VMware Cloud Foundation · Certification · Checked October 2026
Broadcom currently lists thirteen VMware Cloud Foundation career certifications. Their own roadmap document covers five of them, and it is dated 2025. That gap is why nearly every roadmap diagram in circulation is missing the whole advanced level. So here is the full map, checked exam by exam against the certification pages: codes, what each one is for, and the order I would take them in.
StructureHow the thirteen fit together
Three roles, two levels, one expert level on top. Architect, administrator and support are the spine. Pick a role, then climb it.
A ladder is one view of it. The other is a map of what these thirteen actually divide by, which is the view you want when you are choosing rather than climbing.
VCP levelFive professional exams
Entry point for everything else. Three cover the VCF roles, two cover vSphere Foundation, which is the smaller stack without the full cloud foundation layer.
| Certification | Exam | What it validates | Recommended course |
|---|---|---|---|
| VCP-VCF Architect | 2V0-13.25 | Turning requirements and constraints into a logical and physical design, against availability, manageability, performance, recoverability and security | VCF: Solution Architecture and Design |
| VCP-VCF Administrator | 2V0-17.25 | Installing, configuring, managing and optimising VCF | VCF: Build, Manage, and Secure, plus VCF: Automate and Operate |
| VCP-VCF Support | 2V0-15.25 | Diagnosis, root cause and resolution of full-stack VCF issues | VCF: Troubleshooting |
| VCP-VVF Administrator | 2V0-16.25 | Same administration skills, against vSphere Foundation | vSphere Foundation: Build, Manage and Operate |
| VCP-VVF Support | 2V0-18.25 | Same troubleshooting skills, against vSphere Foundation | VCF: Troubleshooting |
All five run to the same format: 60 questions, 135 minutes, 300 scaled to pass, 250 US dollars, proctored through Pearson VUE. They are also the only VCF exams offered in Japanese as well as English.
VCAP levelEight advanced exams, in two groups
Broadcom’s roadmap document does not show this level at all, and it is where people most often misread the track. These eight are not eight versions of one thing. They split cleanly in two, and an exam’s code tells you which half it belongs to.
Role exams carry a .26 code. Each is the advanced version of the professional exam for that role, and each is broad: it crosses the whole stack inside its role.
| Certification | Exam | Shape of the blueprint |
|---|---|---|
| VCAP-VCF Administrator | 3V0-11.26 | 60 objectives, every one of them under install, configure, administrate. No design, no troubleshooting. |
| VCAP-VCF Architect | 3V0-12.26 | 20 objectives, all design. Nothing you can practise by configuring something. |
| VCAP-VCF Support | 3V0-13.26 | Diagnosis and resolution, the troubleshooting half of the role split. |
Technology exams carry a .25 code. No job title is attached to these. Each goes deep into one part of the stack, and you choose by what you actually own and operate.
| Certification | Exam | What it goes deep on |
|---|---|---|
| VCAP-VCF Automation | 3V0-21.25 | Provider and tenant management, projects and policies, blueprints and the service catalog, Orchestrator |
| VCAP-VCF Operations | 3V0-22.25 | VCF Operations, monitoring, capacity and the operational tooling |
| VCAP-VCF Storage | 3V0-23.25 | vSAN and the storage layer |
| VCAP-VCF VKS | 3V0-24.25 | vSphere Kubernetes Service, the Supervisor, namespaces and clusters |
| VCAP-VCF Networking | 3V0-25.25 | NSX, from edge clusters and Tier-0 gateways through to tenancy and federation |
All eight are also 60 questions, 135 minutes, 300 scaled, 250 US dollars. Unlike the professional level, the advanced exams are offered in English only.
VCDXWhat changed at expert level
VCDX used to stand for VMware Certified Design Expert, and it was for architects. It now stands for VMware Certified Distinguished Expert, and Broadcom has opened it to three roles rather than one: architects, administrators and support specialists.
Broadcom describes one shape for all three. Build a platform foundation through the role-based professional certification, deepen it through advanced certifications in the technologies you work in, then defend live in front of a panel. That defence is still what makes it what it is.
Myth checkAbout that VCDX diagram going round
There is a diagram circulating that shows three tracks, Administrator, Architect and Support. Each one runs from a VCP, through VCAP VKS badged in red as mandatory, past the other four technology VCAPs badged elective, then the role VCAP, ending at VCDX-VCF Administrator, VCDX-VCF Architect and VCDX-VCF Support. It is a clear diagram and it is being shared widely. Every exam code on it is correct. Almost none of the structure around those codes is published by Broadcom.
| What it shows | Status |
|---|---|
| Exam codes | Correct, and current |
| Three role tracks | Correct as a concept. Broadcom’s VCDX page does describe three roles. |
| VKS badged mandatory | Not published by Broadcom anywhere |
| Technology VCAPs before the role VCAP | Not published, and contradicted by the certification pages, which name no prerequisite |
| Three separate VCDX certifications | Not published. Broadcom’s index lists one VCDX entry, not three. |
That mandatory claim traces to The State of VCDX (2026), written by a VCDX, so it is an informed reading rather than invention. He is also careful about it, and says two things the diagram leaves out: that he has not seen it anywhere on the Broadcom site, and that the revamped role-based blueprints have not been published yet. He also writes that three technology VCAPs are required, not one, which the diagram does not show either.
Follow it one step further and it thins out again. Eric Sloof’s article on the three new VCAP exams, which the diagram is attributed to, says close to the opposite: that all eight advanced exams are independent, with no prerequisite chain between the technology exams and the role exams.
Broadcom publishes one paragraph on the VCDX page and no requirements at all. It says the journey starts with a role-based VCP, deepens through advanced VCAPs in key technologies, in their words “such as Kubernetes”, and ends in a live defence. That phrase is where the VKS emphasis comes from, and it makes the guess a reasonable one. It does not make it a requirement.
SequenceWhich order, for your role
| If your job is | Start | Then | And then, if you want depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building and running VCF | VCP-VCF Administrator, 2V0-17.25 | VCAP-VCF Administrator, 3V0-11.26 | A technology VCAP for whatever you own most of |
| Designing VCF for customers | VCP-VCF Architect, 2V0-13.25 | VCAP-VCF Architect, 3V0-12.26 | A technology VCAP, so your designs are grounded in a build |
| Supporting VCF in production | VCP-VCF Support, 2V0-15.25 | VCAP-VCF Support, 3V0-13.26 | Whichever technology VCAP matches your most common escalation |
| Running vSphere Foundation only | VCP-VVF Administrator, 2V0-16.25 | VCP-VVF Support, 2V0-18.25 | Move to the VCF track when your estate does |
Two things worth saying about that order. First, it is a recommendation, not a rule. Broadcom could not be clearer: its certification FAQ states that no prerequisites are required for VCP or VCAP exams, and answers the question about skipping ahead with “Yes. VMware certifications are role-based to align with their experience, not hierarchical”. You may sit an advanced exam first. I would still not, because the advanced blueprints assume the professional ground rather than covering it, but nothing stops you. Second, pick your technology VCAP by what you can get your hands on. Every one of these is an applied exam, and the one you can practise beats the one that looks best on a profile.
PracticalitiesValidity, retakes and what carries over
Four answers from Broadcom’s certification FAQ, which is more current than the roadmap PDF and answers things no blueprint does.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How long does it last? | Three years from the issue date, for every VCF certification. Plan the renewal in, because it comes round. |
| Are there prerequisites? | None, for any VCP or VCAP exam. Certifications are role-based rather than hierarchical. |
| Does an older VCP carry over? | No. Holding an existing VCP does not count towards a new certification. |
| What if I fail? | Seven days between attempts, and 250 US dollars each time. |
AlongsideWhat sits outside this track
Two more certification families appear alongside VCF, and it is worth knowing they are not part of it.
- Application Networking and Security, which is two professional certifications: Private Cloud Security Administrator, 6V0-21.25, and Avi Load Balancer Administrator. These cover vDefend and the Avi load balancer rather than the foundation itself.
- Legacy, which is where the previous generation now lives: VCP Data Center Virtualization, 2V0-21.23, VCP Network Virtualization, 2V0-41.24, and three Telco Cloud skills exams. Still listed, still valid, no longer the path forward.
Partner trackWhere Broadcom Knight actually sits
This comes up every time the roadmap does, usually phrased as which exams are mandatory for Knight. The short answer is that Broadcom does not publish a list, and that Knight is a separate programme sitting on top of these exams rather than another rung on the ladder.
Knight is a partner programme designation, not a certification you book and sit. Broadcom’s own page calls it the highest level of recognition provided for partner individuals, and says prospective Knights must meet entry requirements that prove, in their words, “not just their expertise, but their experience as well”. Its badge criteria are blunter: membership is by invitation only, for individuals at organisations inside the Broadcom Partner Program, nominated by Broadcom Global Enablement leadership, and renewed annually.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which exams are mandatory? | Broadcom does not publish one. Entry requirements sit in the partner portal and are revised every year. |
| How do these exams relate? | Closely. On the VCF path, the technical track maps onto them: the partner Proven Professional level is the VCP exam for your role, and Certified Expert is a VCAP. So the exams above are the technical half of the Knight path, not a separate thing. |
| Is passing exams enough? | No, and this is the part people miss. There is a sales track as well as a technical one, plus a specialization, a hands-on Solution Lab validation, a sponsor and a nomination. |
| Can I earn it without a partner? | No. It is for employees of Broadcom partner organisations. No combination of exams qualifies a customer or an independent consultant. |
| When did VCF join it? | February 2025, when Broadcom extended an existing programme to cover VMware Cloud Foundation. |
Its own ladder has two tiers, and on the VCF path they are built on the exams in this article:
- Broadcom Proven Professional, the entry tier, which on the technical side is the VCP exam for your role.
- Broadcom Certified Expert, which by its published badge criteria needs the Proven Professional credential plus evidence of two or more customer proof-of-concept or proof-of-value engagements, or a proctored exam passed at 70 percent or better. On the technical side that exam is a VCAP.
- Broadcom Knight, by nomination, on top of that.
Look at what the middle tier asks for and the shape of it becomes obvious. It wants customer engagements, not just exam results. Certification measures what you know; the partner ladder measures what you have delivered with it. The exams are necessary and nowhere near sufficient, and holding all thirteen would still leave you outside the programme if you do not work at a partner.
I have written the whole path up separately, including the sales assessments, the Solution Lab and how the nomination works: How to become a Broadcom Knight, step by step.
WorkbooksPractice for all thirteen
I have written a workbook for every one of the thirteen exams, advanced and professional, each one built from the published objectives rather than from any course material. Each is a set of tasks in build order, with what must already exist before you start, the steps, what you end up with, and a diagram.
| Exam | Workbook | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| 2V0-13.25 VCP Architect | 158 design exercises | Logical and physical design for every VCF area the blueprint names |
| 2V0-17.25 VCP Administrator | 165 hands-on tasks | vSphere, vSAN and NSX fundamentals, then deploying, managing, operating and consuming VCF |
| 2V0-15.25 VCP Support | 163 troubleshooting tasks | Deployment, upgrade, certificates, licences, compute, storage, NSX, Operations, Automation and HCX |
| 2V0-16.25 VVF Administrator | 138 hands-on tasks | vSphere, vSAN, encryption and content libraries, then the Supervisor, VCF Operations and logs |
| 2V0-18.25 VVF Support | 100 troubleshooting tasks | Deployment, clusters, licences, compute, storage, switches, Operations and Orchestrator |
| 3V0-11.26 Administrator | 262 hands-on tasks | Across vSAN, vSphere, NSX, Automation, Operations and VKS |
| 3V0-12.26 Architect | 146 design exercises | Written design work, because nothing in this one is configured |
| 3V0-13.26 Support | 214 tasks | Every objective is troubleshooting, across the whole platform |
| 3V0-21.25 Automation | 178 tasks | Provider portal, organizations, consumption, Orchestrator |
| 3V0-22.25 Operations | 204 tasks | Capacity, cost, monitoring, alerting and fleet management |
| 3V0-23.25 Storage | 214 tasks | vSAN architecture, design, build and troubleshooting |
| 3V0-24.25 VKS | 170 tasks | Supervisor, namespaces, clusters, then faults you create |
| 3V0-25.25 Networking | 195 tasks | Design, build and troubleshooting, all against NSX |
That is a workbook for every one of the eight advanced exams, plus all five professional exams. Every exam on the track now has one. All of them are listed, with their labs and official guides, on one page: VCF exam labs.
If you are starting from nothing: take the professional exam for your role first, then the advanced exam for the same role, then one technology exam in the area you actually operate. Three exams, one role, and each one builds on the last.
Every code in the three tables above links straight to that exam’s official blueprint, and the full list lives on Broadcom’s certification index. Read the blueprint before you book, every time.
Exam codes, formats, durations, pass marks and prices in this article were read from the individual Broadcom certification pages and exam guides on 3 October 2026, and were accurate that day. Broadcom revises these regularly and has more than one page saying different things, so confirm against the current blueprint before you book.
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DrJha