SAP SuccessFactors Succession Management (C_THR85) Practice Exam
Cover the C_THR85 blueprint — nomination methods and MDF positions, the Succession Data Model, the Succession Org Chart, Matrix Grid (9-box) reports and calibration, talent pools, and talent-review presentations — with objective-mapped questions, immediate feedback in Learn mode, and full timed simulation in Exam mode.
Start 24-hour free trial →C_THR85 exam at a glance
- Vendor
- SAP
- Exam code
- C_THR85 (version rotates; e.g. _2505, _2605)
- Certification
- SAP Certified Associate – Implementation Consultant – SAP SuccessFactors Succession Management
- Solution
- SuccessFactors Succession Management, part of Succession & Development in the talent suite
- Level
- Associate (entry-level, mentored-role qualification)
- Blueprint
- Current SAP topic areas for C_THR85; verify the live version on SAP’s certification page before scheduling
- Format
- Multiple-choice / multiple-response (“there are N correct answers”), moving toward scenario-based delivery in 2026 — confirm current format and question count
- Passing standard
- SAP sets a cut score per exam version and does not publish a single fixed pass mark. Confirm the current cut score on SAP’s certification page
- Prerequisites
- None formally required; SuccessFactors platform and talent-management background recommended
- Provisioning note
- Only registered SAP partner consultants receive provisioning rights after certifying; customers do not have Provisioning access
- Delivery
- SAP Certification Hub (online, proctored); CER001 single-attempt or CER006 multi-exam subscription
- Validity
- 12 months; extend for another 12 months each time you pass the annual online assessment
Sources: SAP Learning — C_THR85 certification page · SAP Learning — Succession Management Academy. Facts vary by version; verify current details with SAP before scheduling.
About the SuccessFactors Succession Management (C_THR85) certification
C_THR85 is SAP’s associate-level credential for implementing and configuring SAP SuccessFactors Succession Management — the talent-management module that identifies cover for an organization’s critical positions and develops the leaders of tomorrow. Succession is about ensuring continuity: permissioned HR representatives and managers identify successors, build succession plans, and nominate the most suitable candidates, using tools like the Succession Org Chart, Talent Search, and Matrix Grid Reports to see the health of the talent pipeline. For how SAP certification exams work generally, see the certification study guides in our Learning Hub.
The concept that anchors the exam is the nomination method, chosen in Provisioning: Role-Person, Role, Position, and — the preferred method for most customers — MDF Position-Based Nominations. MDF positions are generic objects built with the Metadata Framework that keep succession plans in place through incumbent changes, support effective dating and custom fields, and let planners edit positions directly from the Succession Org Chart or Position Tile. Around that sit the Succession Data Model, Matrix Grid (9-box) reports and calibration, talent pools, and talent-review presentations.
Every PowerKram practice question maps to one of the competency areas below and links to the SAP Learning or SAP Help page it derives from, so a weak spot becomes a specific reading step rather than a guess.
C_THR85 competency areas
SAP has published topic weights for this exam in the past, but they have shifted between versions and aren’t stable across the current release, so the areas below are listed without percentages. Plan your study across all of them, with the heaviest hands-on effort on nominations/MDF positions and the Succession Data Model, which underpin everything else.
Selecting the nomination type and method in Provisioning — Role-Person, Role, Position, and MDF Position (the preferred method) — and understanding how each behaves.
Creating and configuring MDF positions as generic objects: effective dating, custom fields, multiple incumbents, and permissions applied directly to the position object.
Configuring the Succession Data Model and its standard elements (such as Risk of Loss and Photo), and how those elements surface in People Profile, Matrix Grid reports, and the Org Chart.
Navigating the interactive Succession Org Chart and Position Tile view, display options such as Bench Strength, and visualizing the succession lineage for a position.
Customizing the Matrix Grid (9-box) performance/potential and how-vs-what reports, and the succession-specific calibration options such as adding nominations from a session.
Configuring MDF Talent Pools with readiness ratings and emergency cover, nominating incumbents or successors, and finding candidates with Talent Search.
Building succession processes, the successor import and nomination history, and talent-review Presentations with live slides of Org Chart, Matrix Grid, and Talent Pool views.
Role-based permissions for succession features, and integration points to Performance and Goals, Compensation, Recruiting, and development (Career Development, Mentoring).
Source: SAP Learning — Succession Management Academy. Published topic weights have varied by version; verify the current edition before scheduling.
Who C_THR85 is for
SAP positions C_THR85 as an entry-level qualification for consultants who implement Succession Management, and it targets SAP partner consultants, since only registered partners receive provisioning rights after certifying. The audience:
- SuccessFactors talent consultants configuring nomination methods, MDF positions, data models, and talent pools for customers under senior guidance.
- HR and HRIS analysts who own succession planning and want to configure the Org Chart, Matrix Grid reports, and calibration rather than just administer them.
- HR Business Partners and succession planners responsible for identifying successors, running talent reviews, and ensuring bench strength.
- SuccessFactors specialists broadening from performance and core HR into the succession and development side of the talent suite.
Succession rarely stands alone. It pairs closely with Performance & Goals (ratings feed the Matrix Grid and calibration), with Career Development and mentoring (to close talent gaps), and with Compensation. It builds on Employee Central Core, especially where Employee Central position management is used. For the consultant roles this credential supports, see the functional-consultant career paths in our Career Hub.
What this C_THR85 practice exam delivers
Learn mode
Get the correct answer, the explanation, and a direct link to the SAP Learning or SAP Help page each question derives from — immediately after each question. Best for the nomination-method and MDF-position areas, where configuration choices matter.
Exam mode
Timed, full-length simulation matched to the C_THR85 format, including the multiple-response “there are N correct answers” items and the scenario style SAP is moving toward. Build the pacing and decision-making the real exam expects.
Source-linked explanations
Every answer cites the SAP Succession course or SAP Help documentation it was built from, so you can verify nomination behavior, data-model elements, and Org Chart tools against SAP’s own material.
Score by competency area
Results break down across nominations, MDF positions, data model, Org Chart, Matrix Grid, talent pools, and presentations — so practice tells you exactly what to revisit.
Sample C_THR85 practice questions
Ten free questions across the C_THR85 competency areas, with full explanations and source links to the SAP Learning and SAP Help pages each derives from. The complete bank is available with the 24-hour trial.
A customer wants to maintain custom fields for a position within Configure Object Definitions. Which succession nomination method should you select in Provisioning?
- MDF Position
- Role-Person
- Role
- Legacy Position
Show answer & explanation
Correct: A — MDF Position. MDF positions are generic objects built with the Metadata Framework, so they can be extended with custom fields in Configure Object Definitions. That makes MDF Position the method to choose when custom position fields are required.
Why not the others: Role-Person (B) and Role (C) nominate against roles or incumbents, not extensible position objects; Legacy Position (D) supports succession plans but not the MDF custom-field extensibility.
Source: SAP Help — MDF Position-Based Nominations → Further reading: PowerKram — Employee Central Core (position management) →Which is a key benefit of MDF Position-Based Nominations over person-based nomination?
- It removes the need to identify successors at all
- Succession plans stay in place through incumbent changes, since the plan is attached to the position
- It disables the Succession Org Chart
- It requires a placeholder user record behind each position
Show answer & explanation
Correct: B. Because the succession plan is attached to the position rather than a person, MDF position-based nominations keep succession plans in place through incumbent changes and support planning for vacant positions, effective dating, and custom fields.
Why not the others: it does not remove the need to identify successors (A); it works with, not against, the Org Chart (C); and a benefit of MDF is that permissions apply to the position directly, eliminating the placeholder user record (D).
Source: SAP Help — MDF Position-Based Nominations →What is the Matrix Grid Report (9-box) primarily used to do in Succession Management?
- Run payroll for successors
- Post jobs to external career sites
- Plot talent by performance and potential to identify high-potential employees
- Configure the cookie banner on a career site
Show answer & explanation
Correct: C. The Matrix Grid (9-box) performance/potential and how-vs-what reports plot talent across a target population so planners can identify high-potential employees and compare succession candidates.
Why not the others: payroll (A) and career-site posting (B) belong to other modules; the cookie banner (D) is a Career Site Builder setting, not a succession tool.
Source: SAP Help — Succession planning overview → Further reading: PowerKram — Performance & Goals (calibration) →Which display option on the Succession Org Chart shows how well positions are covered by ready successors?
- Cookie consent
- Payroll posting
- Route map
- Bench Strength
Show answer & explanation
Correct: D — Bench Strength. The Bench Strength display option on the Succession Org Chart lets planners see how well positions are covered by successors, highlighting where the pipeline is thin.
Why not the others: cookie consent (A) is a career-site setting; payroll posting (B) is a payroll activity; and a route map (C) governs form approval, not Org Chart display.
Source: SAP Help — Succession Org Chart & bench strength →When nominating an employee to an MDF Talent Pool from the Succession Org Chart, what can you set if the pool is configured for it?
- Their payroll wage type
- A readiness level for the employee
- Their career-site theme
- A route map stage
Show answer & explanation
Correct: B. When nominating an incumbent or successor to an MDF Talent Pool that has readiness enabled, you choose a readiness level for the employee (and optionally mark them as emergency cover).
Why not the others: a payroll wage type (A) is a payroll attribute; a career-site theme (C) is a Career Site Builder setting; and a route map stage (D) belongs to form approval, not talent-pool nomination.
Source: SAP Help — Adding to an MDF Talent Pool → Further reading: PowerKram — SuccessFactors Career Development →Which of the following is a standard element commonly configured in the Succession Data Model?
- Career Site cookie banner
- Payroll control record
- Risk of Loss
- Job requisition route map
Show answer & explanation
Correct: C — Risk of Loss. Risk of Loss (along with elements like Photo and the Custom fields) is a standard element of the Succession Data Model, surfaced in People Profile and used in succession analysis such as impact/risk of loss.
Why not the others: the cookie banner (A) is a Career Site Builder setting; the payroll control record (B) belongs to payroll; and a job requisition route map (D) belongs to Recruiting.
Source: SAP Help — Succession Data Model elements →A legacy nomination process based on succession forms is no longer supported by SAP. What replaced it as the recommended approach?
- Spreadsheet-based tracking
- MDF Position-Based (and other data-object) nominations
- Email approval chains
- Paper succession binders
Show answer & explanation
Correct: B. SAP retired the legacy form-based succession nomination process (as of the 1H 2021 release); modern nominations use data-object methods, with MDF Position-Based nomination the preferred approach for most customers.
Why not the others: spreadsheets (A), email chains (C), and paper binders (D) are not SAP nomination mechanisms — the replacement is in-system data-object nomination.
Source: SAP Help — Nomination methods →Senior HR leaders need to run talent-review discussions for executives using live succession data. Which feature supports this?
- Presentations, with live slides of the Matrix Grid, Org Chart, and Talent Pools
- The Payroll Control Center
- Career Site Builder pages
- Recruiting route maps
Show answer & explanation
Correct: A — Presentations. Presentations give an intuitive interface to create and deliver talent-review sessions, including live slides that show views of the Matrix Grid Report, Succession Org Chart, MDF Talent Pools, Position Tiles, and Talent Cards.
Why not the others: the Payroll Control Center (B) runs payroll; Career Site Builder pages (C) are candidate-facing; and Recruiting route maps (D) approve requisitions — none delivers a succession talent review.
Source: SAP Help — Presentations & talent review → Further reading: PowerKram — SuccessFactors Compensation →If no adequate internal successor can be identified for a critical position, which integration can be triggered from the succession process?
- A payroll off-cycle run
- A calibration session for finance
- A time-off replication job
- A requisition request in SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting
Show answer & explanation
Correct: D. When talent gaps can’t be filled internally, the succession process can trigger a requisition request in SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting; internal gaps can also be closed with development actions via Learning and Mentoring.
Why not the others: a payroll off-cycle run (A), a finance calibration (B), and a time-off replication job (C) are unrelated to sourcing an external successor.
Source: SAP Help — Succession integration → Further reading: PowerKram — SuccessFactors Career Development →A customer needs a change made in Provisioning to enable a succession feature. Who performs it?
- Any end-user manager
- The employee being nominated
- The registered SAP implementation partner (customers do not have Provisioning access)
- Any user with People Profile access
Show answer & explanation
Correct: C. Customers do not have access to Provisioning; those tasks are performed by the registered SAP implementation partner. This is also why only certified partner consultants receive provisioning rights. Once a feature is enabled in Provisioning, related role-based permission options become available in Admin Center.
Why not the others: end-user managers (A), the nominee (B), and general People Profile users (D) have no Provisioning access — it is a restricted, partner-only back-end tool.
Source: SAP Help — Provisioning & permissions →Keep going: Learning & Career resources
C_THR85 is a core talent-management credential in the SuccessFactors suite. Whether you’re deepening Succession Management skills or mapping where a talent consultant role leads, two PowerKram hubs back this exam.
Deep dive: C_THR85 scope, nomination methods, study path, and recertification
Nomination methods are the foundation
Everything in Succession starts with the nomination method chosen in Provisioning: Role-Person and Role nominate against roles or incumbents; Position and MDF Position nominate against the position itself. MDF Position-Based nomination is the preferred method for most customers because the plan attaches to the position (surviving incumbent changes), the position is a generic object that can be extended with custom fields and effective-dated, and permissions apply directly to the position — no placeholder user record needed. Choosing the right method is a recurring exam theme. See EC position management →
Seeing the pipeline: Org Chart, Matrix Grid, Talent Pools
Once nominations exist, planners use the Succession Org Chart and Position Tile view to see coverage (including Bench Strength), the Matrix Grid (9-box) reports to plot performance against potential and identify high-potentials, and MDF Talent Pools (with readiness ratings and emergency cover) plus Talent Search to organize and find candidates. These tools are where the day-to-day succession work happens. See how ratings feed the grid →
Talent reviews and closing gaps
Presentations let HR leaders run talent-review discussions with live slides of the Org Chart, Matrix Grid, Talent Pools, and Talent Cards. When gaps appear, development actions flow to Career Development, Learning, and Mentoring; if no internal successor exists, a requisition can be triggered in Recruiting. Succession is the hub that connects performance data to development and hiring. See Career Development →
Realistic study path
Most candidates work through SAP’s Succession Management Academy course, get hands-on in a demo instance enabling MDF position-based nomination, configuring the data model and talent pools, and navigating the Org Chart and Matrix Grid, then finish with scenario-based practice. Spend the most time on nomination methods, MDF positions, and the data model, since the reporting and review tools build on them. See the analytics companion →
Provisioning rights and recertification
Only registered SAP partner consultants receive provisioning rights after certifying; customers do not have Provisioning access, though the credential still validates their knowledge. Certifications are valid for 12 months and renew via a free annual online assessment that tracks the latest release — important because Succession & Development ships frequent cloud updates. Read the certification study guides →
Frequently asked questions
What are the succession nomination methods?
What is an MDF position?
What is the Matrix Grid Report (9-box)?
Who can access Provisioning for succession features?
How many questions is C_THR85 and how long is it?
Start your free 24-hour C_THR85 practice trial
Full access to the question bank, both study modes, source-linked explanations, and score-by-competency-area. No credit card required.
Start free trial →