About ACP-120 Exam
Atlassian ACP-120 Exam Overview and Why It’s Still Relevant
The ACP-120 exam from Atlassian continues to stay relevant because teams are shifting their systems into the Jira Cloud environment more than ever. This certification doesn’t exist just to test your memory of interface options it measures your decision-making inside complex Jira configurations. For organizations depending on agile planning tools and service desks, having someone certified to handle cloud-specific Jira issues is a big deal. Whether you’re responsible for user management, configuring workflows, or handling project permissions across multiple teams, this cert proves you’ve actually done the work and understood how it fits in with day-to-day operations.
It’s Not Just for System Admins or IT Professionals
While the ACP-120 exam may sound like something only IT should care about, that’s not how most people use it. It’s incredibly useful for Agile delivery managers, project leads, or even product owners who are constantly adjusting workflows or managing sprint cycles in Jira. In fact, people in DevOps roles often benefit from this certification since they’re setting up automations and permissions that must align with their infrastructure workflows. It doesn’t require coding or a deep technical background, but it does demand a strong understanding of admin-level Jira functions. If your day involves making Jira do what teams need rather than just using it, this cert fits.
Skills You’re Expected to Build While Preparing
Working toward ACP-120 helps sharpen your ability to handle real-world admin tasks in Jira Cloud. You’re not learning fluff you’re prepping to actually work inside Jira in a reliable, structured way. Here are some of the core skills that this certification will reinforce:
- Managing users and roles without creating access conflicts
- Switching between company-managed and team-managed projects smoothly
- Designing custom workflows that adapt to business logic
- Diagnosing and solving automation failures effectively
- Setting and maintaining global configuration options with control
It’s very hands-on in nature. This cert teaches you to think from the perspective of someone who has to support other teams while maintaining a clean, scalable Jira instance.
The Exam Isn’t Easy, Even If It Doesn’t Test Coding
Many assume that admin-focused exams are simple. ACP-120 proves that wrong very quickly. The reason it’s hard isn’t because it asks obscure trivia it’s because the questions are structured around scenarios you might face on a real team. You have to evaluate the best way to fix a permissions issue, or decide how to structure projects so that future team scaling won’t break everything. The way Atlassian writes questions includes a lot of “what would happen if…” logic, where you need to think two or three steps ahead. Even experienced admins get caught off-guard if they haven’t practiced under similar pressure.
Understanding the Format Helps You Avoid Mistakes
Knowing the structure of the ACP-120 exam upfront makes it easier to avoid surprises. Here’s a look at how the exam is laid out:
Exam Feature |
Details |
Total Questions |
Around 60 |
Time Limit |
180 minutes |
Question Types |
Multiple choice, multi-select |
Passing Score |
62% |
Proctored Online |
Yes |
Retake Policy |
7-day waiting period |
Many of the questions will include similar-looking answers. Picking the right one often means looking at the specific context of the question, not just relying on what worked in your previous project. That’s why it’s useful to know not just what each feature does, but when and why to use it.
High-Priority Topics That Show Up Consistently
There’s no published domain blueprint like you might find in some other certifications, but ACP-120 questions usually draw from a fairly stable set of topics. These are areas where admins regularly make decisions, and Atlassian wants to know you can handle them well.
- User and group management
- Permission schemes and issue security levels
- Workflow customization and transitions
- Global settings and admin configs
- Automation rule structures and scopes
- Project types: team-managed vs company-managed
- Dashboards, filters, and reporting setup
Mastering these categories means you won’t be thrown off when a scenario twists something you thought was basic.
Strategies That Help You Prep with Purpose
People often spend hours reading about Jira but barely touch the actual admin panel. That’s where most mistakes happen. For ACP-120, real practice matters more than reading documentation alone. You need to simulate settings, test workflows, and even mess things up to see how Jira responds. Here’s a basic structure to follow when studying:
- Break your sessions by topic, not by hours
- Use a Jira Cloud sandbox account to simulate live changes
- Review Atlassian University modules for structured guidance
- Focus on comparing actions: what happens if you change X vs Y
Adding repetition around project types and permissions is useful since those are some of the most layered and nuanced areas on the exam.
Topics That Regularly Cause Confusion
Even seasoned admins hit snags during the ACP-120 test. These areas in particular come with lots of gotchas:
- Global settings vs project settings: knowing which wins when they conflict
- Email notification events: especially with shared settings across groups
- Automation logic scope: whether a rule applies to one project or many
- Choosing project types: when both seem appropriate but behave differently
Most of these issues happen because you need to apply settings across multiple contexts, and the exam tests how well you can think ahead.
Career Benefits and Salary Outcomes for Certified Jira Admins
It’s not just about having a line on your resume. ACP-120 opens the door to roles that require deeper Jira knowledge, often involving tool ownership or systems strategy. Recruiters search for Jira admin certs when hiring for Agile coaching, DevOps, or digital operations. Even consulting gigs become more accessible once you have proof that you can handle the backend side of Jira Cloud.
Here’s what some of the common job titles and salary expectations look like:
Role Title |
Average U.S. Salary |
Atlassian Administrator |
$98,000 |
Jira/Confluence Platform Engineer |
$104,000 |
Agile Tooling Specialist |
$92,500 |
DevOps Systems Administrator |
$106,000 |
Technical Program Manager (Jira-heavy) |
$111,300 |
These roles require a mix of technical knowledge and business process fluency, and ACP-120 gives you a way to prove that blend.
Liam (verified owner) –
I Passed my ACP-120 Exam using Cert Empire dumps. The questions were aligned with what I saw on the test, making me feel well-prepared going in.