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How to Prepare for the Java Spring Certified Professional Certification in 2026

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Spring Framework and Spring Boot are widely used in Java application development, from REST APIs and backend services to enterprise applications. For Java developers who want to demonstrate their Spring expertise, the Spring Certified Professional certification offers a structured way to validate their knowledge.

If you are planning to take the exam in 2026, the first step is to understand which certification and syllabus you are preparing for. The published Spring Professional Develop exam, code 2V0-72.22, leads to the Spring Certified Professional 2024 certification. The official exam guide was last updated in January 2024, so do not assume that a new 2026 exam syllabus has been released.

This guide explains the published exam objectives, the official study resources, practical exercises, and a structured preparation plan for experienced Java developers and beginners.

1. Understand the Spring Certified Professional Exam

Before beginning your preparation, verify the exam details and certification requirements on the official Broadcom resources.

Exam detail Published information
Certification Spring Certified Professional 2024
Exam name Spring Professional Develop
Exam code 2V0-72.22
Number of questions 60
Exam duration 130 minutes
Passing score 300 on a scaled score
Exam delivery Proctored examination through Pearson VUE, as specified in the exam guide

These details come from the published exam guide and should not be interpreted as confirmation that a new 2026 version is available. Check the official Spring Professional Develop exam guide and Spring Academy before registering.

The official exam guide recommends approximately 6–12 months of Spring experience for the minimally qualified candidate. This is a recommended experience level, not a mandatory prerequisite to take the exam.

2. Follow the Official Spring Certification Syllabus

The published 2V0-72.22 exam guide organizes the syllabus into six sections: Spring Core, Data Management, Spring MVC, Testing, Security, and Spring Boot.

Use the following topics as your preparation checklist. The objective descriptions are based on the official exam guide rather than a general list of every feature available in modern Spring releases.

Section 1: Spring Core

Spring Core covers the framework fundamentals required to configure and manage application components.

  • Introduction to the Spring Framework
  • Defining Spring beans using Java configuration
  • Accessing beans through the application context
  • Working with multiple configuration files
  • Managing dependencies between beans
  • Understanding bean scopes
  • External properties and profiles
  • Spring Expression Language (SpEL)
  • Annotation-based configuration and component scanning
  • Configuration best practices
  • Bean lifecycle callbacks, including @PostConstruct and @PreDestroy
  • BeanFactoryPostProcessor and BeanPostProcessor
  • Runtime proxies and bean creation order
  • Dependency injection by type and related issues
  • Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP), advice, and pointcut expressions

Pay particular attention to bean creation, dependency resolution, configuration choices, and the way Spring proxies add behavior at runtime. These concepts help you reason about application behavior rather than simply recognize annotation names.

Section 2: Data Management

The Data Management section focuses on database access, transactions, and Spring Data integration.

  • Configuring and using JdbcTemplate
  • Executing queries and handling result sets through callbacks
  • Handling Spring data access exceptions
  • Spring transaction management
  • Transaction propagation
  • Transaction rollback rules
  • Using transactions in tests
  • Implementing a Spring JPA application with Spring Boot
  • Creating Spring Data repositories for JPA

Practise database operations and investigate what happens when a transaction succeeds, fails, or joins an existing transaction. Understand how propagation settings affect transaction boundaries and how rollback rules influence the outcome of an operation.

Also learn how Spring JDBC and Spring Data JPA differ. Knowing when each abstraction is used will help you understand the examples and scenarios in the exam objectives.

Section 3: Spring MVC

The Spring MVC section covers web application development and REST request handling.

  • Creating Spring MVC applications using Spring Boot
  • Understanding the basic REST request-processing lifecycle
  • Creating REST controllers for GET requests
  • Configuring applications for deployment
  • Creating REST endpoints for different HTTP methods
  • Using RestTemplate to invoke RESTful services

Build a small REST API and practise following requests through the web layer. Learn how controllers handle HTTP methods, how request data is received, and how the application returns responses.

One important syllabus detail is the explicit reference to RestTemplate. Do not replace this objective with a study of only newer HTTP client APIs when preparing for this specific exam.

Section 4: Testing

The Testing section focuses on testing Spring applications, including integration tests and web-layer tests.

  • Writing tests using JUnit 5
  • Writing integration tests with Spring
  • Configuring tests using Spring profiles
  • Extending Spring tests to work with databases
  • Enabling Spring Boot testing
  • Performing integration testing
  • Performing MockMvc testing
  • Performing test-slice testing

Practise writing tests that load a Spring application context, test database operations, and verify HTTP request and response behavior. Understand the difference between testing the entire application and testing a selected layer.

Section 5: Security

The Security section covers basic security concepts and Spring Security configuration.

  • Understanding basic security concepts
  • Configuring authentication and authorization using Spring Security
  • Defining method-level security

Understand the difference between authentication, which establishes identity, and authorization, which determines permitted access. Practise reading security configurations and determining which operations a user can perform.

Section 6: Spring Boot

Spring Boot is a major part of the official syllabus. Study its core features, dependency management, properties, auto-configuration, and Actuator capabilities.

  • Understanding and using Spring Boot features
  • Spring Boot dependency management
  • Options for defining and loading properties
  • Using auto-configuration
  • Overriding default configuration
  • Configuring Actuator endpoints
  • Securing Actuator HTTP endpoints
  • Defining custom metrics
  • Defining custom health indicators

Learn how Spring Boot chooses default configurations, how application properties influence behavior, and how to override defaults when required. For Actuator, practise configuring endpoints and understanding how monitoring information can be exposed and protected.

Important: The published exam guide references Spring Framework 5.3, Spring Boot 2.5, and Spring Data 2021.0. Use these version references when selecting study material for the 2V0-72.22 exam. Do not assume that the latest Spring Framework or Spring Boot release has the same behavior or syllabus coverage.

3. Start with Official Spring Documentation

Official documentation should be a central part of your preparation. It explains how Spring features work and provides details that may not be covered in introductory tutorials.

Use these resources:

You do not need to read every page from beginning to end. Match each exam objective to the relevant documentation and use practical examples to reinforce your understanding.

4. Learn Through Hands-On Coding

Reading documentation is useful, but coding helps you understand how Spring features interact. Build a small task-management application and expand it as you study the syllabus.

Include these features:

  1. A Spring application configured using Java configuration and annotations.
  2. Multiple beans with explicit dependencies and different scopes.
  3. External properties and profiles.
  4. Database operations using JdbcTemplate or Spring Data JPA.
  5. Transaction management and rollback behavior.
  6. REST controllers and HTTP request handling.
  7. Tests using JUnit 5, Spring integration testing, and MockMvc.
  8. Security configuration and method-level security.
  9. Spring Boot Actuator endpoints and custom health indicators.

As you develop the application, experiment with different configurations. Change a bean scope, adjust a profile, modify transaction propagation, or alter the test configuration. Observe the result and explain why it happens.

This approach helps you develop the practical understanding needed to answer questions about unfamiliar scenarios.

5. Follow an Eight-Week Preparation Plan

Your preparation timeline depends on your existing Java and Spring experience. The following plan is a suggested schedule, not an official requirement.

Week Study focus Practice activity
1 Spring Core and Java configuration Practise bean definitions, dependency injection, scopes, properties, and profiles.
2 Bean lifecycle and AOP Explore lifecycle callbacks, post-processors, proxies, advice, and pointcuts.
3 Data Management Practise JdbcTemplate, JPA repositories, transactions, propagation, and rollback rules.
4 Spring MVC and REST Build REST controllers and practise request processing and RestTemplate.
5 Spring Testing Write JUnit 5 tests, integration tests, database tests, MockMvc tests, and test slices.
6 Spring Security and Spring Boot Review authentication, authorization, auto-configuration, properties, and dependency management.
7 Actuator and syllabus revision Practise endpoint configuration, security, custom metrics, and health indicators.
8 Mock tests and final revision Take timed practice tests, review mistakes, and revisit weak topics.

For experienced Java developers: You may need less time if you already use Spring regularly. Review the official objectives first and focus on topics that you rarely use or do not understand in depth.

For beginners: Allow additional time to learn Java web development, dependency management, Spring fundamentals, and Spring Boot before moving to full-length practice tests.

6. Practise with Spring Certified Professional Mock Tests

Practice tests help you assess your knowledge, identify weak areas, and become familiar with exam-style questions. They are most effective when you review each answer instead of focusing only on your score.

For focused preparation, explore the Spring Certified Professional (2V0-72.22) Practice Tests on MyExamCloud.

Use this process when practising:

  1. Study the relevant syllabus topic before attempting its questions.
  2. Answer questions without consulting your notes.
  3. Review every incorrect answer and understand the reasoning behind the correct option.
  4. Revisit the official documentation for concepts you do not understand.
  5. Repeat questions on weak topics after revision.
  6. Complete timed practice sessions once you have covered the syllabus.

Pay attention to questions that ask you to select multiple correct options. Evaluate each option independently and consider the specific behavior described in the question.

Practice tests should reinforce your knowledge, not replace it. Do not assume that practice questions will appear unchanged in the actual exam.

7. Avoid Common Preparation Mistakes

  • Memorizing annotations without understanding them: Learn how Spring manages beans, resolves dependencies, and applies configuration.
  • Ignoring the official syllabus: Use the published exam objectives to decide what to study.
  • Studying only Spring Boot: Review Spring Core, data access, MVC, testing, security, and AOP as listed in the exam guide.
  • Using only the latest framework documentation: The published exam guide references earlier versions, so verify compatibility with the exam objectives.
  • Skipping practical exercises: Use small applications to understand transaction behavior, proxies, testing, and configuration.
  • Taking mock tests without reviewing answers: Understand why each answer is correct or incorrect.
  • Assuming the exam was updated for 2026: Confirm the current exam listing rather than inferring a new syllabus from the calendar year.

8. Final Exam Preparation Tips

Before registering, confirm the exam code, current availability, delivery requirements, and any applicable certification policies through the official resources.

The published exam format provides 130 minutes for 60 questions, which averages slightly more than two minutes per question. Practise managing your time without rushing through technical details.

During the exam:

  • Read each question carefully before choosing an answer.
  • Pay attention to words such as "only," "always," "default," and "not."
  • Evaluate each option independently in multiple-selection questions.
  • Avoid spending too long on one difficult question.
  • Use remaining time to review uncertain answers when the exam interface permits it.

Your goal should be to understand Spring behavior well enough to reason through unfamiliar situations, not simply to recognize familiar question patterns.

Conclusion

Preparing for the Spring Certified Professional certification in 2026 requires a clear understanding of the exam you intend to take. The published 2V0-72.22 exam leads to the Spring Certified Professional 2024 certification, and its official guide provides the syllabus and version references needed to plan your study.

Focus your preparation on Spring Core, Data Management, Spring MVC, Testing, Security, and Spring Boot. Combine official documentation with hands-on coding, follow a structured study plan, and use mock tests to identify areas that need further revision.

If you already work with Spring, concentrate on the objectives you use less frequently and on framework behavior that is easy to overlook. If you are a beginner, build a solid foundation before attempting full-length practice exams.

To assess your readiness, practise with the Spring Certified Professional (2V0-72.22) Practice Tests and use your results to guide your revision.

A structured preparation process can help you approach the exam with greater confidence while strengthening practical Spring development skills.

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