• 72 questions

Photoshop Certification Practice Test

Layers, masks, selections, color and export: each answer links to the page of the Photoshop User Guide that settles it.

How many possible values does each channel hold in an 8-bit-per-channel RGB image?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 30 questions, 50 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with Adobe Inc. or Certiport. Bank checked October 9, 2026.

The real exam, as Adobe describes it

Questions
30
Time limit
50 minutes
Format
A proctored exam with a Questions section of selected-response items and a Tasks section done inside the Adobe application.
Passing score
700 out of 1,000.
Valid for
Three years from the issue date.

Checked October 9, 2026 against Adobe Inc., Adobe Certified Professional exam guide and FAQ. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

Adobe's own exam guide

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All 72 questions

Working in the Design Industry 13

  • A 3000 x 2400 pixel photo is set to 300 ppi with Resample turned off. How large does it print? Photoshop User Guide: Image size, resolution, and resampling
  • A brochure photo shows a person whose face can be recognized. Besides the rights to the photo, what covers the use of that person's likeness? Adobe Stock Contributor Help: Model release overview
  • A designer photographs a product for a client poster. When does U.S. copyright start to protect the photograph? U.S. Copyright Office: What is Copyright?
  • A layout places the most important information at the top and less important information below it. Which design principle is that? Adobe XD Ideas: Principles of Design
  • A logo must print on a business card and on a billboard with no loss of quality. Which kind of artwork fits? Photoshop User Guide: Understand raster and vector files
  • A staff designer draws a logo as part of the job. By the U.S. Copyright Office, who owns the copyright? U.S. Copyright Office: What is Copyright?
  • A stock illustration is licensed CC BY-ND. What may a designer do with it? Creative Commons: CC Licenses
Show all 72 questions (65 more)

Working in the Design Industry, continued

  • How many possible values does each channel hold in an 8-bit-per-channel RGB image? Photoshop User Guide: Bit depth and preferences
  • In a headline, the gap between an A and a V looks too wide. Which adjustment changes the space between just those two letters? Photoshop User Guide: Adjust line and character spacing
  • In the Histogram panel, pixels piled up against the right edge point to what? Photoshop User Guide: Use the Histogram panel
  • Which describes a work in the public domain? U.S. Copyright Office: What is Copyright?
  • Which use of someone else's image is a court more likely to find fair, by the Copyright Office's summary of fair use? U.S. Copyright Office: Fair Use Index
  • With a proof profile chosen, what does View > Gamut Warning highlight? Photoshop User Guide: Identify and correct out-of-gamut colors

Project Setup and Interface 15

  • A brush pack you downloaded has one file. Which file type does Photoshop import as brushes? Photoshop User Guide: Import brushes and brush packs
  • A Linked Smart Object is flagged because its source file was moved. Which command repairs it? Photoshop User Guide: Update Linked Smart Objects
  • A printed gradient shows visible bands. Which Gradient tool option smooths it? Photoshop User Guide: Apply a gradient fill
  • At which zoom level does each image pixel display as exactly one monitor pixel? Photoshop User Guide: Zoom images in Photoshop
  • In the Color Picker, what does the value in the # box stand for? Photoshop User Guide: Choose colors with the Adobe Color Picker
  • One logo file is used in twelve Photoshop documents and is likely to change. Which command places it so every document can pick up the change? Photoshop User Guide: Place a file in Photoshop
  • When you save a custom workspace with Window > Workspace > New Workspace, what can it capture besides panel locations? Photoshop User Guide: Save custom workspaces
  • Which part of the workspace shows the settings of the tool you have selected? Photoshop User Guide: Workspace overview
  • Which Preferences category sets the measurement unit that the rulers show? Photoshop User Guide: Adjust preferences
  • Which Swatches panel command saves solid colors so Illustrator and InDesign can load them? Photoshop User Guide: Share color swatches between applications
  • With rulers showing, how do you pull out a new guide by hand? Photoshop User Guide: Create guides
  • With the Eyedropper tool, how do you set the background color from the image? Photoshop User Guide: Set foreground and background colors
  • You are sending a document with linked Smart Objects to a print shop. What does File > Package do? Photoshop User Guide: Package and locate linked Smart Objects
  • You select part of a color photo and choose Edit > Define Brush Preset. What happens to the color? Photoshop User Guide: Create a brush tip from an image
  • You start a new document for a web banner. Which settings does the user guide give for web and screen designs? Photoshop User Guide: Create documents using presets

Layers, Masks, and Adjustments 12

  • A Curves adjustment layer sits in the middle of the layer stack. Which layers does it change by default? Photoshop User Guide: Adjustment and fill layers overview
  • A cutout around a geometric logo must stay crisp when the layer is scaled up. Which mask does the user guide point to? Photoshop User Guide: Mask layers with vector masks
  • A document has three visible layers and two hidden ones. What does Layer > Flatten Image do with the hidden layers? Photoshop User Guide: Flatten layers in an image
  • A layer has a drop shadow. Which Layers panel setting fades the layer's pixels and leaves the shadow at full strength? Photoshop User Guide: Set layer opacity and blending modes
  • How does stamping layers differ from merging them? Photoshop User Guide: Merge and stamp layers
  • In a clipping mask, which layer decides how much of the clipped layers can be seen? Photoshop User Guide: Create and manage clipping masks
  • Two layers far apart in the stack must always move together, even when only one is selected. What do you do? Photoshop User Guide: Link and unlink layers
  • What does the Adjustment Brush tool create each time you paint a new adjustment? Photoshop User Guide: Use the Adjustment Brush tool
  • What is the default blending mode of a new layer group? Photoshop User Guide: Set layer opacity and blending modes
  • You copied a sky photo and selected a window opening in another image. Which command pastes the sky so it shows only inside the selection? Photoshop User Guide: Paste one selection into or outside another
  • You paint with black on a layer mask. What happens to that part of the layer? Photoshop User Guide: Use layer masks to target adjustment or fill layers
  • You scaled a multi-layer Smart Object and gave it a Smart Filter, then chose Convert To Layers. What is lost? Photoshop User Guide: Convert Smart Objects to layers

Adding Content to a Document 11

  • Before painting with the History Brush tool, what do you set in the History panel? Photoshop User Guide: Restore parts of an image to a previous state
  • Type is set at Auto leading. What line spacing does Photoshop use by default? Photoshop User Guide: Adjust line and character spacing
  • Which painting tool draws crisp, hard-edged lines with no anti-aliasing? Photoshop User Guide: Paint with the Brush or Pencil tool
  • Which three drawing modes do the shape tools and the Line tool offer? Photoshop User Guide: Shape, path, and pixel mode options
  • While you click from point to point with the Pen tool, what does holding Shift do? Photoshop User Guide: Draw paths with the Pen tool
  • Why does the user guide warn against pressing Delete to remove an anchor point from a path? Photoshop User Guide: Modify anchor points on paths
  • With the Horizontal Type tool, how do you start paragraph text in place of point text? Photoshop User Guide: Add text
  • With the Paint Bucket tool, what does turning on Contiguous do? Photoshop User Guide: Fill adjacent areas with similar colors
  • You drag the Eraser tool across the Background layer. What fills the erased area? Photoshop User Guide: Erase parts of an image with the Eraser tool
  • You need the outlines of a word for a selection but want the type layer to stay editable. Which command fits? Photoshop User Guide: Convert text to shapes or work paths
  • You select an area and choose Generative Fill but leave the prompt blank. What does Photoshop do? Photoshop User Guide: Edit images with Generative Fill

Modifying Visual Elements 14

  • A Magic Wand click picks up too little of a blue sky. Which setting do you raise? Photoshop User Guide: Select areas by color with the Magic Wand tool
  • A photo shows three people and you need to select only one. Which does the user guide suggest? Photoshop User Guide: Detect subject using Select Subject
  • A poster photographed from one side looks like a trapezoid. Which tool crops it and squares it in one step? Photoshop User Guide: Transform perspective while cropping
  • How do you crop with the Crop tool so the trimmed area can be brought back later? Photoshop User Guide: Non-destructive editing techniques
  • How do you set the point the Healing Brush tool samples from? Photoshop User Guide: Retouch a large area with the Healing Brush tool
  • In the Select and Mask workspace, which refine mode suits hair or fur against a busy background? Photoshop User Guide: Refine your selection and mask
  • One button has the stroke and shadow you want on five others. What is the direct way to reuse them? Photoshop User Guide: Copy and paste layer styles
  • Under Edit > Transform, which command moves the opposite corner symmetrically when you drag one corner? Photoshop User Guide: Transformation options in Photoshop
  • Which Remove tool control detects power lines and passers-by for you? Photoshop User Guide: Remove objects
  • Which toolbar tool changes how saturated the color is where you paint? Photoshop User Guide: Retouch tools overview
  • You need blank space around a finished image for a border, with the image itself left at the same size. Which command? Photoshop User Guide: Change the canvas size
  • You save a selection to use again tomorrow. Where does Photoshop keep it? Photoshop User Guide: Save and load selections
  • You want a Gaussian Blur whose amount you can change next week. What kind of layer must it be applied to? Photoshop User Guide: Apply and manage Smart Filters
  • You want to retouch on an empty layer above the photo so the photo stays untouched. Which Spot Healing Brush option must be on? Photoshop User Guide: Remove imperfections with the Spot Healing Brush

Publishing Digital Media 7

  • A client wants every layer of a design as its own file. Which command does that in one pass? Photoshop User Guide: Export layers as files
  • A layered document will grow past 2 GB. Which format does the user guide give for it? Photoshop User Guide: Photoshop file formats overview
  • A product cutout for a web page needs a transparent background and no loss of quality. Which format fits? Photoshop User Guide: Image file formats supported in Photoshop
  • In Export As, how do you send out a second, larger copy of an icon for high-density screens in the same export? Photoshop User Guide: Fine-tune export settings with Export As
  • Which formats can be set as the Quick Export format in the Export preferences? Photoshop User Guide: Export your work using the Quick Export as option
  • You need a flattened JPEG for email while the layered document stays open and unchanged. Which command? Photoshop User Guide: Save your work
  • You save a document to cloud documents. Which Smart Objects will work only on the device where it was created? Photoshop User Guide: Photoshop cloud documents overview

How this list was compiled: Own questions, written to the six objectives of the exam guide Adobe publishes for its Adobe Certified Professional certification Visual Design Using Adobe Photoshop at https://certifiedprofessional.adobe.com/photoshop (read 2026-10-09; the guide says it is based on the 2025 version of the exam). Facts were read on 2026-10-09 in the Photoshop User Guide at helpx.adobe.com/photoshop and, for the first objective, at copyright.gov, creativecommons.org, Adobe Stock's contributor help and Adobe's XD Ideas pages. Each question names the page it was written from and links to it. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the objectives of the exam guide and the public pages named in each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from an Adobe or Certiport exam, a sample item, a practice product or a question dump.

How it works

This unofficial Photoshop certification practice test has 72 of our own questions on Adobe's six exam objectives. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Adobe Inc. or Certiport, and nothing comes from the real exam.

Read the full guide

What the real exam asks

Adobe's exam guide for Visual Design Using Adobe Photoshop, read on October 9, 2026, follows the 2025 version of the exam. Its six objectives: working in the design industry; project setup and interface; layers, masks and adjustments; adding content; modifying visual elements; publishing digital media. It gives no weights.

What this page cannot test

Adobe's FAQ describes a 50-minute exam of selected-response questions and tasks done inside Photoshop. Here every item is a question with one right answer, so practice the tasks in the app. Neural filters are left out, as the exam guide excludes them.

  • Fill fades a layer's pixels and leaves its layer effects at full strength. Opacity fades both.
  • Flatten Image discards hidden layers. Stamping adds a merged layer and keeps the originals.
  • A Smart Filter needs a Smart Object layer. Convert To Layers discards the transforms and Smart Filters applied to it.

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the Adobe Photoshop certification exam?

Adobe's FAQ gives 30 questions and 50 minutes for each Adobe Certified Professional exam; its how-it-works page says 30 to 45. Exam mode here draws 30 questions on a 50-minute clock.

What score do you need to pass the Photoshop certification exam?

700 out of 1,000, by Adobe's FAQ, read on October 9, 2026. That is a scaled score, not a percent, so no result on this page says whether you would pass.

Is this Photoshop certification practice test free?

Yes. All 72 questions and their explanations are free, and no account or email address is asked for.

Is Adobe Certified Professional the same as Adobe Certified Associate (ACA)?

Adobe's FAQ says the program was known as Adobe Certified Associate before June 2021. Certifications earned through live-in-the-app exams took the Adobe Certified Professional title, and each is valid for three years after it is issued.

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