How to Become a ServiceNow Certified Application Developer (CAD)

[BillMartin]

I wanted to share my journey on how I achieved to be a ServiceNow Certified Application Developer. People who are aspiring to be certified in this aspect will be benefiting from this blog post.

My background as an experienced .net web developer has strengthen my chances of passing the exam.

Each and everyone of us is unique in our own way and what I have provided below is a binary approach in passing the exams.

I hope you find it useful and please let me know if you have successfully passed the exams.

1. The first step is to succeed in passing the Certified System Administrator - you can find more in my previous blog on How to become a Certified System Administrator  (please click link to get access)

2. Go through and complete the Certified Application Developer learning path (please click clink to get access) and ensure that you complete all the laboratories. At the end of the training program you will be able to avail an exam voucher that will allow you to take the certification exams.

3. I suggest to take the on-demand path since it is a cheaper way for learning and preparing the exams.

4. Purchase the practice exams from Udemy ServiceNow Certified Application Developer | CAD | May 2023 (please click link for access) 

authored by ServiceNow Certification Ninja. The practice test will give you confidence on taking the exams either online or via a test center. The practice exams are constantly being updated by the author to its latest ServiceNow version.

5. I strongly recommend to do a lot of hands on laboratories, the CAD is leaning towards a more experience developer.

Wishing your success in your coming certification. 

Bill

[BillMartin · Accepted solution]

Hi @KamakshiM ,

Thank you for your thoughtful response and for highlighting some crucial questions that are essential for success in the CAD exams. The steps outlined in this post should be sufficient to help you achieve your goal of passing the exam and earning the certification.

To address your concern, I have provided the official ServiceNow CAD exam blueprint. This document provides a detailed breakdown of the percentage weight for each learning domain, giving you a clearer understanding of what to focus on. I hope this helps answer your question.

If you need further clarification or have any other questions, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to assist!

Kind regards,
Bill

[BillMartin · Accepted solution]

When I was preparing for the Certified Application Developer (CAD) exam, I realized something unexpected.

It wasn’t just the exam I was studying for — it was the gaps in my real-world understanding that I had to fill. I knew how to write scripts, sure. But I didn’t always know why something worked… or why it broke in production months later.

That’s when I decided to build something that I wish I had back then.

Build It the Right Way is the course I created out of that experience. It’s designed to help you not only pass the CAD exam, but also think like a true ServiceNow developer — one who writes clean, reusable, scalable code that lasts.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between tutorials and the reality of enterprise-level development, this course is for you. It's structured, practical, and filled with the kind of lessons you only learn by doing.

And now, you can learn it in just a few weeks — not years.

[KamakshiM]

Hi Bill,

   Thank you for your inputs.

I am new to ServiceNow and I have experience in Java and Javascript.

I have completed the Application Development Fundamentals and next, I am trying to go through the Learning Plans . I have completed the New to ServiceNow plan and moved on to the Application Development plan. 

I find the course on Widget development difficult to follow. 

How important is Portals and Widget development for the exam?

Could you please advise?

[BillMartin · Accepted solution]

Hi @KamakshiM ,

Thank you for your thoughtful response and for highlighting some crucial questions that are essential for success in the CAD exams. The steps outlined in this post should be sufficient to help you achieve your goal of passing the exam and earning the certification.

To address your concern, I have provided the official ServiceNow CAD exam blueprint. This document provides a detailed breakdown of the percentage weight for each learning domain, giving you a clearer understanding of what to focus on. I hope this helps answer your question.

If you need further clarification or have any other questions, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to assist!

Kind regards,
Bill

[KamakshiM]

I checked out the blueprint. I don't see any mention of portals or widget development. Only homepages and reports. So, I am going to ignore the widget section.

Thank you for the link.

[KamakshiM]

Hi Bill,

  It is me again. I am learniong the Workflows section. From your experience with CAD, is it required to learn the Workflows for Service Catalog ?

I don't have a knowledge on Service Catalog, so would like to know if it is important for the exam.

Please advise.