Training, exams and certification
Training, exams and certification
Forty questions, sixty minutes, closed book, and a pass mark of twenty-four. This page sets out exactly how those forty questions are distributed across the syllabus, what the rules are on the day, and what both of those facts mean for the way you prepare.
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OGEA-101 is the first of the two exams in The Open Group’s TOGAF Enterprise Architecture certification. Passing it on its own earns the TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Foundation qualification. Everything below comes from The Open Group’s own published exam plan and datasheet, linked at the foot of the page.
| Exam code | OGEA-101 |
|---|---|
| Qualification earned | TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Foundation |
| Questions | 40, simple multiple choice |
| Scoring | One point per correct answer, 40 points available |
| Time limit | 60 minutes, plus 30 minutes under the ESL allowance |
| Pass mark | 60% — 24 correct answers out of 40 |
| Materials | Closed book. Nothing to hand, on screen or on the desk |
| Prerequisites | None. Anyone can sit it |
| Where you sit it | A Pearson VUE test centre, or OnVUE online with a remote proctor |
| Languages | English, French, Simplified Chinese |
| Retakes | At least one month must pass between attempts |
| Exam fee | USD 435 for a retail voucher, from 1 February 2026. Local taxes may apply |
The Open Group publishes the exam plan, and it is more specific than most people realise: it says how many questions come from each area of the syllabus. Not roughly — exactly.
| Introduction to the ADM | 14 of 40 | |
| Concepts | 8 of 40 | |
| Introduction to ADM Techniques | 6 of 40 | |
| Architecture Content | 5 of 40 | |
| Introduction to Applying the ADM | 4 of 40 | |
| Introduction to Architecture Governance | 3 of 40 |
Read it once and the exam changes shape.
The three ADM areas add up to 24 questions — the ADM itself, ADM Techniques, and Applying the ADM. Twenty-four is also the pass mark. You cannot pass on the ADM alone, because you will not get all of them right, but the arithmetic is worth sitting with: the ADM is not one topic among six. It is the exam.
Two more things fall out of the table. Concepts is eight questions of vocabulary — terms, definitions, what a building block is, what a viewpoint is. It is the cheapest part of the syllabus to secure, because it rewards memory rather than judgement, and it is worth a fifth of the paper.
And Architecture Governance is three questions. Three. It is worth knowing well enough not to lose them, and it is not worth a weekend. People routinely study the syllabus as though its six areas were equal. They are not: the largest is nearly five times the smallest.
Sixty minutes divided by forty questions is ninety seconds each, including the time you spend reading the stem and the four options. That is not long, and it is the single biggest difference between people who know the material and people who pass. Candidates who have only ever answered questions at their own pace tend to discover this in the exam rather than before it.
If English is not your first language, The Open Group grants an extra 30 minutes on a Part 1 exam. For candidates resident in one of the designated ESL countries — Italy is on the list — it is applied automatically when you book; everyone else applies through the Help Desk with a letter from their employer.
Ninety minutes for forty questions is 135 seconds a question. Half as much time again. If you are entitled to it, check that it has actually been applied to your booking before you sit down.
Nothing to hand: no copy of the Standard, no notes, no second screen. This is the clearest difference from Part 2, which is open book with the Standard built into the exam software. Preparation for Part 1 has to end up in your head.
Points come only from correct answers, one each. An unanswered question and a wrong one are worth exactly the same: nothing. There is no circumstance in which guessing costs you something — so when the ninety seconds are gone, pick one and move on.
The pass mark is 60%, which on a 40-question paper means 24 correct answers. There is no rounding and no adjustment. Twenty-three is a fail, and the next attempt cannot be booked until a month has passed.
Four things follow from the numbers above, and none of them is “read the Standard again”.
The last one is the reason practice questions are worth more than re-reading: they produce a diagnosis rather than a feeling.
No. OGEA-101 belongs to the TOGAF Enterprise Architecture certification introduced with the TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition. The older TOGAF 9 Foundation exam is a different exam with a different syllabus and code.
Yes. OGEA-102, the Practitioner exam, requires the Foundation qualification first — or a pass on Part 1 the same day. There is also a combined exam that covers both parts in one sitting.
Each correct answer scores one point, out of a maximum of 40. Nothing is deducted for a wrong one, so an unanswered question is simply a point you have chosen not to compete for.
You wait. The Open Group requires at least one month between an attempt and a retake, and a retake needs its own voucher.
Yes. OGEA-101 is delivered both at Pearson VUE test centres and through OnVUE, Pearson’s remote-proctored service. The exam itself is identical; the remote option has its own requirements for the room, the machine and the identity check.
Sources. Every figure on this page comes from The Open Group’s own published material, checked in September 2026.
Our Exam Simulator for TOGAF EA Foundation runs the paper the way the exam runs it: the same format, the same clock, the same pass mark, and a score broken down by the syllabus areas above — so you find out which of the forty you are losing while there is still time to do something about it.
See the Foundation simulatorWant to feel the clock first? Create a free account and try 10 free Foundation questions under exam conditions.
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