# Custom prospect fields and Salesforce field mapping

*Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Specialist Study Guide · Administration · Last updated November 3, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/marketing-cloud-account-engagement-specialist/administration/custom-prospect-fields-and-salesforce-field-mapping*

How an Account Engagement admin creates and edits custom prospect and account fields, maps them to Salesforce lead, contact and account fields, and chooses the sync behavior that decides which system's value wins.

- Certification: Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Specialist
- Exam section: Administration
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/marketing-cloud-account-engagement-specialist

**Official exam objective:**

> Illustrate how to create, edit, and map fields.

## What the exam expects

- Create a custom prospect or account field in the Lightning App (not in Salesforce Object Manager), leaving the generated Custom Field ID alone.
- Edit field settings (predefined values, type, global defaults) and know what an edit changes on existing forms and records.
- Map a custom field to a Salesforce lead, contact or account field, and troubleshoot a field that is missing from the mapping dropdown or does not sync.
- Choose a sync behavior (Account Engagement value, Salesforce value, most recently updated record or field) and predict which value wins.
- Key terms: **custom prospect field** (an admin-created field on the prospect record); **Custom Field ID** (the generated internal identifier); **field mapping** (linking an Account Engagement field to a Salesforce field so it can sync); **sync behavior** (the rule for which system's value is primary); **predefined values** (a fixed value list for checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns and multi-selects).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Permission to create or map custom fields | Account Engagement Administrator role | [Create Custom Prospect Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_fields_create_custom_field.htm&type=5&language=en_US), [Map Custom Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_sf_connector_setup_map_custom_fields.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Field Name and Custom Field ID | Neither is visible to prospects; don't edit the ID | [Create Custom Prospect Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_fields_create_custom_field.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Lead and contact to one prospect field | Salesforce API names must be identical | [Map Custom Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_sf_connector_setup_map_custom_fields.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Field types that don't sync | Lookup and geolocation | [Map Custom Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_sf_connector_setup_map_custom_fields.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Saving a prospect field mapping | Doesn't trigger a sync with the CRM | [Map Custom Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_sf_connector_setup_map_custom_fields.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| New prospect account field mapping | Values don't sync automatically; trigger a full sync | [Create Custom Account Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_prospect_account_custom_field_create.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Changing sync behavior | Applies only to future data syncs | [Change Field Sync Behavior](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_change_sync_behavior.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Changing global field settings | Doesn't update existing forms; load default data on the form | [Edit Global Field Settings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_fields_edit_globally.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Opted Out default behavior | Account Engagement value wins by default; most recently updated field is recommended | [How Sync Behavior Works](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_sync_behavior_works.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |

## Check yourself

- Why can a field whose CRM value is primary still push data into the CRM?
- When does the most recently updated field behavior need Field History Tracking?
- Which prospect field type can't be placed on forms or form handlers?
- Which default prospect fields can never be pointed at another CRM field?
- When a predefined value is relabelled, what is stored on the record?

## Sources

- [Create Custom Prospect Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_fields_create_custom_field.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Map Salesforce and Account Engagement Custom Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_sf_connector_setup_map_custom_fields.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [How Sync Behavior Works](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_sync_behavior_works.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Change Field Sync Behavior](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_change_sync_behavior.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Prospect Field Global Settings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_prospect_field_settings.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Prospect Field Types](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_field_types.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Use Predefined Values in Custom Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_fields_use_predefined_values.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Edit Global Field Settings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_fields_edit_globally.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Default Prospect Field Mapping](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_default_prospect_field_mapping.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Create Custom Account Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.pardot_prospect_account_custom_field_create.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Learn Administration Basics (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/pardot-basics-lightning/learn-pardot-administration-basics-lightning)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 11 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Specialist pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams