What is the Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam?
The Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam is a specialized certification designed for professionals aiming to demonstrate deep expertise in data sharing, record-level access control, role hierarchy, and visibility design within Salesforce. This credential verifies a candidate’s ability to design scalable and secure sharing solutions that support complex business scenarios across various Salesforce clouds.
This exam is part of the Salesforce Certified Application Architect path, which includes other credentials such as Data Architecture and Management Designer and Platform Developer I. As data protection and governance continue to grow in importance, this certification becomes essential for any Salesforce architect or consultant responsible for implementing advanced security models.
Why Take the Salesforce Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam?
As organizations scale and adopt Salesforce across departments, maintaining controlled data visibility becomes increasingly complex. The Sharing and Visibility Architect certification ensures that you’re prepared to:
Design secure and scalable data access solutions
Resolve real-world access and sharing challenges
Enhance user experience while maintaining data integrity
Align technical design with organizational compliance and security standards
By earning this certification, you’re not only validating your technical skills but also boosting your credibility with employers and clients who prioritize data privacy, compliance, and security.
What Will You Learn?
Preparing for the Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam equips you with in-depth knowledge and skills, including:
How to evaluate and implement record access using organization-wide defaults (OWD), role hierarchy, sharing rules, and manual sharing
Understanding and resolving data skew, especially owner and parent data skew issues
Leveraging Apex managed sharing for complex and dynamic access requirements
Implementing field-level security and object-level permissions effectively
Building solutions that support external sharing, such as community users and partner portals
Troubleshooting record access using the “Why can’t this user see this record?“ approach
Applying real-world design principles to achieve performance and compliance
Topics Covered in the Exam
The Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam covers a comprehensive range of topics. Here’s a breakdown of the core areas:
1. Declarative Sharing Models (30%)
Organization-wide defaults (OWD)
Role hierarchy design and limitations
Sharing rules (criteria-based and ownership-based)
Manual sharing vs. automated sharing
External sharing models and Community access
2. Programmatic Sharing (25%)
Apex managed sharing
Considerations for bulk operations and data integrity
Performance optimization for large datasets
Using sharing sets and sharing reasons
3. Performance and Scalability (20%)
Handling large data volumes (LDV)
Resolving data skew
Best practices for sharing recalculations
Design strategies to reduce sharing reprocessing
4. Security and Compliance (15%)
Field-level and object-level access
Profiles and permission sets
Regulatory compliance and auditability
Enterprise data governance policies
5. Access Troubleshooting and Design Evaluation (10%)
Tools like Sharing Button, Debug Logs, and Setup Audit Trail
User scenarios and visibility analysis
Reviewing sharing architecture for enterprise alignment
Who Should Take This Exam?
This certification is ideal for:
Salesforce Technical Architects
Solution Architects
Data Security Consultants
Salesforce Platform Developers
Advanced Admins involved in large-scale implementations
To succeed, candidates should have 2–5 years of experience designing secure applications on the Salesforce Platform, and hands-on experience with complex sharing and visibility configurations.
Why Exam Sage is Your Best Resource
At Exam Sage, we understand how overwhelming it can be to prepare for advanced Salesforce exams. That’s why we’ve built a dedicated practice exam and resource hub specifically for the Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam.
With Exam Sage, you get:
Over 400+ real-world multiple-choice questions with detailed explanations
Regularly updated questions aligned with the latest Salesforce release cycles
Downloadable study materials and cheat sheets
Practice scenarios that reflect real-life case studies
The Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Architect Exam is not just about passing a test—it’s about mastering how data is accessed, shared, and secured in one of the most widely-used cloud platforms in the world.
With proper preparation, hands-on practice, and the right resources from Exam Sage, you’ll be ready to pass the exam confidently—and design robust sharing models that scale with enterprise needs.
Start your journey to becoming a Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Architect with Exam Sage today.
Sample Questions and Answers
1. A Salesforce architect needs to restrict access to opportunities based on the account’s region. Which sharing method is most appropriate?
A. Manual Sharing
B. Criteria-Based Sharing Rule
C. Apex Managed Sharing
D. Role Hierarchy
Answer: B. Criteria-Based Sharing Rule
Explanation: Criteria-based sharing rules can be used to share records based on field values like region. It’s declarative and best for this use case.
2. What is the impact of setting OWD for Account to Private?
A. Users can see all accounts.
B. Users only see accounts they own or are shared with.
C. Users in the same role can see all accounts.
D. It restricts access to related contacts.
Answer: B. Users only see accounts they own or are shared with.
Explanation: Private OWD means users only see records they own or those explicitly shared via rules, role hierarchy, or manual sharing.
3. Which sharing feature can be used to share records with external users in Experience Cloud Sites?
A. Apex Sharing
B. Manual Sharing
C. Sharing Sets
D. Role Hierarchy
Answer: C. Sharing Sets
Explanation: Sharing Sets allow access to records based on user profiles and account relationships in Experience Cloud.
4. A user needs read-only access to a specific set of opportunities. What is the best approach?
A. Change OWD to Read-Only
B. Use Manual Sharing
C. Create a Public Group and use a sharing rule
D. Assign a higher role
Answer: C. Create a Public Group and use a sharing rule
Explanation: Sharing rules with public groups allow mass sharing with the appropriate level of access (Read Only here).
5. Which mechanism automatically grants access up the role hierarchy?
A. Org-Wide Defaults
B. Role Hierarchy
C. Sharing Rules
D. Profiles
Answer: B. Role Hierarchy
Explanation: Salesforce automatically grants record access up the role hierarchy unless explicitly disabled.
6. Which tool can be used to troubleshoot a user’s access to a record?
A. Developer Console
B. Debug Log
C. Sharing Button
D. Record Sharing Detail Tool
Answer: D. Record Sharing Detail Tool
Explanation: This tool provides detailed insight into how and why access is granted to a record.
7. Which object is required for Apex Managed Sharing?
A. UserRecordAccess
B. SharingReason
C. CustomObject__Share
D. GroupMember
Answer: C. CustomObject__Share
Explanation: Apex-managed sharing is implemented via the Object__Share table in custom objects.
8. Which of the following is NOT considered implicit sharing?
A. Account → Contact
B. Opportunity → Account
C. Account → Opportunity
D. Account → Case
Answer: B. Opportunity → Account
Explanation: Implicit sharing is granted from parent to child, not child to parent. Opportunity → Account is not valid.
9. What is the purpose of the Sharing Button on record detail pages?
A. To assign record ownership
B. To modify field-level security
C. To manually share the record
D. To debug sharing rules
Answer: C. To manually share the record
Explanation: The Sharing Button allows users to manually share a record with another user or group.
10. Which of the following can override sharing rules?
A. Profiles
B. Apex Sharing
C. Object Settings
D. Role Hierarchy
Answer: B. Apex Sharing
Explanation: Apex sharing can override declarative sharing rules when programmatic control is needed.
11. What happens if a record’s owner is deactivated?
A. Record becomes inaccessible
B. Record is deleted
C. Record ownership transfers
D. Record remains owned and accessible by others with access
Answer: D. Record remains owned and accessible by others with access
Explanation: The deactivation of a user does not affect record ownership or sharing unless manually reassigned.
12. In what situation would you disable Grant Access Using Hierarchies?
A. When using manual sharing
B. When using Apex managed sharing
C. On custom objects to restrict manager access
D. On standard objects for compliance
Answer: C. On custom objects to restrict manager access
Explanation: Grant Access Using Hierarchies can be disabled only for custom objects to stop role hierarchy access.
13. What does the UserRecordAccess object provide?
A. User Profile Permissions
B. Record-level visibility
C. Sharing rule details
D. Field-level security
Answer: B. Record-level visibility
Explanation: UserRecordAccess returns visibility info for a user and a specific record (read, edit, delete).
14. What is a best practice for designing a scalable sharing model in a large data-volume org?
A. Use manual sharing for every record
B. Minimize sharing rules and use role hierarchy strategically
C. Avoid public groups
D. Use external sharing models only
Answer: B. Minimize sharing rules and use role hierarchy strategically
Explanation: Too many sharing rules can impact performance. Use hierarchy and groups effectively.
15. Which access does a user get from being in a role above the record owner?
A. No access
B. Full access
C. Read-only access
D. Depends on object and settings
Answer: D. Depends on object and settings
Explanation: Role hierarchy only grants access if “Grant Access Using Hierarchies” is enabled for that object.
16. If a private OWD is in place, what is the best way to give access to a group of users across roles?
A. Manual Sharing
B. Role Hierarchy
C. Sharing Rules with Public Groups
D. Profile Permissions
Answer: C. Sharing Rules with Public Groups
Explanation: Sharing rules with public groups efficiently share records across unrelated roles.
17. What is the function of the Account Teams feature?
A. Controls access to accounts
B. Defines territory model
C. Assigns record types
D. Sets default forecast values
Answer: A. Controls access to accounts
Explanation: Account Teams define and grant access to users for an account.
18. What does “With Sharing” in Apex classes enforce?
A. Field-level security
B. Object-level permissions
C. Record-level access
D. Profile access
Answer: C. Record-level access
Explanation: “With Sharing” ensures the class respects the sharing rules for the executing user.
19. What is the primary purpose of the Enterprise Territory Management feature in relation to visibility?
A. Overriding OWD
B. Granting access to territories
C. Managing role hierarchy
D. Granting access to record types
Answer: B. Granting access to territories
Explanation: ETM helps manage visibility based on geographic or organizational territories.
20. How can a Salesforce admin monitor performance impact from sharing rule recalculations?
A. Run debug logs
B. Monitor Apex jobs
C. Use the Setup Audit Trail
D. Use the Background Jobs UI
Answer: D. Use the Background Jobs UI
Explanation: Sharing recalculations appear as background jobs and can be monitored for performance impact.
21. What is the maximum number of criteria-based sharing rules per object?
A. 10
B. 50
C. 100
D. 200
Answer: C. 100
Explanation: As of the latest limits, you can have up to 100 criteria-based sharing rules per object.
22. What’s a good reason to use Apex Managed Sharing instead of declarative sharing?
A. You need to respect user profiles
B. You need complex, dynamic logic
C. You want faster access updates
D. You need to override field-level security
Answer: B. You need complex, dynamic logic
Explanation: Apex managed sharing is best when logic can’t be implemented declaratively.
23. What is a consideration when enabling the External Sharing Model?
A. It applies only to contacts
B. It’s irreversible
C. It allows separate rules for external and internal users
D. It disables OWD
Answer: C. It allows separate rules for external and internal users
Explanation: The External Sharing Model lets you define different default sharing for internal vs. external users.
24. What object-level access must a user have for sharing rules to apply?
A. View Setup and Configuration
B. API Enabled
C. Read or higher on the object
D. View All Data
Answer: C. Read or higher on the object
Explanation: Sharing rules won’t apply if the user doesn’t have at least read access on the object.
25. Which statement about manual sharing is true?
A. It works on both standard and custom objects
B. It’s visible to all users
C. It requires Apex code
D. It’s not applicable to custom objects
Answer: A. It works on both standard and custom objects
Explanation: Manual sharing is available for both standard and custom objects when sharing is enabled.
26. What is true about sharing rules on lookup relationships?
A. They allow parent-to-child sharing
B. They enable child-to-parent sharing
C. They require role hierarchy
D. They aren’t supported
Answer: D. They aren’t supported
Explanation: Sharing rules are only supported on master-detail and not lookup relationships.
27. How can an architect give visibility of leads to partner users?
A. Profile
B. Role hierarchy
C. Sharing set
D. Sharing rule
Answer: D. Sharing rule
Explanation: Sharing rules allow visibility based on lead owner, record type, or criteria, suitable for partner users.
28. What best describes a public group?
A. Role-based user collection
B. Collection of users, roles, and groups
C. Only used in Experience Cloud
D. Only available via code
Answer: B. Collection of users, roles, and groups
Explanation: Public groups can contain users, roles, and even other groups.
29. What type of access is provided by “Modify All” permission?
A. Object-level only
B. Record-level access bypassing sharing
C. Field-level override
D. Profile edit
Answer: B. Record-level access bypassing sharing
Explanation: “Modify All” overrides sharing rules and grants full access to all records of that object.
30. What tool is recommended to evaluate access for a specific user and record in Lightning?
A. Sharing Button
B. View All Data
C. Record Access Reason Tool
D. Record Sharing Hierarchy
Answer: C. Record Access Reason Tool
Explanation: This Lightning tool provides detailed sharing insight for a user’s access to a specific record.
