About this Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I study guide
This page is your Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (exam code PD1)—formerly Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I study guide. The certification validates skills that employers look for in Salesforce roles—whether you're an administrator, consultant, developer, or architect. It is designed for developers and technical implementers who want to prove their knowledge with an industry-recognized credential.
Here you'll find section-wise exam weightage so you know exactly which topics carry the most questions, exam tips and prerequisites, a focused study plan, and sample practice questions with detailed explanations. All content on this page is original and unique—written specifically for this certification to help with both your preparation and search engine indexing. Use this page to align your study with the official outline and to gauge when you're ready to sit the exam. Many candidates use section weightage to prioritize high-value topics and practice questions to build exam-day confidence.
Passing this certification can support career progression, higher earning potential, and recognition in the Salesforce ecosystem. Salesforce exams are updated periodically, so we keep our materials aligned with current objectives.
Last reviewed: January 2025. Salesforce exam outlines may change; always check the official exam guide on Trailhead before booking.
Release compatible: Winter '26 — Study materials and objectives are aligned with the Winter '26 release (compared to Summer '25).
What's new in Winter '26:
- Agentforce and AI: New Agentforce for Service (IT Service), Agentic Commerce, and Agentforce Grid for low-code AI workflows—expect more AI-related objectives on Admin and Consultant exams.
- Data Cloud: Clean Rooms for privacy-safe data collaboration and zero-copy analytics; Data Cloud objectives may include new collaboration and governance topics.
- Automation & Platform: Enhanced automation capabilities and platform updates; Flow, Process Builder, and integration topics remain core—check the official outline for weightage changes.
- Tableau & Analytics: Tableau Next Concierge in Slack and conversational analytics; Tableau certs may reference new Slack and natural-language features.
- Security & Access: Continued focus on identity, access management, and secure data handling; relevant for Administrator and Architect tracks.
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PD1) Study Guide
The Platform Developer I certification validates your skills in developing custom applications on the Salesforce platform using Apex and Visualforce.
Exam Weightage by Section
Exam Topics
Why This Certification Matters
PD1 is the standard developer cert and is required for many technical and architect paths.
Exam Tips
- 1Logic and User Interface are 50% combined—Apex triggers, LWC, and when to use each.
- 2Know governor limits: SOQL 100, DML 150, etc., and how to avoid hitting them.
- 3Testing: minimum code coverage, positive and negative tests, Test.runAs().
- 4Understand @AuraEnabled, @InvocableMethod, and when to use REST vs SOAP.
Prerequisites
- •Programming experience (Java, C#, or similar)
- •Administrator or App Builder recommended
Focus Areas
- •Apex and Triggers
- •Lightning Web Components
- •Testing and Deployment
- •Governor Limits
Study Strategy
Code daily in a dev org. Build a small LWC + Apex feature and write tests. Memorize key governor limits and practice debugging scenarios.
Sample Practice Questions
Test your knowledge with these sample questions. Click on an answer to select it, then check your answer to see if you're correct.
A developer needs to create a trigger that fires after a record is inserted and updated. Which trigger events should be used?
What is the governor limit for the maximum number of SOQL queries in a single transaction?
Which annotation is used to expose an Apex method as a REST web service?
A developer writes a SOQL query: SELECT Id, Name FROM Account WHERE Name LIKE '%tech%'. What will this query return?
Which method should be used to perform DML operations inside a for loop safely?
What is the minimum code coverage required for Apex classes and triggers to be deployed to production?
Which annotation is used to make an Apex method available to Lightning Web Components?
A developer wants to create a trigger that processes records in bulk. What is the best practice?
What is the governor limit for DML statements in a single transaction?
Which method is used to handle partial success in DML operations?
What is the purpose of Test.runAs() in Apex test classes?
Which exception type should be thrown when validation fails in Apex?
A developer wants to query related records in a single SOQL query. Which clause should be used?
What is the purpose of the @TestVisible annotation?
Which governor limit applies to the number of records processed in a single transaction?
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Contact Us for Full AccessFrequently Asked Questions
- What is covered on the Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PD1) exam?
- The Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PD1) exam—formerly Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I— covers section-wise weightage as shown above. Use the exam topics and practice questions on this page to align your study with the official outline.
- What programming languages do I need to know for Platform Developer I?
- You need to know Apex (Salesforce's Java-like language) and JavaScript for Lightning Web Components. Experience with Java, C#, or similar object-oriented languages is helpful, but you can learn Apex through Trailhead and hands-on practice.
- How much coding experience do I need for Platform Developer I?
- While some programming experience is helpful, you can learn Apex and Lightning Web Components through Trailhead. The exam focuses on understanding when to use code vs declarative tools, governor limits, testing, and basic Apex/LWC concepts rather than advanced programming.
- How do I prepare for the Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PD1) certification?
- Use the exam tips, prerequisites, and study strategy on this Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PD1) study guide—formerly Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I— Focus first on the highest-weighted sections, then take the sample practice questions. Schedule the exam when you consistently score well on practice tests.
- Where can I find the official exam outline for Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PD1)?
- Salesforce publishes exam guides and outlines on Trailhead (trailhead.salesforce.com). This page's section weightage and topics are aligned with those outlines to help you prepare.