DA0-002 exam domains
The DA0-002 exam is weighted across 5 domains. Pick any domain below to drill it — or read the full breakdown in the FAQ.
| Exam domain | Exam weight | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Data Concepts and Environments | 20% | Practice this topic |
| Data Acquisition and Preparation | 22% | Practice this topic |
| Data Analysis | 24% | Practice this topic |
| Visualization and Reporting | 20% | Practice this topic |
| Data Governance | 14% | Practice this topic |
Sample DA0-002 questions
A sample of the DA0-002 questions on this hub. Each links through to the full question, the correct answer, and an explanation of why every other option is wrong.
- An analyst is finalizing a quarterly PDF report that will be distributed company-wide, including to several employees who use screen readers. The repo…View question
- A retail analyst receives a flat file containing individual point-of-sale transactions, with one row per item sold including store ID, transaction tim…View question
- An analyst is preparing a line chart showing monthly customer churn for a quarterly board meeting. Churn was stable until March, when a pricing change…View question
- A retail analyst ran a promotional pricing experiment exclusively at three flagship stores located in affluent urban downtowns. The promotion increase…View question
- A data analyst at a fitness center reviews a histogram of member visit frequency per month. The histogram shows two distinct peaks — one cluster aroun…View question
- A sales operations analyst must build a compact dashboard widget for each regional manager. Each widget needs to show the region's current quarterly r…View question
- An analyst is preparing a bar chart of quarterly revenue for a board presentation. To make the slide more visually appealing, a colleague suggests add…View question
- A data analyst publishes a shared operations dashboard that pulls from an overnight batch process. During a morning stand-up, several managers make de…View question
- A retail analyst wants to determine whether a customer's preferred payment method (cash, credit, mobile wallet) is associated with their membership ti…View question
- A data analyst at a software company is asked to consolidate three sources for a customer-satisfaction dashboard: a relational table of support-ticket…View question
Key DA0-002 terms
Start with these terms, then explore the full glossary. Each links to a plain-English definition written for the DA0-002 exam.
DA0-002 frequently asked questions
What is the DA0-002 certification?+
CompTIA positions Data+ for professionals who analyze, interpret, and communicate business data to support data-driven decisions.
DA0-002 is the V2 update (launched October 2025) of Data+, refreshed around the modern analytics lifecycle and data governance.
What topics are on the DA0-002 exam?+
The DA0-002 exam is organised into five weighted domains. The percentages below are CompTIA’s official weightings for scored content, so bias your study toward the heavier domains — Data Analysis and Data Acquisition and Preparation carry the most weight.
Data Concepts and Environments (20%)
Covers data types and structures, database and data-warehouse concepts (OLTP vs OLAP, data lakes, schemas), data environments and integration (ETL vs ELT), and foundational statistics.
Data Acquisition and Preparation (22%)
Covers acquiring data from databases, APIs, files, and the web; cleaning and profiling (missing values, duplicates, outliers); transforming and shaping data; and ensuring data quality.
Data Analysis (24%)
The largest domain. Covers descriptive, diagnostic, exploratory, and comparative analysis; statistical methods (hypothesis testing, regression, correlation, significance); identifying trends and relationships; and interpreting results with attention to bias and validity.
Visualization and Reporting (20%)
Covers selecting appropriate visualization types, designing clear and accurate charts and dashboards, communicating a data story to stakeholders, and applying reporting best practices.
Data Governance (14%)
Covers data governance concepts (ownership, stewardship, lineage, cataloging), privacy and regulatory compliance (PII, retention, masking), the data lifecycle, and ethical use of data.
Is the DA0-002 hard?+
Data+ is an intermediate exam that expects you to apply analytics skills to realistic scenarios, including performance-based questions, rather than only recall terms.
The difficulty comes from the breadth across the full analytics lifecycle plus the statistical reasoning in the analysis domain. Hands-on practice with real datasets is the key.
How many questions are on the DA0-002 exam and how long is it?+
CompTIA Data+ presents a maximum of 90 questions — a mix of multiple-choice and performance-based — in 90 minutes.
Our full-length practice mock uses a 75-question, 90-minute session so you can rehearse pacing under realistic time pressure before test day.
What score do you need to pass the DA0-002?+
CompTIA scores DA0-002 on a scale of 100 to 900, and you need 675 to pass. Because it is scaled, questions are not all worth the same, and there is no penalty for guessing, so answer everything. Our practice mock uses a 75% threshold as a study checkpoint; aim comfortably beyond it before test day.
How much does the DA0-002 exam cost?+
The DA0-002 exam fee is set by CompTIA and varies by region — check the CompTIA site for current pricing. CompTIA certifications are valid for three years and can be renewed through continuing education. Everything on this hub is free.
Who should take the DA0-002?+
Data+ is aimed at early-career data analysts, business analysts, and reporting analysts who turn data into insight.
CompTIA recommends around 18–24 months of experience in a data/analytics role, though there is no formal prerequisite.
What jobs and salaries can the DA0-002 lead to?+
Data+ maps to roles such as data analyst, business intelligence analyst, reporting analyst, and junior data scientist.
How much any certification affects pay depends heavily on geography, seniority, and hands-on experience, so treat any single salary figure with caution. Data+ is best viewed as validation of foundational data-analytics skill.
How long does it take to study for the DA0-002?+
Candidates with some analytics experience often need four to eight weeks. The most efficient path is to study each domain while practising on real datasets — cleaning, analyzing, and visualizing.
Review every explanation, including for questions you answered correctly, because Data+ distractors are built from plausible but incorrect analytic choices. Use the per-domain results here to find and shore up your weakest area, then finish with full-length timed mocks.
How should you prepare for the DA0-002?+
Study the five domains above, giving the heaviest weight to Data Analysis and Acquisition and Preparation, then drill scenario questions domain by domain. Every MockAPI question reveals a full explanation and tells you why each wrong answer is wrong.
When you can answer scenarios comfortably, move to full-length timed mocks. Use the glossary to keep concepts like ETL vs ELT, regression, and data governance straight, and aim to score consistently above the checkpoint before you book.
Can you take the DA0-002 exam online?+
Yes. CompTIA delivers DA0-002 through Pearson VUE, so you can test at a physical Pearson VUE centre or online with remote proctoring. The online exam requires a private, quiet room, a clear workspace, a webcam and microphone, a stable connection, and government-issued photo ID, with a proctor monitoring you and a room scan before you start.
If you do not pass, CompTIA lets you retake immediately once; a 14-day wait applies before a third and any subsequent attempts.
What certification should you take after the DA0-002?+
After Data+, common next steps include vendor analytics certifications (Power BI, Tableau) or CompTIA’s security and cloud tracks to broaden your data platform skills.
For many, the real next step is owning analysis and reporting in production. Pairing Data+ with hands-on dataset work is what turns the certificate into a career.