The Biggest Salesforce Certification Overhaul in 2026

Salesforce has announced one of the largest changes to its certification program in years. In total, 24 certifications are being retired and 16 more are being renamed. If you hold a Salesforce certification, or you are planning to earn one soon, this update affects you. Here is exactly what is changing, why it is happening, and what to do next.

What is Actually Changing?

Salesforce is making two separate changes to its certification catalog, and it helps to understand them as two different events.

The first change is a set of certification renames. Sixteen certifications are getting new names starting July 24, 2026. This is a naming update only. If your certification is on this list, you do not need to retake any exam. The content stays the same, only the title changes.

The second change is a full certification retirement. Twenty-four certifications will be permanently retired on February 1, 2027. This is a bigger deal because these exams will stop being offered altogether, and there are firm deadlines if you still want to earn one of them.

Key Dates You Need to Remember

For the certifications being retired, Salesforce has set three important dates:

• July 24, 2026 – Last day to register for any of the affected exams.
• August 31, 2026 – Last day to actually sit the exam.
• February 1, 2027 – Official retirement date.

If you want to earn one of the 24 certifications on the retirement list, you need to register by July 24, 2026, and complete the exam by August 31, 2026. After that window closes, these exams will no longer be available to take. The renamed certifications follow a simpler timeline. The new names take effect on July 24, 2026, and there is nothing you need to do to keep your certification current.

Why Salesforce Is Making This Change?

Salesforce says this update is meant to keep its certification catalog aligned with the skills that employers actually look for today. According to the company, certifications are reviewed regularly, and retirements happen when a product has changed enough that the original exam no longer reflects what professionals need to know, or when a newer certification has taken its place.

The clearest pattern across both the renames and the retirements is a shift toward Agentforce, which is Salesforce’s platform for building AI-powered agents. Many of the renamed certifications now include “Agentforce” in their titles, even in cases where the certification originally had nothing to do with AI. For example, the Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant certification is being renamed to Salesforce Certified Agentforce Sales Consultant, and the Salesforce Certified Field Service Consultant certification becomes Salesforce Certified Agentforce Field Service and Operations Consultant.

This is not the first time Salesforce has made a move like this. Earlier in 2025, the company retired its AI Associate certification and replaced it with Agentblazer Status, a tiered recognition system for AI skills, along with a separate Agentforce Specialist certification. What makes the 2026 update different is scale. Instead of retiring one certification, Salesforce is retiring two dozen at once, along with a wave of renames that touch some of its most well-known credentials.

Full List of 24 Salesforce Certifications Being Retired

The following 24 certifications will retire on February 1, 2027. Salesforce has also shared a suggested path forward for each one, which usually points to a related exam or to Trailhead learning content.

No.	Certification	Path Forward
1	Advanced Field Service Accredited Professional	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings.
2	Salesforce Certified B2B Solution Architect	Comparable learning content is available on Trailhead.
3	Salesforce Certified B2C Commerce Architect	Comparable learning content is available on Trailhead and through B2C Commerce documentation and courses.
4	Consumer Goods Cloud Trade Promotion Management Accredited Professional	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings; partners can also use Partner Learning Camp.
5	Contact Center Accredited Professional	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings.
6	Salesforce Certified CPQ Administrator	Take the Revenue Cloud Consultant exam to continue your certification journey.
7	CPQ and Billing Consultant Accredited Professional	Take the Revenue Cloud Consultant exam to continue your certification journey.
8	Salesforce Certified Industries CPQ Developer	Comparable learning content is available on Trailhead, including the Industries CPQ Foundations badge.
9	Salesforce Certified Education Cloud Consultant	Take the Platform Administrator and Data 360 Consultant exams to validate foundational knowledge.
10	Energy and Utilities Cloud Accredited Professional	Comparable learning content is available through Partner Learning Camp.
11	Heroku Developer Accredited Professional	Take the Heroku Architect exam to continue your certification journey.
12	Loyalty Management Accredited Professional	Comparable learning content is available through Partner Learning Camp.
13	Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Consultant	Skills are being assessed for an upcoming Agentforce Marketing certification launching later in 2026.
14	Marketing Cloud Advanced Cross Channel Accredited Professional	Skills are being assessed for an upcoming Agentforce Marketing certification launching later in 2026.
15	Marketing Cloud Intelligence Accredited Professional	Skills are being assessed for an upcoming Agentforce Marketing certification launching later in 2026.
16	Marketing Cloud Personalization Accredited Professional	Comparable Trailhead content is available; skills are also being assessed for the upcoming Agentforce Marketing certification.
17	Media Cloud Accredited Professional	Take the Revenue Cloud Consultant exam to validate foundational knowledge.
18	Salesforce Certified MuleSoft Catalyst Consultant	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings.
19	Salesforce Certified MuleSoft Hyperautomation Developer	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings.
20	Net Zero Cloud Accredited Professional	Comparable learning content is available through Partner Learning Camp.
21	Order Management Administrator Accredited Professional	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings.
22	Order Management Developer Accredited Professional	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings.
23	Process Automation Accredited Professional	Salesforce is assessing these skills for future certification offerings.
24	Salesforce Certified Nonprofit Success Pack Consultant	This certification is being replaced by the newer Nonprofit Cloud Consultant certification.

A few patterns stand out. The CPQ Administrator and CPQ and Billing Consultant certifications both point toward Revenue Cloud Consultant. The Nonprofit Success Pack Consultant certification has a direct successor in Nonprofit Cloud Consultant. Several Marketing Cloud exams are expected to feed into a new Agentforce Marketing certification planned for later in 2026. Others, like Process Automation and Order Management Developer, do not have a confirmed successor yet, so Trailhead and SalesforceKing resources are the best interim study options.

Full List of 16 Salesforce Certifications Being Renamed

These 16 certifications keep the same exam content and the same maintenance requirements. Only the name changes, effective July 24, 2026.

If your certification appears on this list, your Trailblazer profile updates automatically to show the new name, and your original earned date stays the same.

What Happens If You Already Hold a Retiring Certification?

This is likely the biggest concern for most people, and the answer is reassuring. A retired certification does not disappear and does not become invalid. Salesforce has confirmed that retired certifications remain visible on your Trailblazer profile, marked clearly as “retired,” and they still show up when someone looks up your credentials through the verification system.

Retirement simply means Salesforce will no longer update or maintain the exam content going forward. You also will not need to complete maintenance modules for a retired certification anymore, since maintenance requirements are removed once a certification retires. The one practical change is that you will no longer be able to download or print a certificate for that credential once it officially retires, since certificates are only issued for currently active certifications.

In short, the certification still represents real, valid work and knowledge. It just reflects a skill set that Salesforce is no longer actively building new content around.

How This Fits into Salesforce’s Bigger AI Strategy?

Looking at the renames and retirements together, the direction is clear. Salesforce is reshaping its certification catalog around Agentforce and its broader AI product strategy. This mirrors what happened with the AI Associate certification retirement in 2025, when Salesforce replaced a single entry-level AI exam with a more structured system built around Agentblazer Status and the Agentforce Specialist certification.

The difference this time is scale. Rather than adjusting one certification, Salesforce is touching a large portion of its catalog at once, from CPQ and Nonprofit certifications to Marketing Cloud, MuleSoft, and Field Service credentials. For professionals who built their careers around tools like CPQ or the Nonprofit Success Pack, this can feel like a significant shift, especially for those who invested real time and effort into earning those specific exams.

At the same time, Salesforce has been consistent in stating that this is part of the normal lifecycle of its certification program, not a sign that the underlying products are being abandoned. Retirement affects the exam and its future maintenance, not the product itself or the value of the certification you already hold.

What You Should Do Next?

If you already hold one of the 24 certifications set to retire, there is nothing urgent you need to do. Your certification remains valid, visible, and recognized. If you were planning to earn one of these certifications and have not yet taken the exam, you have until July 24, 2026, to register and until August 31, 2026, to sit it.

If your certification is on the rename list, no action is required at all. Your profile updates on its own, and your certification continues to carry the same weight it always has.

For anyone building a longer-term certification roadmap, this is a good moment to look at where Salesforce is investing next. Certifications tied to Agentforce, Revenue Cloud, and the newer Nonprofit Cloud Consultant path are likely to stay relevant longer, simply because they reflect where the platform is heading.

Final Thoughts

This certification overhaul is large, but it is not chaotic once you break it down into its two parts: a straightforward renaming update and a more significant retirement of 24 exams with clear deadlines attached. Salesforce has been upfront about the reasoning, and the practical impact for most certified professionals is limited. Your certifications remain valid, your profile stays intact, and the main thing that changes is what Salesforce chooses to test and support going forward.

If you are actively working toward a certification on the retirement list, mark your calendar for July 24, 2026, and August 31, 2026. If you already hold one of these credentials, you can rest easy knowing the work you put in still counts.