Platform Administrator vs Platform Administrator II (2026)

Hey friends,

Platform Administrator is the entry-level admin exam with no prerequisite, while Platform Administrator II (the old Advanced Administrator) requires Platform Administrator and tests deeper security, automation and troubleshooting scenarios. Both are 60 scored questions in 105 minutes, but the passing score is 68% for Admin (English version) and 65% for Admin II, and the sections are completely different.

I pulled every number here from the two official exam guides: the Platform Administrator exam guide and the Platform Administrator II exam guide. If you want the full topic breakdown for the second one, my Advanced Administrator study guide has it.

Platform Administrator vs Platform Administrator II at a glance

What’s the difference between Platform Administrator and Platform Administrator II?

Admin asks whether you know what a feature does. Admin II asks you to pick the best of several features that would all technically work. That’s the real jump, and it shows in how the guides are written.

The Admin guide is full of “describe” and “explain”. The Admin II guide leans on “given a scenario, determine” and “compare and contrast”: profiles vs permission sets vs delegated administration, the right automation tool for a complex scenario, and the implications of order of execution for automation. Admin only asks you to describe order of execution; Admin II asks what it does to your design.

Admin spreads points across eight areas. Admin II puts 59% on security, objects and automation.

Which topics only show up on Platform Administrator II?

These appear in the Admin II outline and not in the Admin outline:

• Delegated administration, compared and contrasted with custom profiles and permission sets
• Person accounts and Contacts to Multiple Accounts as complex business models
• Auditing and Monitoring: debug logs, plus sensitive data in production and sandboxes, and pending security updates
• Products, price books, schedules, orders and quotes
• Salesforce Knowledge and entitlement processes
• Reporting snapshots
• Big objects, external objects and Salesforce Connect
• Change sets and moving metadata between environments as their own section (Admin only touches managed and unmanaged packages through AppExchange)

Going the other way, the Admin exam has an Agentforce section (8%), and Chatter and the Salesforce mobile app don’t appear in the Admin II outline at all.

A worked example: the same request on both exams

Request: “Our support manager wants to manage her own team’s users without becoming a system administrator.”

• On Admin, the question is usually about user setup basics: why you deactivate a user instead of deleting one, and how to hand out licenses. Knowing that is enough.
• On Admin II, you have to compare custom profiles, permission sets and delegated administration, and pick the narrowest one. The answer is delegated administration: she can create and edit users in her role and all subordinate roles, reset passwords, unlock users, and assign only the profiles and permission sets you specify. She still can’t set org-wide sharing defaults.

Same feature area, much narrower answer. That’s the pattern across the whole exam, and my Platform Administrator II practice questions have 25 more scenarios like it.

Is Platform Administrator II harder than Platform Administrator?

In my experience, yes, even though its passing score is lower. The 65% line looks friendlier than 68%, but the questions are longer and two answers often work. You’re picking the most scalable or lowest-maintenance one.

Salesforce’s audience descriptions back this up. The Admin guide asks for 6 or more months of admin experience. The Admin II guide describes significant experience as an admin, with hands-on use of every topic in the outline.

Which should you take first?

You don’t get a choice here: Platform Administrator is a prerequisite for Platform Administrator II. The real question is how long to wait between them.

• Just passed Admin, little real org time: I’d do Platform App Builder or a few months of real admin work first. My certification order for admins walks through why.
• A year or more running an org: go straight to Admin II. You’ve probably handled sharing problems, flow errors and deployments already, and that’s what it tests.
• Still studying for Admin: start with my Salesforce Admin certification guide. The Admin Cert Lab is free, no card, no trial.

Mistakes I see when admins move up to Admin II

• Studying from Admin notes. A lot of the Admin II outline isn’t on Admin at all. Auditing, Knowledge, entitlements, change sets and complex reporting are new.
• Skipping Sales and Service setup. Cloud Applications is 11%, and it goes into products, price books, quotes, forecasting and entitlements.
• Reading the guide’s version line as current. The Admin II guide still says its questions align to the Summer ’22 release, while the Admin guide says Summer ’25. Study current features and check the guide before you book.
• Assuming the lower passing score means an easier exam. It doesn’t. Budget extra time for long scenarios.

Frequently asked questions

Is Advanced Administrator the same as Platform Administrator II? Yes. Platform Administrator II is the current name for the Advanced Administrator certification.

Do I need Platform Administrator before Platform Administrator II? Yes. The Admin II exam guide lists Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator as the prerequisite. If you’re not there yet, start with my Platform Administrator study guide.

What’s the passing score for each? 68% for Platform Administrator (English version, 65% Japanese) and 65% for Platform Administrator II. My Salesforce exam score calculator turns those into question counts.

How many questions are on each exam? Both have 60 scored questions plus up to five unscored ones, with 105 minutes to finish.

Does Platform Administrator II cover Agentforce? Not as its own section. The Admin II guide mentions setting up Agentforce Sales and Agentforce Service applications, but only the Admin exam has an Agentforce section (8%).

Hope this helps!

Best,

Nick