Certification Guide
Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator
by Salesforce · Exam code: CRT-101
The Salesforce Administrator certification is the foundation of the entire Salesforce ecosystem. With 150,000+ companies using Salesforce, certified admins are in constant demand. Updated in December 2025 to include Agentforce AI topics.
Cost
$200 ($100 retake)
Difficulty
Intermediate
Prep Time
4-6 weeks
Passing Score
65%
Valid For
Maintained via Trailhead release exams (3x/year)
Salary Impact
+15%
Is it worth it?
Average salary without
$130,000
Average salary with cert
$149,500
Yes. The Salesforce ecosystem is massive and certified admins command premium rates. At $200 with 4-6 weeks of prep (mostly free via Trailhead), the ROI is excellent. It also opens the door to higher-paying specializations like Platform Developer and Architect.
Study Plan
A week-by-week breakdown to pass on your first attempt.
Org setup, user management, security model — profiles, permission sets, roles, sharing rules
Object relationships, data model, record types, page layouts, Lightning App Builder
Automation — Flows, approval processes, assignment rules, escalation rules
Reports, dashboards, data management, Agentforce AI basics
Practice exams, Trailhead superbadges, review weak areas
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