If you’ve earned a Salesforce credential or you’re studying for one, the next few months will look a little different. Salesforce is cleaning up its certification lineup, and these changes are bigger than the usual yearly tweaks.
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Two Dates You Actually Need to Remember
People may mix these two up, and they’re not the same thing at all.
July 24, 2026: The Rename Date
On this date, 16 certifications will be renamed. Nothing about the exam changes overnight, and your existing credential stays valid. What changes is the label. If your LinkedIn says “Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant,” you’ll need to update it to “Agentforce Sales Consultant” so your profile doesn’t look outdated to a recruiter searching for the new term.
February 1, 2027: The Retirement Date
After this date, the 24 retiring certifications can’t be earned anymore. If one of them is on your study plan, you either finish before the deadline or you pick something else. Simple as that.
The reason I’m separating these so firmly is that “renamed” and “retired” trigger completely different reactions. One means is to update your resume. The other means starts running.
Why Salesforce Is Doing This
This is the part worth knowing, and it’s the part that tells you where things are going.
Look at the rename list, and a pattern jumps out. Communications Cloud, Consumer Goods Cloud, Financial Services Cloud, Health Cloud, Manufacturing Cloud, Public Sector, Field Service, Sales Cloud Consultant, Service Cloud Consultant, Nonprofit Cloud, and even the entry-level Sales Foundations. All of them get “Agentforce” stitched into the name.
That’s no coincidence. Agentforce is Salesforce’s AI agent platform, and the company is choosing to view its whole credential lineup through that lens. When even the beginner-level cert becomes “Agentforce Sales Foundations,” the message is hard to miss. Salesforce wants the market to read its ecosystem as AI-first, top to bottom.
So the retirements and renames aren’t a teardown. They’re a consolidation plus a rebrand. Salesforce is trimming the narrow, product-specific, or aging credentials and applying an AI label to the ones that remain. If the platform has felt heavily AI-focused this past year, the same shift is evident in the certification catalog.
The Full List of Retiring Salesforce Certifications
The retirements hit some tracks harder than others. The Accredited Professional tier takes the biggest punch, with roughly 15 of the 24 retiring credentials coming from that group alone. Here’s the full picture.
Accredited Professional Certifications Retiring
| Certification | Retirement Date |
|---|---|
| Advanced Field Service Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Consumer Goods Cloud: Trade Promotion Management AP | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Contact Center Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| CPQ and Billing Consultant Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Energy and Utilities Cloud Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Heroku Developer Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Loyalty Management Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Marketing Cloud Advanced Cross Channel AP | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Marketing Cloud Intelligence Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Marketing Cloud Personalization Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Media Cloud Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Net Zero Cloud Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Order Management Administrator Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Order Management Developer Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Process Automation Accredited Professional | Feb 1, 2027 |
Administrator, Architect, and Consultant Certifications Retiring
| Certification | Track | Retirement Date |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Certified CPQ Administrator | Administrator | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Salesforce Certified B2B Solution Architect | Architect | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Salesforce Certified B2C Commerce Architect | Architect | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Salesforce Certified Education Cloud Consultant | Consultant | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Salesforce Certified MuleSoft Catalyst Consultant | Consultant | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Salesforce Certified Nonprofit Success Pack Consultant | Consultant | Feb 1, 2027 |
Developer and Marketer Certifications Retiring
| Certification | Track | Retirement Date |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Certified MuleSoft Hyperautomation Developer | Developer | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Salesforce Certified Industries CPQ Developer | Developer | Feb 1, 2027 |
| Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Consultant | Marketer | Feb 1, 2027 |
Notice the theme. CPQ, Order Management, legacy MuleSoft, and several Marketing Cloud specializations are the ones going away. These are narrow or older credentials, not the big role-defining ones.
Salesforce Certification Name Changes (Old to New)
On July 24, 2026, sixteen certifications will retain their substance but will change their names. The Agentforce pattern becomes unmistakable when viewed side by side.
| Current Name | New Name |
|---|---|
| B2B Commerce for Administrators AP | Salesforce Accredited B2B Commerce Administrator Professional |
| B2B Commerce for Developers AP | Salesforce Accredited B2B Commerce Developer Professional |
| Communications Cloud AP | Salesforce Accredited Agentforce Communications Professional |
| Consumer Goods Cloud AP | Salesforce Accredited Agentforce Consumer Goods Professional |
| Financial Services Cloud AP | Salesforce Accredited Agentforce Financial Services Professional |
| Health Cloud AP | Salesforce Accredited Agentforce Health Professional |
| Manufacturing Cloud AP | Salesforce Accredited Agentforce Manufacturing Professional |
| Public Sector Solutions AP | Salesforce Accredited Agentforce 360 for Public Sector Professional |
| B2C Commerce Cloud Developer | Salesforce Certified B2C Commerce Developer |
| Field Service Consultant | Salesforce Certified Agentforce Field Service and Operations Consultant |
| Marketing Cloud Email Specialist | Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Engagement Specialist |
| Nonprofit Cloud Consultant (NPC) | Salesforce Certified Agentforce Nonprofit Consultant |
| Revenue Cloud Consultant | Salesforce Certified Revenue Management Consultant |
| Sales Cloud Consultant | Salesforce Certified Agentforce Sales Consultant |
| Sales Foundations | Salesforce Certified Agentforce Sales Foundations |
| Service Cloud Consultant | Salesforce Certified Agentforce Service Consultant |
If you hold any of these, your credential is still good. You just need to know what it’s called now.
Which Salesforce Certifications Are Staying?
Easy to forget in all this, but most of the catalog is staying. Sixty-three certifications carry on, and they cover every core role you’d expect.
Admins keep Platform Administrator and Platform App Builder. Developers keep Platform Developer I and II, plus JavaScript Developer. Architects keep the full path up to Technical Architect. Consultants, Business Analysts, Data Analysts, Designers, and the Tableau and Slack tracks are all still there. The Agentforce Specialist cert sits in here, too, which fits the broader AI push.
So the headline isn’t “Salesforce is shrinking its certifications.” It’s “Salesforce is tightening them.” The role-defining credentials are safe. The ones being cut are mostly the hyper-specific ones.
What This Means for You
Your move depends on where you sit today.
- If you’re Mid-Study: Check your target cert against the retirement list first. If it’s retiring and you’re close, push to finish before February 1, 2027. If you’re just starting and it’s on the list, ask yourself whether it’s still the right investment, or whether a staying credential gets you to the same place.
- If You’re Already Certified: Relax. A rename doesn’t invalidate anything. The only practical task is updating your LinkedIn, resume, and email signature once the new names go live, so recruiters searching the current term can still find you.
- If You’re a Consultant or Partner: This one needs planning. Partner tiers and staffing models often lean on certification counts, so 24 retirements can ripple into how you assign and credential your team. Map your people against both lists now rather than scrambling in January 2027.
- If You’re a Beginner: Start with the certs that aren’t going anywhere. Platform Administrator and Platform App Builder are still the most reliable entry points. From there, the Agentforce direction tells you where to aim next.
How to Plan Your Next Salesforce Certification
A few practical habits will keep you on the right side of all this.
Always read the official exam guide before you commit. It tells you the skills and experience each exam expects, and it’s the only source that won’t go stale. You can find every guide through Trailhead Academy.
Lean toward role-defining certifications rather than narrow product certifications. The retirement list is basically a lesson in what happens to overly specialized credentials over time. For the full breakdown of what’s changing, Salesforce published a Certification Retirements FAQ worth bookmarking.
Final Thoughts
It’s tempting to read “24 certifications retiring” as bad news, but that misses what’s going on. This is Salesforce trimming the narrow stuff and stamping its AI brand on the credentials it’s keeping. Consolidation, not collapse.
Your job is simpler than the headline suggests. Watch the two dates, update your profile when the names change in July 2026, and finish any retiring cert before February 2027 if it still matters to your career. Do that, and the Agentforce shift becomes an opportunity instead of a scramble.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Twenty-four certifications expire on February 1, 2027.
Yes. Renames are cosmetic. Your credential stays valid; only the name on it changes.
Salesforce is consolidating into broader, role-based credentials and folding many into its Agentforce-aligned lineup rather than offering one-for-one replacements.
Yes, effective July 24, 2026
Sixty-three certifications remain across all major roles.
Only if it’s relevant to your current role and you’re close to finishing. Otherwise, put your energy into a credential that’s staying.
Priya Rastogi
Priya is a Salesforce Admin who believes in the power of continuous learning and collaboration. She’s passionate about exploring how Salesforce can simplify work, boost productivity, and create better user experiences. When she’s not experimenting with new features or automating processes, Priya enjoys connecting with fellow Trailblazers and sharing insights to help others grow in their Salesforce journey.
- Priya Rastogi
- Priya Rastogi
- Priya Rastogi
- Priya Rastogi
