Free Salesforce Certified Platform Developer Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Salesforce Certified Platform Developer Exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1What does multitenancy mean in the Salesforce platform architecture?

   1. A. Each customer operates a separate installed platform.
   2. B. Customers share underlying platform resources.
   3. C. All customers share access to the same business records.
   4. D. Each application requires its own physical database server.

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Salesforce explains, "really all it means is that you’re sharing resources." Multitenancy concerns shared infrastructure; it does not make one tenant’s records available to other tenants.

   Reference: Understand the Salesforce Architecture — Sharing Is Caring in the Multitenant Cloud

2. 2Which flow type supplies a guided interface that collects user input during a business process?

   1. A. Schedule-Triggered Flow
   2. B. Platform Event-Triggered Flow
   3. C. Screen Flow
   4. D. Autolaunched Flow (No Trigger)

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The unit states, "Screen Flows provide a UI that guides users through a business process." The other flow types run in the background without that interactive UI.

   Reference: Get Started with Triggered Flows — Flow Types > Screen Flow

3. 3For an Apex custom controller compiled at API 64.0, which statement describes its default database execution context when no user mode is explicitly requested?

   1. A. It automatically enforces every UI field restriction.
   2. B. It grants only permissions of the record owner.
   3. C. It always executes DML with AccessLevel.USER_MODE.
   4. D. It uses system mode with elevated object and field access.

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The API 64 guide states, "Apex code runs in system mode by default". Developers must explicitly enforce relevant object and field permissions in custom Apex.

   Reference: Apex Developer Guide — Working with Data in Apex > Enforce User Mode for Database Operations, p. 211

4. 4An API 64.0 Apex test uses default data isolation and queries ordinary Account business records that existed before the test. What test-data approach should it use instead of depending on those records?

   1. A. Create its own required Account test records.
   2. B. Set SeeAllData=false to expose pre-existing Account records.
   3. C. Rely on another test method's inserted Account records.
   4. D. Reuse a prior test method's static record IDs without creating data.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The guide states, "By default, Apex test methods (API version 24.0 and later) can’t access pre-existing org data". Setup and metadata objects are exceptions, but ordinary Account business records should be created by the isolated test.

   Reference: Apex Developer Guide — Testing Apex > Isolation of Test Data from Organization Data in Unit Tests, p. 688

5. 5Which item is metadata rather than a business record value in a Salesforce org?

   1. A. The amount entered on an opportunity
   2. B. The postal address entered for a contact
   3. C. The date stored on an individual case
   4. D. The definition of a custom currency field

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The unit states, "These fields are metadata." The field definition supplies structure; individual amounts, addresses, and dates are data stored in that structure.

   Reference: Understand the Salesforce Architecture — The Magic of Metadata; Property field example

6. 6An automation should start whenever an Opportunity is created or updated, without a user launching it. Which flow type uses those data-change triggers?

   1. A. Record-Triggered Flow
   2. B. Screen Flow
   3. C. Autolaunched Flow (No Trigger)
   4. D. Schedule-Triggered Flow

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Record trigger runs "When a record is created, updated, or deleted". This directly matches data changes, rather than a user interaction, external invocation, or fixed schedule.

   Reference: Get Started with Triggered Flows — Trigger Types > Record

7. 7An API 64.0 Apex controller declares with sharing. Which additional protection is still needed when it queries sensitive fields?

   1. A. Explicitly enforce object and field permissions for the data.
   2. B. Rely on with sharing to authorize every queried field.
   3. C. Check record ownership in place of object and field access.
   4. D. Check object read access while ignoring field permissions.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The guide states, "Enforcing sharing rules by using the with sharing keyword doesn’t enforce the user’s permissions and field-level security." Record sharing and object/field authorization are separate layers.

   Reference: Apex Developer Guide — Working with Data in Apex > Enforce Sharing Rules, p. 209

8. 8Two methods in a test class need the same initial records. The first test modifies them, but the second must see their original baseline. Which setup mechanism provides this behavior?

   1. A. A production data import before each deployment
   2. B. One static variable holding a record ID across all test methods
   3. C. A @testSetup method that creates the common records
   4. D. A dependency on the first test method running before the second

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The guide states, "The next executing test method gets access to the original unmodified state of those records." @testSetup creates shared baseline data whose per-test mutations are rolled back, avoiding test-order dependencies.

   Reference: Apex Developer Guide — Testing Apex > Using Test Setup Methods, p. 693

9. 9How does the Aura component model organize an application's user interface?

   1. A. As self-contained, reusable units that compose the interface
   2. B. As indivisible whole-page units that cannot be nested
   3. C. As data-model definitions from which record layouts are inferred
   4. D. As controller classes with presentation supplied only by Visualforce

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The guide states, "Aura components are the self-contained and reusable units of an app." Components compose the interface at different granularities; they are not indivisible whole pages, data-model definitions, or controller-only definitions requiring Visualforce presentation.

   Reference: Introducing Aura Components — Aura Components

10. 10A flow must start every night at a specified time even if no record changed. Which trigger should be configured?

    1. A. A record creation trigger
    2. B. A platform event trigger
    3. C. A screen's Next button
    4. D. A schedule trigger

    Answer: D

    Explanation: The Schedule trigger runs "At a time and frequency you specify". This supports nightly work independently of record changes or platform event receipt.

    Reference: Get Started with Triggered Flows — Trigger Types > Schedule