OTCA Mock Exam and Practice Questions
Practise for the OpenTelemetry Certified Associate exam with mock exams in its real format: 60 multi-choice questions, 90 minutes and a 75% pass mark, with an explanation for every option. Distributed tracing and observability with OpenTelemetry.
OTCA is one of the 16 certifications required for Golden Kubestronaut. See the full Golden Kubestronaut list →
OTCA exam domains and topics
The official OTCA curriculum splits the exam into 4 weighted domains. Under each are the competencies it lists — the topics the mock exams here are written against.
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Fundamentals of Observability 18% · ~11 questions
- Telemetry Data
- Semantic Conventions
- Instrumentation
- Analysis and Outcomes
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The OpenTelemetry API and SDK 46% · ~28 questions
- Data Model
- Composability and Extension
- Configuration
- Signals (Tracing, Metric, Log)
- SDK Pipelines
- Context Propagation
- Agents
-
The OpenTelemetry Collector 26% · ~16 questions
- Configuration
- Deployment
- Scaling
- Pipelines
- Transforming Data
-
Maintaining and Debugging Observability Pipelines 10% · ~6 questions
- Context Propagation
- Debugging Pipelines
- Error Handling
- Schema Management
Questions per domain are the official weight applied to the exam's 60 questions, rounded.
A free OTCA sample question
What is in the OTCA mock exams
- 3 full mock exams of 60 questions each: 180 original questions across all 4 domains.
- Exam simulation on the real 90-minute timer, with your score and a breakdown by domain at the end.
- Practice mode with the explanation after every answer, plus domain drills and a review of the questions you missed.
- The full mocks need a paid plan; the sample question on this page is free.
Prerequisites and background knowledge
Basic observability concepts (metrics, traces, logs). Familiarity with Prometheus helps. Understanding of microservices architecture.
Official reference: cncf.io/training/certification/otca.
More OTCA practice resources
Where to go after OTCA
Once you pass OTCA, these certs are natural next steps on the Golden Kubestronaut path:
Frequently asked questions about OTCA
How many questions are on the OTCA exam?
60 multi-choice questions in 90 minutes. Each OTCA mock exam here matches that: 60 questions on a 90-minute timer.
What is the passing score for OTCA?
75%.
How long is the OTCA exam?
90 minutes.
What topics does the OTCA exam cover?
The OTCA curriculum has 4 domains: Fundamentals of Observability (18%), The OpenTelemetry API and SDK (46%), The OpenTelemetry Collector (26%) and Maintaining and Debugging Observability Pipelines (10%).
How difficult is the OTCA exam?
Rated intermediate. Plan 2–8 weeks depending on your background.
How much does the OTCA exam cost?
Pricing changes periodically — check the official CNCF OTCA page at https://www.cncf.io/training/certification/otca/.
Are these OTCA mock exams free?
The sample question on this page is free with no account. Full timed OTCA mocks require a paid plan.
How is this mock exam different from the real OTCA exam?
Original questions written against the official CNCF curriculum — not scraped dumps. Format mirrors the real exam; the real one is proctored, these are self-paced.
How current are the OTCA questions?
The OTCA question bank is checked every month against the official curriculum: the Linux Foundation and CNCF certification pages and the curriculum PDF. The last check was in October 2026. When the curriculum changes, the questions are revised.
Is OTCA required for Golden Kubestronaut?
Yes. OTCA is one of the 16 certifications required for Golden Kubestronaut.
What is the best way to study for OTCA?
Work through the official curriculum in order of domain weight (heaviest first), then run full timed mocks until you hit 85%+ consistently.