And just like that, they were gone
Summary
Salesforce plans to rename 16 certifications mid-2026 and retire 24 certifications by early 2027, including legacy ones like Nonprofit Success Pack and Education Cloud with no replacements. Those who already hold retired certs keep them verified on their profiles but can no longer obtain them. The piece highlights the decreasing value of certifications relative to skills and stresses the minimal effort to maintain existing certs once acquired. Understanding these changes can help Salesforce professionals prioritize which certifications to maintain or pursue going forward.
Takeaways
- Salesforce will rename 16 certifications by July 24, 2026.
- 24 certifications will retire on February 1, 2027, including some key legacy certs.
- Retired certifications remain valid and listed but are no longer available to obtain.
- Maintaining existing certifications involves minimal effort and is generally worthwhile.
- Certification count often doesn89t accurately reflect real skills.
On July 24, 2026, Salesforce will rename 16 certifications. On February 1, 2027, Salesforce will retire 24 certifications. This means you89ll still keep those retired certs, but you won89t be able to obtain them if you haven89t already. They will continue to be listed on your Trailblazer profile, and they are still considered verified. Some notable certs being retired include Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), as the new Nonprofit Cloud (NPC) cert is favored Many accredited certs, which were only offered to partners Education Cloud, without any replacement B2B Solution Architect I believe most people agree that certs don89t have the value they once did. In short, the number of certs you have usually doesn89t match your skill level. However once you89ve obtained a cert, it makes sense to maintain it. This is because the effort to maintain is so small. Personally, I only received my 1st cert after working with Salesforce for 8 years.