and object record audit, audit trails and reports to find a root cause; troubleshoot access problems through roles, permissions and settings; troubleshoot configuration problems in objects, documents, lifecycles and workflows; and build custom reports and dashboards for system health and data integrity.
Objectives that are easy to miss
| Objective (official wording, shortened) | Domain | Why it is easy to miss (our view) |
|---|---|---|
| Developer tools, API and SDK — how they extend Vault | Fundamentals (12%) | Looks like a developer topic; the admin exam still asks you to identify them |
| Configuration report, comparison report, sandbox, snapshot, VPKs | Fundamentals (12%) | Environment management is learned on projects, not in day-to-day admin |
| Document, binder, overlay, cover page and eSignature templates; renditions | Documents (18%) | Often configured once per project and forgotten |
| Delegated access for users and groups | Security (16%) | Rarely part of day-to-day admin work |
| Password and login policies, session timeout, IP ranges | Security (16%) | Set at go-live and rarely touched |
| Login audit and object record audit logs | Troubleshoot (14%) | Outlines that say "troubleshooting" often do not name the logs |
Objectives from the Veeva exam guide; the right-hand column is our own view, not a survey of other syllabi.
Track the 27 official objectives
Tick each objective once you can explain it and have done it in a Vault. Ticks stay in this browser.
0 of 27 done
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Which Vault version does the exam test?
| Release | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 25R2 | The release the Vault Platform Administrator exam covers | Exam guide, "Exam Scope" |
| 26R2 | General release 7 August 2026 — the current general release | Vault release notes, 26R2 schedule |
| 26R3 | General release scheduled 4 December 2026 | Vault release notes, New in 26R3 |
There is a gap here that Veeva has not closed in public: the exam guide still says 25R2, while production Vaults are on 26R2 and general releases arrive "approximately every four months". Veeva's September 2026 training guide says "several exams are being updated for 2026", but no date for a new Vault Platform Administrator blueprint is published. In practice: learn the 25R2 behaviour the guide describes, note where your own Vault now behaves differently, and re-download the guide just before you book.
What "minimally qualified" means
Veeva's guide describes the candidate who should just pass: someone who can configure objects, document types and fields and their relationships; manage layouts, tabs and views; design and maintain basic lifecycles and workflows; handle user provisioning and core security (profiles, permission sets, roles and groups); build reports and dashboards; and do basic monitoring and troubleshooting with logs and audit trails. It recommends 3–6 months of hands-on experience. If you have configured each of those in a real Vault, you are the audience. If you have only watched videos, the weights above tell you where the exam will expose that.
| Exam fact | Official value |
|---|---|
| Recommended hands-on experience | 3–6 months with Vault Platform |
| Recommended training | Vault Platform Technical Foundations (not required) |
| Format | 50 items, 120 minutes, open book, English only |
| Objectives | 27 across six domains (5, 5, 3, 4, 5 and 5) |
| Price | $300 per attempt |
| Pass mark | Not published |
How the ProSyllabus quizzes map to the blueprint
| Official domain | ProSyllabus quizzes | Coverage gap |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals and Architecture (12%) | Configuration Migration | API and SDK only lightly touched |
| Objects and Data (20%) | Objects and Fields; Object Relationships and Data Integrity; UI, Layouts and Search; part of Data Loading and Troubleshooting | — |
| Documents and Content (18%) | Document Types | No quiz yet on templates, binders as templates, overlays or renditions |
| Lifecycles and Workflows (20%) | Document Lifecycles; Object Lifecycles and Workflows; Lifecycle States, Criteria and Actions | — |
| Users, Groups, and Security (16%) | Users, Groups and Security Profiles; Security Model and E-Signatures; Applying the Security Model | No items yet on delegated access or password and login policies |
| Monitor and Troubleshoot (14%) | Reports and Dashboards; part of Data Loading and Troubleshooting | No items yet on login audit or object record audit logs |
Our own mapping of our 13 live quizzes (130 questions) to Veeva's domains. The Security Model and E-Signatures quiz also includes background questions on the US 21 CFR Part 11 regulation, which the exam guide does not list as an objective — useful context, not exam scope.
Study order we suggest
- Start with the two 20% domains — Objects and Data, and Lifecycles and Workflows — because every other domain leans on them.
- Then Documents and Content, including the template and rendition objective.
- Then Security, with delegated access and login policies done in a sandbox, not just read.
- Finish with Fundamentals (environment tools, API/SDK) and Troubleshooting (the named logs).
- Keep Vault Help open while you practise: the exam is open book on the resources the guide names, so knowing where things are documented saves minutes.
Our suggestion based on the official weights; not Veeva guidance.
Practise it, don't just read it
Work domain by domain: take the matching quiz after each block of the tracker and re-read Vault Help on anything you miss.
The ProSyllabus Veeva Vault library has 13 quizzes of 10 questions, all for the Vault Platform Administrator exam: objects and fields, object relationships and data integrity, document types, UI, layouts and search, users, groups and security profiles, the security model and e-signatures, applying the security model, document lifecycles, object lifecycles and workflows, lifecycle states and actions, reports and dashboards, configuration migration, and data loading and troubleshooting. They are written from public Vault documentation and are not Veeva exam items. There are no Vault CRM, EDC, DQS or Quality quizzes yet.
How many questions are in the Vault Platform Administrator exam?
50 items in 120 minutes, in English, according to Veeva's exam guide and product page.
What is the pass mark for the Vault Platform Administrator exam?
Veeva does not publish it. The passing score is set by an industry-recognised standard-setting process, and exact numerical scores are no longer given for any exam.
Which domain has the highest weight?
Administer Objects and Data and Administer Lifecycles and Workflows, at 20% each.
Which Vault release is the exam based on?
The exam guide says it covers the Veeva Vault 25R2 release. Vault itself reached 26R2 on 7 August 2026, so check the guide again before booking.
Is the Vault Platform Administrator exam open book?
Yes. The guide lets you reference the recommended training and resources it lists — the VPTF course, Vault Help and the Veeva Knowledge Base — while taking the exam.
How much experience does Veeva recommend?
3 to 6 months of hands-on experience with Veeva Vault Platform.
Does the admin exam include the API?
Yes, at the level of identifying the developer tools, API and SDK and how they extend Vault, in the Fundamentals and Architecture domain.
Are document templates in the syllabus?
Yes. Document, binder, overlay, cover page and eSignature templates and renditions are an objective in the 18% Documents and Content domain.
Is 21 CFR Part 11 in the Vault Platform Administrator syllabus?
Not as an objective. The guide lists eSignature templates under documents and security-model components under fundamentals, but no regulation text.
Is Vault Platform Administrator required before the Vault CRM Administrator exam?
No. Veeva's guide lists Vault Platform Technical Foundations as recommended training for the CRM Administrator exam, not the Platform Administrator credential.
Sources
- official — Veeva — Vault Platform Administrator Certification Exam Guide (PDF)
- official — Veeva Education Services — Vault Platform Administrator Exam
- official — Veeva Education Services — Certification (products, prices, FAQ)
- official — Veeva — Certification Program and Policy Guide 2026 (PDF)
- official — Veeva — Education Services Training Guide and price list, Sep 2026 (PDF)
- official — Veeva Vault release notes — About the 26R2 release
- official — Veeva Vault release notes — New in 26R3
- official — Veeva Vault release notes — About Vault releases
- reported — igmGuru — Veeva training page (reported; see corrections)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
