Databricks · DB-SPARK · Associate
Databricks Associate Developer for Apache Spark — Practice Questions and Mock Exam
Practice real DB-SPARK questions, never dumps. Alex explains every answer, and your readiness score tells you when you're ready to pass.
Checked against Databricks · April 2026Current exam version
Overview
About the exam
The Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark exam tests your ability to build applications using Apache Spark. It covers the DataFrame and DataSet APIs, Spark SQL, cluster architecture, Structured Streaming, and performance tuning. The exam is language-agnostic in concept but expects familiarity with either Python or Scala implementations.
Exam Domains
What's on the exam
The exam consists of 45 scored multiple-choice questions to be completed in 90 minutes. No test aids are allowed. Unscored pilot questions may appear. Available online or at a test center. Databricks does not publish an official passing score. The displayed score is a conservative estimate based on industry standards.
Building Spark applications using DataFrame and DataSet APIs, transformations, actions, and data manipulation patterns.
Spark cluster architecture, driver and executor roles, memory management, partitioning, and the Catalyst optimizer.
SQL queries on Spark, creating and managing tables and views, window functions, and SQL performance optimization.
Debugging Spark applications, understanding Spark UI, identifying bottlenecks, shuffle optimization, and caching strategies.
Building streaming applications, watermarking, output modes, triggers, and stateful processing.
Deploying applications with Spark Connect, remote connectivity, and decoupled client-server architecture.
Using the Pandas API on Spark for familiar DataFrame operations at scale, and understanding differences from native Pandas.
SourceDatabricks exam page
Format
What to expect
Watch out
Where candidates struggle
The DataFrame API section (30%) requires more than basic API knowledge. Expect questions about lazy evaluation, action vs transformation distinctions, and partition-level behavior. Architecture questions (20%) test understanding of Spark internals like the Catalyst optimizer and tungsten memory management. Spark Connect (5%) is a newer topic that many study guides skip, but it does appear on the exam.
Details
Exam logistics
Registration fee is $200 USD. Available in English only. No prerequisites required. 6+ months Apache Spark development experience recommended. Certification is valid for 2 years.
SourceDatabricks exam page
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