Partner Program FAQ: Accredited Professional Exam Retirements

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What Accredited Professional exams are being retired October 7, 2024? 
A: The following Accredited Professional exams will be retired on October 7, 2024.

• • English exams
    • Einstein Prediction Builder Accredited Professional
    • Headless API First Accredited Professional
    • Salesforce CMS Accredited Professional
    • Salesforce Maps Accredited Professional
    • Security & Privacy Accredited Professional
  • Japanese exams
    • Advanced Field Service (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • B2B Commerce For Developers (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Consumer Goods Cloud (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Einstein Prediction Builder (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Heroku Developer (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Marketing Cloud Advanced Cross Channel (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Marketing Cloud Intelligence (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Marketing Cloud Personalization (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Order Management Administrator (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Order Management Developer (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Process Automation (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Salesforce CMS (Japanese) Accredited Professional
    • Security & Privacy (Japanese) Accredited Professional

Q: Why were these Accredited Professional exams retired?
A: We regularly audit our portfolio of credentials to pinpoint gaps, overlaps, and consumption. Salesforce products are changing more quickly than ever, and some credentials have been retired so we can focus on providing the most up-to-date learning and skill validation. Our goal is to give every partner access to the highest quality credentials so they can do their best work. Based on this review, the decision has been made to retire these exams on October 7, 2024.

Q. If an exam is retired, does that mean an updated one will replace it?
A. No. Exams are retired due to product coverage overlaps with other credentials, product leveling, or retirement. An updated exam will not be built in its place. Training used to prepare for this exam is still available in Partner Learning Camp, and additional training related to the product is available in Trailhead.

Q. Why did my retired Accredited Professional certification expire? It was supposed to remain valid through October 2026.

A. There was an issue during the retirement process that prevented expiration dates from being updated. We resolved the issue and as of Jan 8, 2025 India Standard Time, we updated the credential expiration date to Feb 01, 2027.  

Q. Are credential holders notified before a credential is retired? 
A: Yes. All credential holders are emailed two or more weeks prior to the retirement of an exam.

Q. Do I still hold an Accredited Professional credential after the exam has been retired?
A. Yes. If you have earned a credential for an Accredited Professional exam being retired October 7, 2024, it will remain valid until October 7, 2026.

Q: What if I’m scheduled to take an exam that’s retiring?
A: If you are registered to take an exam that is retiring, you will receive an email notifying you about the retirement.

• If you are scheduled to take the exam before October 7, 2024:
  • Complete your exam on the scheduled date or reschedule it before October 7, 2024.
  • If you need assistance rescheduling, contact Examity support: https://www.examity.com/test-taker-contact/.
• If you are scheduled to take the exam after October 7, 2024:
  • Your appointment will be canceled, and you will need to reschedule on or before October 7, 2024, from your dashboard in Examity.
  • If you need assistance rescheduling, contact Examity support: https://www.examity.com/test-taker-contact/.
• If you do not have an upcoming appointment for the exam but would like to take it:
  • Register to take it on or before October 7, 2024.

Q: What if I have a voucher for an exam that is retiring?
A:

• If you have an unused, unexpired voucher for an exam that is retiring, we recommend that you schedule and complete your exam before October 7, 2024.
• If you do not redeem your voucher before October 7, 2024, here is what you need to know:
  • The Accredited Professional program exams are being migrated from Examity to Webassessor.
  • Your voucher may be used in Webassessor starting October 16, 2024, for any active Accredited Professional exam.
  • Accredited Professional exam vouchers cannot be used for Salesforce certification exams.
• If your voucher expired between October 7 and October 16 and you were unable to use it, please open a Trailhead help case and provide the voucher code.
• Vouchers that remain unused but have expired on or before October 7, 2024, will not be replaced, exchanged, or refunded under any circumstances.

Q. How does the retirement of an Accredited Professional credential impact my Partner Navigator Score?
A. Partners earn points through credentials in two ways: points for credentials earned up to a cap and points through earning Navigator status.

• When a credential is retired, partners keep points for the current fiscal year. In the subsequent fiscal year, partners lose the points for the retired credential. Most Accredited Professional credentials are worth 2 or 3 points per credential.
• For Navigator, partners will not lose status immediately. They keep the Navigator status for the remainder of the current fiscal year and the following fiscal year. When re-earning or earning for the first time, the requirements are updated to exclude the credential so the partners can still earn the distinction.