Tableau Data Analyst Certification: 2026 Exam Guide

The Short Answer

The Salesforce Certified Tableau Data Analyst exam has 60 scored multiple-choice/multiple-select questions plus up to 5 unscored, a 105-minute time limit, a 65% passing score, a US$200 registration fee (US$100 to retake) and no prerequisite. It currently tests on Tableau 2024.2 (checked in October 2026 against the official exam guide).

This is the full analyst exam. Beyond Tableau Desktop it covers Tableau Prep and publishing to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud, and its biggest section is heavy on calculations: table calculations, Level of Detail (LOD) expressions, filters and the order they run in. The guide assumes you already have the entry-level Desktop skills, so it doesn't re-test them at that level.

Exam Details at a Glance

Source: the exam guide for every row except the last, which comes from the Trailhead Academy exam page. All checked in October 2026.

65% of 60 is 39, so you need 39 correct answers and can miss 21. You get about 1.6 minutes for each of up to 65 questions. The two official pages disagree on level: Trailhead Academy says Intermediate and tableau.com's certification page says Advanced. Either way, it's a clear step up from the entry exam, and tableau.com now lists it under its Salesforce name. For fees and retake rules across Salesforce exams, see Salesforce certification cost and retake fees.

Who the Exam Is For

The exam guide describes an analyst who helps stakeholders make business decisions: understanding the business problem, finding the data to explore, and delivering actionable insights. It expects at least 6 months with Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep and either Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud, and lists five abilities: connect to data, transform it, explore and analyze it, build visualizations that answer business questions, and publish, schedule and maintain content on the web.

The guide also says the candidate "has the skills to pass Tableau Desktop Specialist (TDS)" and won't be tested at that level. That exam is now called Tableau Desktop Foundations. If you haven't built those basics yet, start with our Tableau Desktop Foundations exam guide and come back here.

The Four Exam Sections and What They Test

All weights and objectives come from the official outline.

Connect To and Transform Data (24%)

Connecting to files, databases, extracts and published data sources, replacing a data source, assessing data quality, folders, relationships, joins and unions, Data Interpreter, pivot and split, extract and data source filters, field properties, and a full objective on transforming data in Tableau Prep: unions, joins, aggregations, filters, pivots and choosing an output type.

Watch for:

• Desktop or Prep? Scenarios that need repeatable cleaning, pivoting or reshaping before analysis point to a Prep flow. Prep Builder saves flows as .tfl (or packaged .tflx) and outputs to a file, a published data source or a database.
• Running flows on a schedule. Per the Prep Conductor overview, scheduled flow runs need Data Management with Tableau Prep Conductor on Server or Cloud. Prep Builder builds and runs flows; it doesn't schedule them.
• Data Interpreter. Data Interpreter cleans human-formatted Excel, CSV, PDF and Google Sheets files: titles, stacked headers, notes and blank rows.
• Data source filters on published data. The data source filter page says people who build on a published data source can't see or change its data source filters, but every query they run respects them, which makes these filters a way to share a restricted subset.

Explore and Analyze Data (41%)

The section that decides the exam: calculated fields of every type (date, string, logical, number, type conversion, aggregate and basic spatial), table calculations from running total to ranking, filters including Top N and context filters, parameters, sets, bins, hierarchies and groups, symbol, density and filled maps with mark layers, the Analytics pane through forecasting, and FIXED, INCLUDE, EXCLUDE and nested LOD expressions.

Watch for:

• The order of operations. Tableau's order of operations page works two classic fixes. A Top N filter and a general dimension filter run at the same time, so to get "top 10 within this state" you add the state filter to context, which runs before other worksheet filters. And a dimension filter is applied before a table calculation, so a percent of total that must ignore the filter becomes a FIXED LOD expression such as SUM([Sales])/SUM({FIXED : SUM([Sales])}).
• Table calculation versus LOD. A table calculation works on the virtual table built from the dimensions in the view, partitioned and addressed by those dimensions. An LOD expression sets its own granularity: FIXED to named dimensions, INCLUDE more granular than the view, EXCLUDE less granular.
• Forecasting. Tableau's forecasting page uses exponential smoothing, which weights recent observations more heavily than older ones.

Create Content (26%)

A long list of chart types (including Gantt, box plots, tree maps and combo charts), custom sorts, dashboards with containers and objects, stories, filter, URL and highlight actions, dynamic zone visibility, navigation and show/hide buttons, set and parameter actions, and formatting down to custom palettes, annotations, tooltips, padding, gridlines and device layouts.

Watch for:

• Dynamic zone visibility. Per Tableau's dynamic zone visibility page, a zone shows or hides based on the value of a field or parameter, and pairs with parameter actions so a click reveals a hidden panel.
• Set and parameter actions. Set actions change a set's members when a viewer selects marks; parameter actions change a parameter's value. Pick by what the downstream calculation reads: a set or a parameter.

Publish and Manage Content on Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud (9%)

Publishing workbooks, data sources and flows, exporting, scheduling extract refreshes, alerts, subscriptions, custom views, user roles and permissions, and distributing a workbook. Only about five questions, but they're the easiest to lose if you've only used Desktop.

Watch for:

• Site role versus permissions. Tableau's site roles page says licenses and site roles apply to users while permission capabilities apply to content, and that the site role sets the maximum: a Viewer can never download a data source even if that capability is granted on it.
• Refreshes and schedules. Extract refreshes for published workbooks and data sources run on schedules that you set on Tableau Server or directly on Tableau Cloud.

The 2024.2 Product Version

The guide tests on Tableau 2024.2, newer than the entry exam's 2022.3, so dynamic zone visibility, mark layers and the relationships data model are all fair game. Features you'll see in current releases that aren't in the outline, such as Tableau Agent and Tableau Pulse, won't be correct answers to an objective here, so don't let them distract you in a scenario.

A Six-to-Eight-Week Study Plan

1. Read the exam guide and score yourself. Rate each objective from 1 to 3. Our guide to using the exam outline to plan your study shows how to turn 41% into study hours.
2. Take a baseline. Try the 18 free Tableau Data Analyst practice questions to see the scenario style and find your weakest section.
3. Work the official module. The guide recommends the Trailhead Cert Prep: Tableau Data Analyst module, plus Tableau's Analyst Learning Path and the Desktop I, Desktop II and Prep I courses.
4. Drill calculations. Build each table calculation in section 2.2 by hand, then rebuild the same answer as an LOD expression and note when the results differ under a filter. Recreate the order-of-operations examples.
5. Build one Prep flow. Union and join two files, pivot a wide table, aggregate it, and output a published data source. Then connect Desktop to it and add a data source filter.
6. Publish and manage. On a Tableau Cloud trial site or your company's server, publish a workbook, schedule a refresh, set an alert and a subscription, and save a custom view.
7. Practice under time. Book the exam when you're steadily above 65% and can explain why each distractor fails. Our guide to answering Salesforce scenario questions helps with select-two and select-three items.

Tableau Data Analyst Practice on Certifyforce

Certifyforce has a practice bank and study guide written to this exam's outline and checked against Tableau Help and the Salesforce exam guide. It isn't affiliated with Salesforce or Tableau, and it contains no recalled exam questions or brain dumps.

• 18 free practice questions spread across the four sections by weight, each with the answer, why the other options are wrong and the page it was checked against. No account needed.
• The Tableau Data Analyst practice exam: 300 reviewed questions with timed 60-question exams, section practice, and an explanation and source for every answer.
• The Tableau Data Analyst study guide: 30 units, one per outline objective, each linked to the practice questions that test it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the Tableau Data Analyst exam?

60 scored multiple-choice/multiple-select questions plus up to 5 unscored ones, in 105 minutes, with a 65% passing score, per the exam guide.

How much does the Tableau Data Analyst exam cost?

US$200 (JPY 30,000) plus applicable taxes, and a retake costs US$100 (JPY 15,000).

Do I need Tableau Desktop Foundations first?

No, there's no prerequisite. The guide assumes you already have those skills, though, and won't test them at the entry level, so many people take the entry exam first.

Is Tableau Prep on the exam?

Yes. Transforming data in Tableau Prep is a full objective in the 24% Connect To and Transform Data section, and publishing a flow appears in the publishing section.

How do I keep the certification?

Complete the Tableau certification maintenance badge on Trailhead once a year. If you miss the due date, the certification expires.