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Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board – Complete 2026 Guide
The final stage of CTA. You receive an enterprise scenario, design a full solution, then present and defend it to a panel of Certified Technical Architects. Passing earns the credential.
Required Prerequisite
You must complete this certification before attempting this one.
| Official exam name and code | Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board (CTA Step 2) |
|---|---|
| Questions | Scenario defence |
| Time allotted | Board session |
| Passing score | Panel decision |
| Exam fee | ~$4,500 |
| Retake fee | $2,250 |
| Prerequisite certifications | Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Evaluation |
| Study guide release | Summer '26 |
Exam Topics
Last updated:
Who is the Technical Architect Review Board exam for?
- Candidates with a board date: You have cleared the evaluation and are preparing to present to the judges.
- Architects planning the attempt: You want to know what the day involves before committing the fee and the preparation time.
- Mentors and mock-board judges: You coach candidates and need the format and the common failure modes clear.
Exam Fees & Registration
Exam Fee
$4,500
One-time registration fee
Retake Fee
$2,250
If you need to retake the exam
Comparing certs? View all Salesforce exam fees in one place →
Certification Validity
Maintenance and renewal requirements vary. Check the issuer’s current credential page for requirements that apply to you.
How to Register
Check current Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board credential and registration details with the issuer.
View official credential detailsOfficial references: Use the issuer’s current materials to confirm exam objectives, format, and fees before booking.
Official sources: Salesforce exam pricing·Independent exam-prep resource; details may change.
Exam Tips
- 1Presentation and Design Defense are 70%. Practice explaining and defending your designs.
- 2Know your solution inside and out, you will be asked "why did you choose X?"
- 3Practice handling tough questions and alternative approaches.
- 4Time your presentation, you have limited time to present and defend.
Prerequisites
- •Passed Technical Architect Evaluation
- •Strong communication skills
Focus Areas
- •Presentation
- •Design Defense
- •Board Q&A
Study Strategy
Practice presenting your designs to peers.
Anticipate questions and prepare answers.
Review CTA review board prep materials and practice sessions.
Exam Format and First-Attempt Readiness
The Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board exam has Board scenario questions in Board session, passing score Board decision. Most Salesforce exams test scenario-based decisions. Focus on when to use each feature, not just terms.
- Study high-weight topics first. Then close gaps.
- Do timed question sets. Build pacing and confidence.
- Review why wrong answers are wrong. It improves scenario reasoning.
- Book the exam once your mock scores are steady.
Is the Technical Architect Review Board Exam Hard?
Is the Technical Architect Review Board Exam Hard?
This is the final stage of CTA and the hardest assessment Salesforce runs. You are given an enterprise scenario, design a complete solution, then present and defend it to a panel of judges who are themselves CTAs. There is no question paper and no partial credit for knowing the platform.
- A live defence, not an exam. You present your architecture and answer sustained questioning.
- Judged by practising CTAs. The decision is the panel's, against the areas the scenario requires you to cover.
- Entry is gated. You must hold both architect credentials and have passed the evaluation stage.
- Fee: third-party sources put this stage at around US$4,500, separate from the evaluation. Confirm current fees with Salesforce.
Pass Rate Guidance
Candidates who pass have almost always sat several mock boards with practising CTAs. If you have never had a design pulled apart out loud, you are not ready, however strong your platform knowledge is.
Technical Architect Review Board Exam Format Explained
Technical Architect Review Board Exam Format Explained
The board is a presentation and defence built on a scenario. Here is what the day involves:
Total Questions
Board scenario scored questions
Time Limit
Board session
Passing Score
Board decision
Question Type
Multiple-choice & multiple-select
Best Way to Pass on Your First Attempt
- Use a fixed running order: Data, security and sharing, integration, development lifecycle, licensing. Cover it the same way every time so nothing is dropped under pressure.
- Lead with the business outcome: Say what the design achieves before how it works. Judges assess whether a business audience could follow you.
- Pre-empt the obvious challenges: Name the weak points yourself, with the mitigation, before a judge finds them.
- Rehearse hostile questioning: The questioning is where most candidates come apart. Practise being interrupted.
CTA Review Board: Key Concepts for Preparation
The Format of the Day
You are given a scenario describing a company: its business goals, existing systems, constraints and pain points. You prepare a solution architecture, then present it to a panel of judges. The presentation is followed by extended questioning, where judges probe the parts of the design they find weakest. They are not trying to catch you out on trivia. They are testing whether your design holds together, whether you understood the requirements, and whether you can reason about it under pressure. The outcome is the panel's judgement against the areas the scenario demands, not a percentage.
Preparing the Architecture
Design for the scenario in front of you, not for a textbook enterprise. Cover the data model and how it handles the volumes described, how records are secured and shared including any external users, how the systems integrate and in which direction, how changes are built and released, and which licences the design implies. Prefer standard capability and justify every departure from it. Keep the solution proportionate: unnecessary components are not neutral, because each one is something a judge can ask about and something you must defend.
Presenting Clearly
Judges sit through many presentations, and clarity carries weight. Start with the business outcome and the shape of the solution, then go through your running order. Use diagrams that can be read at a glance and that you can talk through without reciting. Keep to time: running out before you reach licensing or release management means those areas go uncovered. Speak as if the audience includes the sponsor who would pay for this, because the ability to explain architecture to a business audience is explicitly part of what is assessed.
Handling the Questioning
This is where most candidates are decided. Expect judges to challenge your choices, propose alternatives and introduce complications. For each significant decision. Know the requirement it serves, the alternative you rejected, and the cost you accepted. When a challenge is sound, acknowledge it and adjust: that reads as judgement. When it is not, defend your position calmly with the reasoning. Both instant capitulation and refusal to engage are negative signals. Saying you do not know, then explaining how you would find out, is better than inventing an answer.
Common Reasons Candidates Fail
Four patterns recur. Missed requirements: a strong design that does not address something the scenario asked for. Unjustified choices: components on the diagram the candidate cannot explain. No acknowledged trade-offs: presenting the design as having no downsides, which suggests it was not analysed. Poor time management: running out before covering every area. Notice that none of these is a knowledge gap. Candidates reach this stage having passed seven exams; what separates passes from failures is judgement and delivery.
The CTA board is a structured design-and-defend exercise: you receive a complex scenario, prepare an architecture, present it, then defend your decisions under direct questioning from a panel of architects.
How to Pass the Salesforce Technical Architect Review Board Exam
The board tests whether you can design under constraints and defend it to people who will push back. Preparation means rehearsal, not revision.
A Fixed Running Order
Data, security and sharing, integration, lifecycle, licensing. The same order every time means nothing gets forgotten when the clock is against you.
Justify Every Component
If it is on the diagram, be ready to say which requirement put it there and what you considered instead.
Name Your Own Weaknesses
Raising a trade-off before a judge does shows analysis. Claiming there are none shows the opposite.
Answer the Question Asked
Under pressure it is tempting to retreat to what you rehearsed. Judges notice when an answer does not address the challenge.
Mock Boards
Practise with people who will interrupt and disagree. It is the single highest-value preparation for this stage.
Is the Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board Exam Hard?
DifficultyChallenging; plan about 8-16 weeks of focused prep.
Book When ReadyWork through timed mocks until you can explain every wrong answer before scheduling.
Use Practice, Not DumpsOriginal practice questions build skill without risking your credential.
Exam format: Board scenario questions, Board session, Board decision passing score.
Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board Practice Questions (With Explanations)
Test your knowledge with these 15 sample questions , practice thinking like a CTA and defending architecture decisions for the Review Board.
Question 1: What does the review board session consist of?
Key takeaway: Candidates present their architecture to a panel and then face extended questioning on it.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Presenting a solution to a given scenario and defending it under questioning
Candidates present their architecture to a panel and then face extended questioning on it.
- A document alone is not the assessment; the defence is central.
- There is no multiple-choice component at the board.
- There is no hands-on build.
Question 2: A judge proposes an alternative to the candidate's integration approach, and the argument is sound. What is the best response?
Key takeaway: Reasoned adjustment in the face of a good argument demonstrates the judgement being assessed.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Acknowledge the point and adjust
Reasoned adjustment in the face of a good argument demonstrates the judgement being assessed.
- Refusing to move on a sound objection reads as inflexibility.
- Deferring the decision abandons the architect's role.
- Requirements are fixed; the design must serve them.
Question 3: A candidate finishes the presentation without covering licensing or release management. Why does this matter?
Key takeaway: The panel judges whether the required areas were addressed.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Those areas go unassessed
The panel judges whether the required areas were addressed. Running out of time leaves gaps that count against you.
- One strong area does not compensate for missing others.
- The candidate is responsible for covering the ground.
- Fees are unrelated to performance.
Question 4: Which best describes what the panel is assessing?
Key takeaway: Platform knowledge is assumed from the prerequisites.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Judgement: coverage, justification, trade-offs, risk and communication
Platform knowledge is assumed from the prerequisites. The board assesses the reasoning built on top of it.
- Pace matters only insofar as it affects clarity and coverage.
- Readable diagrams help, but polish is not the criterion.
- Feature recall was tested by the seven prerequisite exams.
Question 5: What must be true before a candidate can sit the review board?
Key takeaway: Both architect credentials are prerequisites, and the evaluation stage gates access to the board.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. They hold both architect credentials and have passed the evaluation stage
Both architect credentials are prerequisites, and the evaluation stage gates access to the board.
- There is no employer requirement.
- Superbadges are not part of the CTA path.
- Administrator is far below the requirement.
Question 6: A candidate is asked about a component they included but cannot explain. What does this cost them?
Key takeaway: Unjustified components invite questions the candidate cannot answer, which undermines the whole defence.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Credibility, because every element of the design should be justifiable
Unjustified components invite questions the candidate cannot answer, which undermines the whole defence.
- Breadth without justification is a liability, not a strength.
- Ambition is not a criterion.
- It affects the judgement, not just the clock.
Question 7: How should a candidate open the presentation?
Key takeaway: Leading with the outcome lets the panel follow the reasoning, and the ability to explain to a business audience is assessed.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. With the business outcome and the overall shape of the solution
Leading with the outcome lets the panel follow the reasoning, and the ability to explain to a business audience is assessed.
- A product list does not explain what the solution achieves.
- Apologising wastes the time available.
- Limits are detail, not the opening frame.
Question 8: A candidate does not know the answer to a detailed question about a product's behaviour. What is the best response?
Key takeaway: Admitting a gap and describing how you would resolve it is treated far better than a confident invention.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Say so, then explain how they would establish the answer
Admitting a gap and describing how you would resolve it is treated far better than a confident invention.
- Judges are practising CTAs and will recognise an invented answer.
- Blaming the scenario does not answer it.
- Avoiding the question is obvious to the panel.
Question 9: Which is a common reason candidates fail the board?
Key takeaway: Missed requirements are among the most frequent failures, because coverage is fundamental to the judgement.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Producing a strong design that misses a stated requirement
Missed requirements are among the most frequent failures, because coverage is fundamental to the judgement.
- Finishing early is fine if everything was covered.
- Standard features are preferred over custom build.
- Depth is an advantage, not a problem.
Question 10: Why is a fixed running order recommended?
Key takeaway: A rehearsed order means data, security, integration, lifecycle and licensing are all addressed without relying on memory.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. It makes coverage of every required area automatic under time pressure
A rehearsed order means data, security, integration, lifecycle and licensing are all addressed without relying on memory.
- The session length is set by the format.
- Diagrams remain central.
- Questioning follows regardless of structure.
Question 11: What is the right attitude to trade-offs in the presentation?
Key takeaway: Raising trade-offs with mitigations demonstrates that the design was analysed rather than assembled.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Name them yourself, with the mitigation, before a judge raises them
Raising trade-offs with mitigations demonstrates that the design was analysed rather than assembled.
- Hidden weaknesses are found during questioning anyway.
- Naming problems without mitigations is only half the work.
- A design with no stated downsides suggests no analysis.
Question 12: Who sits on the panel?
Key takeaway: The board is judged by people who hold the credential and have done the work.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Practising Certified Technical Architects
The board is judged by people who hold the credential and have done the work.
- It is a live human assessment.
- The assessment is technical, not commercial.
- Candidates are assessed individually, not by peers.
Question 13: A candidate's design uses custom code where a standard feature would serve. How should they handle it at the board?
Key takeaway: Custom build needs a reason.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Be ready to justify why the standard feature was unsuitable, or change the design
Custom build needs a reason. Without one, the standard capability is the expected answer.
- Requirements cannot be removed.
- Flexibility does not justify the maintenance cost on its own.
- Unexplained custom build is exactly what questioning will target.
Question 14: What is the most valuable preparation for the questioning section?
Key takeaway: The questioning tests defending a design live, a skill built only by being challenged in practice.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Mock boards with people who interrupt and challenge the design
The questioning tests defending a design live, a skill built only by being challenged in practice.
- Documentation covers knowledge, which is already assumed.
- Longer slides reduce the time available to defend.
- The format is not what decides the result.
Question 15: How is the outcome decided?
Key takeaway: The panel judges the defence against the required areas; there is no percentage mark.
Show correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. By the panel's judgement against the areas the scenario requires
The panel judges the defence against the required areas; there is no percentage mark.
- Judges make the decision, not software.
- Experience helps you prepare but does not decide the result.
- There are no multiple-choice answers to score.
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Request Mock Exams & Study PlanSalesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board Exam FAQs
- What is covered on the Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board exam?
- This page shows the section-wise exam weightage so you know exactly which topics carry the most weight. Use the exam topics and practice questions above to align your study with the official outline.
- What is Technical Architect Review Board?
- Technical Architect Review Board is the final step to become a CTA. You present and defend a solution design before a board of Certified Technical Architects.
- Do I need to pass Technical Architect Evaluation before Review Board?
- Yes, you must pass the Technical Architect Evaluation first. The Review Board tests your communication skills and ability to defend architectural decisions.
- Are there free practice questions for the Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board exam?
- Yes. This page includes free sample practice questions with explanations. Use them alongside the current official documentation.
- How do I prepare for the Salesforce Certified Technical Architect - Architect Review Board certification?
- Use the exam tips, prerequisites, and study strategy on this page. Focus first on the highest-weighted sections, then take the sample practice questions. Schedule the exam when you consistently score well on practice tests.
Next Architect Certifications
Where this sits in the CTA path:
Quick Answer: What the CTA Review Board Tests
- Architectural breadth under pressure: The Review Board tests whether you can design a complete enterprise Salesforce architecture covering all domains simultaneously: data architecture (LDV, Big Objects), integration (API-led, CDC, MuleSoft), identity (SAML SSO, OAuth, Experience Cloud), security (OWD, sharing rules, FLS at scale), and deployment (release management, scratch orgs, CI/CD), all in response to a single complex scenario.
- Decision justification and trade-off reasoning: The panel of CTAs deliberately challenges your decisions. They want to see you justify choices with explicit trade-offs (single-org vs multi-org: simpler governance but harder to achieve separate release cycles), hold your position under pressure when your reasoning is sound, and pivot gracefully when challenged with a valid constraint you had not considered.
- Risk identification and mitigation: Strong candidates proactively identify architectural risks in their own solution (large data volumes triggering sharing recalculation, Apex governor limits in complex automation, integration failure cascades) and describe mitigation strategies. Candidates who only present the ’happy path’ without acknowledging risks are seen as less architecturally mature.
Presentation Structure: The Architecture Domains to Cover
All domains must be addressed in your presentation, not just the primary scenario focus. Missing a domain entirely (e.g., not discussing deployment strategy) is a common failure pattern.
Scenario Strategy: How to Approach the Review Board
The Review Board scenario is deliberately ambiguous; it will have constraints that conflict and requirements that could be solved multiple ways. The panel does not want the ’right answer’; they want to see architectural thinking, trade-off analysis, and the ability to defend a justified position under interrogation.
- For whiteboarding: draw a high-level architecture diagram first (org structure, system landscape, integration flows, identity boundaries). Use swim lanes or zones to separate concerns (internal users vs external users vs systems). Label every arrow with the integration pattern (REST, CDC, MuleSoft, Platform Events). The panel evaluates your diagram independently; it must stand alone as a clear architectural artefact, not just a prop for your verbal explanation.
- For panel Q&A: when the panel challenges a decision (’why not multi-org?’, ’what if the integration fails?’), respond with ’That’s a valid consideration, in this scenario I chose [approach] because [specific constraint from the scenario] makes [alternative] less suitable, though if [different constraint] were present, I would reconsider.’ This structure shows you understand alternatives without abandoning your justified position. Do not simply agree with every challenge.
- For LDV scenarios (very common in Review Board): if the scenario mentions millions of records or high-volume data, explicitly address skinny tables for reporting performance, custom indexes for selective queries, data archiving strategy with Big Objects, and the impact of sharing recalculation on large data volumes. If you wait for the panel to ask about LDV rather than addressing it proactively, it signals insufficient architectural foresight.
Preparation Approach for the CTA Review Board
Mock Review Board sessions with a CTA mentor are essential, written study alone is insufficient
The most effective preparation is live mock Review Board sessions with a sitting CTA acting as a panel member. Trailblazer Community CTA groups run peer mock sessions. Key preparation activities: practice whiteboarding all five architectural domains from a single scenario in under 30 minutes; practise holding positions under challenge without becoming defensive or capitulating; study the Salesforce Architecture Patterns Trailmix and all architect-level credential study materials; review published CTA Review Board scenario reports and community post-mortems from candidates who have attempted the board.
3 Concepts That Fail Most Technical Architect Review Board Candidates
These are not the hardest topics; they are the ones where candidates are most confidently wrong. Learn the distinction early.
1. The Scenario Is Deliberately Ambiguous: You Must Ask Clarifying Questions
The Review Board scenario intentionally omits details to see if candidates proactively identify and resolve ambiguity. Candidates who proceed on assumptions without questioning constraints will design solutions that do not fit the actual requirements. The first 10 minutes of the board should include explicit clarifying questions: "What is the data volume?" "Is multi-org on the table?" "What are the timeline constraints?"
2. Defence Matters as Much as the Solution
Board members will challenge your design choices. A technically correct architecture that you cannot defend is scored lower than a pragmatic architecture you can explain under pressure. Candidates over-engineer their architecture to impress, the board expects a defensible, constraint-aware design with clear rationale for every major decision.
3. End-to-End Solution: Security, Deployment, and Governance Are Scored
The Review Board scores the full solution, not just the technical architecture. Missing sections include: data security and sharing model, deployment and release strategy, integration governance, and post-launch support model. Candidates present only the data model and integration diagrams, the board expects a complete solution narrative covering all scored dimensions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is the Technical Architect Review Board worth pursuing?
- The Technical Architect Review Board is the most prestigious credential in the Salesforce ecosystem, held by fewer than 1% of certified professionals. It validates the ability to design enterprise-scale Salesforce architectures across all domains simultaneously. CTAs command the highest salaries in the Salesforce job market and are sought by top SIs and consulting firms. The investment is significant (time, study, and fees), but for architects targeting the top of the Salesforce career ladder, it is widely considered the most valuable credential available.
- What scenario topics does the CTA Review Board typically cover?
- CTA Review Board scenarios are deliberately broad and ambiguous. They typically involve a large enterprise with multiple Salesforce clouds, integration requirements, identity and access management challenges, large data volumes, complex security and sharing requirements, and a release management question. You are expected to address all architectural domains, not just your strongest area. Scenarios often include deliberate constraints that force trade-off decisions.
- How should I structure my CTA Review Board presentation?
- A strong Review Board presentation typically follows: (1) Restate the scenario requirements and constraints in your own words to confirm understanding; (2) Present your solution architecture with a whiteboard diagram covering all domains; (3) Justify each key decision with explicit trade-offs (why this approach vs the alternative); (4) Call out risks and mitigation strategies proactively; (5) Summarise governance and deployment approach. The panel rewards candidates who demonstrate architectural thinking, the "why" behind decisions, not just correct answers.
- What are the most common reasons candidates fail the CTA Review Board?
- Common failure reasons: (1) Insufficient breadth; solving only the primary requirement and missing data architecture, identity, or deployment concerns; (2) Inability to defend decisions under panel questioning, changing the answer when challenged rather than holding a justified position; (3) Overlooking scalability, designing for current state without considering large data volumes or future growth; (4) Not addressing trade-offs, presenting one solution as if there are no alternatives or downsides; (5) Weak security architecture, not addressing field-level security, sharing rules, or external identity at scale.
- What concepts do most Technical Architect Review Board candidates get wrong?
- The most commonly misunderstood topics for the Technical Architect Review Board exam are: (1) The Scenario Is Deliberately Ambiguous: You Must Ask Clarifying Questions; (2) Defence Matters as Much as the Solution; (3) End-to-End Solution: Security, Deployment, and Governance Are Scored. Candidates are most confidently wrong on these. Learn the distinctions early to avoid losing marks on questions you expect to get right.
- Why do most Technical Architect Review Board candidates fail questions about The Scenario Is Deliberately Ambiguous?
- The Review Board scenario intentionally omits details to see if candidates proactively identify and resolve ambiguity. Candidates who proceed on assumptions without questioning constraints will design solutions that do not fit the actual requirements. The first 10 minutes of the board should include explicit clarifying questions: "What is the data volume?" "Is multi-org on the table?" "What are...
- Why do most Technical Architect Review Board candidates fail questions about Defence Matters as Much as the Solution?
- Board members will challenge your design choices. A technically correct architecture that you cannot defend is scored lower than a pragmatic architecture you can explain under pressure. Candidates over-engineer their architecture to impress, the board expects a defensible, constraint-aware design with clear rationale for every major decision.
- Why do most Technical Architect Review Board candidates fail questions about End-to-End Solution?
- The Review Board scores the full solution, not just the technical architecture. Missing sections include: data security and sharing model, deployment and release strategy, integration governance, and post-launch support model. Candidates present only the data model and integration diagrams, the board expects a complete solution narrative covering all scored dimensions.
Related Exam Tips
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