If you’ve been putting off a Salesforce certification decision, this is the month it finally catches up with you. July 24, 2026, is the last day to register for any of the 24 certifications Salesforce is retiring. If you miss this, that credential will be lost forever. You won’t be able to obtain it later, even if you feel fully prepared.
I’ve watched a lot of people misread this deadline, so let me be clear about what it actually means before you do anything wrong. July 24 is not about losing a cert you already hold. It’s not a maintenance deadline. It’s a registration cutoff for credentials that are being phased out. And honestly, for most of you reading this, the smart play isn’t to panic-book an exam. It’s to decide whether the retiring cert is even worth your time, and then either register or redirect your energy somewhere better.
Here’s a 30-day plan to help you make that call without the stress.
Table of Contents
First, Get the Dates Straight
Three separate things are happening, and people keep blending them into one big scary event. They’re not the same.
- July 24, 2026 — Registration cutoff. This is the final day to register for an exam tied to any of the 24 retiring certifications. After this, registration closes.
- July 24, 2026 — Renames take effect. On the very same day, 16 active certifications get new names. Most are picking up the word “Agentforce.” This part is cosmetic. No new exam, no maintenance change, no action needed. If you already hold one of these, you keep it. Only the display name updates.
- August 31, 2026 — Final exam date. Even if you register before July 24, you still have to sit and pass the exam by August 31. The credentials will then officially retire on February 1, 2027.
One more thing worth clearing up: July 24 has nothing to do with certification maintenance. That’s a different system entirely. Maintenance keeps your existing credentials marked “Active.” It runs on the release schedule, and it’s free. Don’t let the two deadlines blur together in your head.
What’s Actually Retiring
Twenty-four certifications are being retired, and the Accredited Professional tier takes the hardest hit. Roughly 15 of the 24 are AP credentials.
The list includes things like CPQ and Billing Consultant AP, Order Management Administrator and Developer APs, several niche Marketing Cloud specializations, Heroku Developer AP, Loyalty Management AP, and Net Zero Cloud AP. On the role-based side, you’re looking at the Salesforce Certified CPQ Administrator, B2B Solution Architect, B2C Commerce Architect, Education Cloud Consultant, the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) Consultant, and the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Consultant, among others.
The pattern here is consolidation. CPQ, Order Management, legacy MuleSoft credentials, and a cluster of specialized Marketing Cloud certs are going away. The core role-defining exams, the ones that actually anchor most careers, are staying put.
You can check the full here
Days 1 to 5: Decide
This is the part people skip, and it’s the most important. Before you spend a dollar, figure out if the retiring cert is worth chasing at all.
Ask yourself three honest questions:
- Am I already close to exam-ready? If you’ve been studying for weeks and you’re scoring well on practice exams, fine. If you are starting completely from scratch, however, you should give it careful thought.
- Is the product actually in my work? Are you on CPQ or NPSP projects right now, or about to be? A cert for a product you don’t touch is a line on your profile, not a skill.
- Does someone specifically require it? Partner tier requirement or an employer’s mandate changes everything. If your company insists that you hold this specific credential, then July 24 becomes a deadline you cannot afford to miss.
And if you already hold one of the retiring certs? You don’t need to do anything for this deadline. Salesforce has clearly stated that a retired certification is still valid. It stays on your Trailblazer profile, marked as retired. One small note: retired certs won’t appear on the public certification verification page, even though they remain in your profile record. So update your resume language and be ready to talk about what you’re learning next.
Days 6 to 10: Register or Redirect
Now you commit to a path.
If You’re Registering
Head to Trailhead Academy and register before July 24. Salesforce moved certifications off WebAssessor in 2025, and exams now run through Pearson VUE, either online-proctored with OnVUE or at a test center. Log in with your Trailblazer profile, and make sure the email matches your old account so your history carries over.
Budget around $200 for most role exams, plus local tax. Architect-level exams run $400. Retakes are $100 (or $200 for architect exams).
Book your exam as early in the August window as you can. The last possible sitting is August 31, and you want a buffer. If you fail, you can retake after 24 hours, but that retake still has to land before August 31. Cut it too close, and you lose your second chance entirely.
If You’re Redirecting
This is where most people should land, and the good news is that your study hours mostly transfer. Salesforce has named clear successor paths:
- CPQ Administrator → Revenue Cloud Consultant (being renamed Revenue Management Consultant on July 24). Your CPQ pricing and quoting knowledge carries straight over.
- NPSP Consultant → Nonprofit Cloud Consultant (NPC). A lot of folks in the community find the NPC exam a bit friendlier than the old NPSP one.
- Education Cloud Consultant → no clean one-to-one swap. Salesforce points toward the Platform Administrator and Data 360 Consultant exams, plus Trailhead content.
- Four Marketing Cloud credentials → these are being folded into a future Agentforce Marketing certification that Salesforce expects to launch in late 2026. No confirmed registration date yet, so if you’re a Marketing Cloud pro, waiting may be better than chasing a retiring exam.
Enroll in the successor’s “Prepare for Your Credential” Trailmix and switch your plan now. Don’t waste the prep you’ve already done.
Days 26 to 30: Execute
Final stretch. A day or two before your exam, run the OnVUE system test, so you’re not fighting your webcam on exam morning. Confirm your photo ID matches the legal name on your Trailhead profile, because a mismatch can get you turned away.
Then sit it. If you don’t pass and you’ve got time, use the 24-hour retake window. Just remember the August 31 ceiling applies to retakes too.
A Few Mistakes to Avoid
I’ve seen these trip people up more than once.
- Don’t confuse the rename with the retirement. If your cert is changing names on July 24, you do nothing. People panic over the word “Agentforce” appearing on the list and assume their credentials are dying. It isn’t.
- Don’t register without a plan to actually sit it. Registering by July 24 means nothing if you can’t pass by August 31. The registration date is the easy part.
- Don’t chase a cert out of fear. “Last chance” energy is a bad reason to spend money. A credential going inactive in months isn’t a trophy worth grabbing on the way out.
Final Thoughts
July 24 sounds dramatic, and for a small group of you, it genuinely matters. If you’re nearly ready and the cert serves your career, register, schedule early, and leave room for a retake. For everyone else, the calmer and smarter move is to skip the retiring exam and put those study hours into the successor credential that’ll still be standing this time next year.
Either way, spend your first five days deciding rather than reacting. The deadline rewards a clear head far more than a fast credit card.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Nothing changes regarding its validity. It stays on your Trailblazer profile marked as retired, and it remains a legitimate credential. It just won’t appear on the public verification page after retirement.
It’s the registration cutoff. The actual exam has to be completed by August 31, 2026.
No. The rename is automatic and cosmetic. Your earned date is preserved. The only thing worth doing is updating your resume and LinkedIn to the new name so recruiters searching for it can find you.
Only if you’re close to ready, the product is part of your work, or someone requires it. Otherwise, redirect to the named successor and save yourself the scramble.
Most role exams are USD 200 plus local tax, with $100 retakes. Architect-level exams are $400 with $200 retakes.
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
