When did the AWS Certification program start?

AWS launched its global AWS Certification program on April 30, 2013. The first certification was the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate; the Developer - Associate and SysOps Administrator - Associate followed on January 13, 2014, and the first Professional exam (Solutions Architect - Professional) arrived on May 7, 2014.

Which AWS certifications have been retired?

The retired AWS certifications are: Big Data - Specialty (retired 2020, replaced by Data Analytics - Specialty); Alexa Skill Builder - Specialty (last exam day March 22, 2021); Data Analytics - Specialty (last exam day April 8, 2024); Database - Specialty and SAP on AWS - Specialty (last exam day April 29, 2024); and Machine Learning - Specialty (last exam day March 31, 2026). The Advanced Networking - Specialty is scheduled to retire on August 25, 2026. In every case, individuals who already earned the certification remain certified until their three-year validity expires.

How often are AWS exams updated, and what do the exam codes (for example, SAA-C03) mean?

AWS periodically revises each exam to align it with current services and best practices, and marks each revision with an incrementing code suffix (C01, C02, C03, and so on). For example, the Solutions Architect - Associate exam has gone through SAA-C01, SAA-C02 (2020), and SAA-C03 (2022); Cloud Practitioner moved from CLF-C01 to CLF-C02 (2023); and Security - Specialty went from SCS-C01 to SCS-C02 (2023) to SCS-C03 (2025). There is no fixed schedule, but popular exams have typically been refreshed every two to three years.

What is the recertification period for AWS certifications?

Every AWS Certification is valid for three years. It was originally two years; AWS extended it to three years and discontinued the separate recertification exams in 2019. You can recertify by retaking the current exam, by passing a higher-level related exam, or - through an option introduced in 2026 - by completing training and hands-on labs on AWS Skill Builder to extend the certification by one year.

What is the difference between the Associate and Professional levels?

Associate certifications are role-based credentials that validate hands-on skills for common cloud roles, with recommended experience of roughly one year. Professional certifications are advanced, role-based credentials for experienced practitioners, with recommended experience of about two or more years and a broader, more complex scope. Until late 2018, Professional exams required first holding the related Associate certification, but that prerequisite was removed, so any exam can now be taken in any order.

What is the newest AWS certification?

As of the Last Updated date of this article, the newest AWS certification is the AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional (AIP-C01), which opened as a beta on November 18, 2025 and moved to its standard version in 2026. It is a Professional-tier certification for building production generative AI applications using foundation models, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and vector databases.

AWS Certification History and Timeline - Exams, Updates, Retirements, and Introduction

First Published: 2026-07-05
Last Updated: 2026-07-05

This is a cross-cutting installment in the series that I started with the "AWS History and Timeline - Almost All AWS Services List, Announcements, General Availability(GA)", where I extract features from the history and timeline of AWS. Instead of a single service, this article traces the history of the AWS Certification program itself — the exams that validate AWS skills.

This time, I have created a historical timeline of AWS Certification, the official program that AWS launched on April 30, 2013. Over more than a decade it has grown from a single Associate exam into a portfolio spanning the Foundational, Associate, Professional, and Specialty tiers, and it has continuously changed through new certifications, exam-code revisions (for example, SAA-C01 → SAA-C02 → SAA-C03), renames (such as SysOps Administrator → CloudOps Engineer), and retirements (such as Big Data, Alexa Skill Builder, and several Specialty certifications). Because the official AWS pages show only the certifications available today, the history of what was added, renamed, revised, and retired is scattered across many announcements — this article gathers those milestones into one chronological reference.

As someone who has continuously obtained and re-obtained all AWS Certifications and has been recognized as a Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer, I have watched this program change with almost every exam cycle. I have separately written about the reasons for continually obtaining all AWS Certifications, study methods, and levels of difficulty; this article stays neutral and focuses on the documented history of the program.
Just like the service timelines, I am summarizing the present-day program as a Current Overview of the AWS Certification Program, so that it is clear what has stayed the same and what has changed.

This article is intended as a reference for AWS certification candidates, current holders, and anyone who builds learning content, so each entry in the timeline links to its primary AWS announcement. If you are looking for a specific fact — when a certification launched, when an exam code changed, or when a certification was retired — the timeline below is organized chronologically with a year index, and the current lineup and program policies are summarized afterward.

Background and Method of Creating the AWS Certification Historical Timeline

The reason for creating a historical timeline of AWS Certification is that the certification program is one of the most widely referenced parts of the AWS ecosystem — millions of people study for these exams — and yet there is no single official page that records its full history. The live AWS Certification pages list only the exams that are currently offered, so once a certification is renamed, revised, or retired, the earlier facts (for example, that Big Data – Specialty preceded Data Analytics – Specialty, or that the Solutions Architect – Associate exam has been through SAA-C01, SAA-C02, and SAA-C03) tend to disappear from the current pages.

Because AWS Certification has expanded and changed along several axes — new certifications, new tiers, exam-code revisions, renames, retirements, and program-wide policy and delivery changes — I wanted to organize the information with the following approaches.

Tracking the history of the AWS Certification program and organizing the transition of exams, renames, revisions, and retirements
Summarizing the current certification portfolio, levels, and program policies

This timeline primarily references the following official AWS pages and blogs regarding AWS Certification.

There may be slight variations in the dates on the timeline due to differences between an announcement date, a beta window, a "last day to take the exam" date, and a general-availability date. Where AWS distinguishes them, I note both the announcement/beta and the retirement/last-exam dates.
Where AWS publishes more than one date for the same change, this timeline uses the most meaningful one and mentions the others in the row: for a new certification, that usually means the beta announcement (with the general-availability month noted); for a revision, the date the new exam code becomes available (with the previous version's last exam day noted); and for a retirement, the last day the exam can be taken (with a note that existing holders remain certified until their credential expires).
Inclusion criteria: this timeline records milestones that AWS announced officially — new certifications, tier additions, renames, exam-code revisions, retirements, and program-wide policy and delivery changes (prerequisites, recertification, online proctoring, and testing providers).
For exam-code revisions, only the major version changes (for example, C01 → C02 → C03) are listed, not every minor content-outline refresh; and please note that the items on this timeline are representative milestones I have picked out, not an exhaustive list of every certification update.
In keeping with the neutral, institutional focus of this article, exam fees, passing scores, and specific exam question content are intentionally not covered — this article sticks to the documented facts of the program's history. For current fees, exam guides, and policies, always consult the official AWS Certification pages linked throughout.

AWS Certification Historical Timeline (Updates from April 30, 2013)

Now, here is a timeline of the AWS Certification program. As of the time of writing this article, the history of AWS Certification spans more than a decade from April 2013, during which the portfolio grew, was reorganized around the AI era, and adopted new exam formats and recertification options.

2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026

* The table can be sorted by clicking on the column names.

Date	Summary
2013-04-30	AWS launches its global AWS Certification program, and the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate becomes the first available certification. The program is introduced to validate cloud expertise with role-based, proctored exams, beginning with the Associate tier. At launch, the exams were role-based and delivered at physical testing centers worldwide. [Source]
2014-01-13	AWS adds the AWS Certified Developer – Associate and AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate exams, completing the original three Associate certifications. Together with Solutions Architect – Associate, they form the first role-based Associate lineup covering building, operating, and architecting on AWS. This trio remained the core of the Associate tier for years before data and machine learning roles were added in the 2020s. [Source]
2014-05-07	AWS introduces its first Professional-level exam, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional. It targets experienced architects and, at the time, required holding the Solutions Architect – Associate certification first. As the first exam above the Associate level, it introduced the tiered structure that AWS still uses today. [Source]
2014-11-07	AWS announces the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional and opens its beta exam at re:Invent 2014. It becomes the second Professional certification and, at the time, required a Developer – Associate or SysOps Administrator – Associate certification. [Source]
2015-02-18	The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional becomes generally available. Candidates who passed the 2014 beta receive the certification, and the exam opens to everyone. [Source]
2017-05-30	AWS launches its first Specialty certifications, the AWS Certified Big Data – Specialty and AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty. The Specialty tier validates deep expertise in a specific technical domain, beyond the role-based Associate and Professional tiers. These two exams established the Specialty tier that AWS would expand over the following years. [Source]
2017-11-27	AWS announces the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01), the first Foundational-level certification. It provides an entry-level, cloud-fluency credential for both technical and non-technical roles, and the exam becomes available in December 2017. The launch was paired with free "Cloud Practitioner Essentials" digital training to widen access to the cloud. [Source]
2018-04-23	The AWS Certified Security – Specialty (SCS-C01) becomes generally available. It validates expertise in securing data and workloads on AWS and goes on to become one of the most popular Specialty certifications, later updated through SCS-C02 (2023) and SCS-C03 (2025). [Source]
2019-01-07	AWS opens the beta exam for the AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty (AXS-C01). The beta runs from January 7 to February 1, 2019, and the certification — the industry's first for Alexa skill building — becomes generally available in April 2019. [Source]
2019-02-04	AWS overhauls its certification policies: exam prerequisites are removed and the recertification period is extended from two years to three years. First announced in October 2018, the change lets candidates take any exam in any order regardless of level, and AWS issues a 50% discount voucher to certified individuals. The three-year validity period that AWS still uses today dates from this change. [Source]
2019-03-15	The AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty (MLS-C01) becomes generally available. It validates the ability to build, train, tune, and deploy machine learning models on AWS, and becomes a flagship credential of the pre-generative-AI era. [Source]
2019-11-25	AWS opens the beta exam for the AWS Certified Database – Specialty (DBS-C01). The beta runs through January 10, 2020, and the standard exam becomes available in 2020, validating expertise across AWS purpose-built database services. [Source]
2019-11-27	AWS opens the beta for the AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty (DAS-C01), the renamed successor to the Big Data – Specialty. The new name reflects the broader data and analytics scope; the standard exam becomes available in April 2020. [Source]
2020-03-23	The updated AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C02) becomes available, replacing SAA-C01. The last day to take SAA-C01 is March 22, 2020. This begins the modern cadence of periodic exam-code revisions that realign each exam with current AWS services. [Source]
2020-03-30	AWS makes online proctored exams available for all AWS Certification exams. Delivered through Pearson VUE (OnVUE), remote proctoring lets candidates test from home or the office, a change accelerated by COVID-19 test-center closures. Online proctoring has remained a permanent delivery option ever since. [Source]
2020-07-01	The AWS Certified Big Data – Specialty is retired, fully replaced by the Data Analytics – Specialty. The retirement date was extended (from an earlier 2020 date) because of COVID-19 test-center closures; individuals who already held it remained certified until their expiration date. [Source]
2021-03-22	The AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty (AXS-C01) reaches its last exam day and is retired the following day. AWS stops issuing new certifications and recertifications for it after this date; existing holders remain certified until their expiration date. [Source]
2021-07-27	The updated AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate (SOA-C02) becomes generally available and is the first AWS exam to include hands-on Exam Labs. In addition to multiple-choice and multiple-response questions, candidates perform tasks in a live AWS environment that are graded on the resulting AWS resources rather than on multiple-choice answers. [Source]
2022-03-18	AWS opens the beta for a revised AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty (ANS-C01), replacing the original ANS-C00. The updated exam becomes generally available in July 2022. [Source]
2022-04-26	The AWS Certified: SAP on AWS – Specialty (PAS-C01) becomes available. It validates expertise in designing, migrating, and operating SAP workloads on AWS. [Source]
2022-08-30	The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate is updated to SAA-C03. The revision realigns the most popular AWS certification with current services and architectural best practices, and SAA-C03 is the version candidates take today. [Source]
2022-10-18	AWS announces that Pearson VUE will become the sole exam delivery provider, ending the PSI partnership. The transition takes effect on January 1, 2023, consolidating both test-center and online-proctored delivery under one provider. PSI appointments ended on December 31, 2022, and vouchers issued for PSI remained usable at Pearson VUE. [Source]
2022-11-15	The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional is updated to SAP-C02. The last day to take SAP-C01 is November 14, 2022. [Source]
2023-02-28	The AWS Certified Developer – Associate is updated to DVA-C02. The last day to take DVA-C01 is February 27, 2023. [Source]
2023-03-07	The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional is updated to DOP-C02. The last day to take DOP-C01 is March 6, 2023. [Source]
2023-03-28	AWS temporarily removes the hands-on Exam Labs from the SysOps Administrator – Associate (SOA-C02) exam. The exam reverts to a question-only format, and as of this article the labs have not returned. [Source]
2023-07-11	The AWS Certified Security – Specialty is updated to SCS-C02. The last day to take SCS-C01 is July 10, 2023. [Source]
2023-09-19	The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is updated to CLF-C02. The last day to take CLF-C01 is September 18, 2023. The update broadened the Foundational exam's coverage to reflect newer AWS services. [Source]
2023-11-27	AWS opens the beta exam for a new AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate (DEA-C01). The beta runs through January 12, 2024, adding a dedicated data-engineering role to the Associate tier. [Source]
2024-01-30	AWS announces the launch of the Data Engineer – Associate and the retirement of three Specialty certifications. The Data Analytics, Database, and SAP on AWS Specialty exams are scheduled for retirement in April 2024, while the new Data Engineer – Associate moves data skills into the role-based Associate tier. It was the first time AWS retired several Specialty certifications together while launching a replacement Associate certification. [Source]
2024-03-12	The AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate (DEA-C01) becomes generally available. Its scope overlaps the retiring Data Analytics – Specialty, reflecting the shift of data skills into the Associate tier. It is AWS's first Associate certification focused specifically on building and operating data pipelines. [Source]
2024-04-08	The AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty (DAS-C01) reaches its last exam day and is retired. Individuals who earned it remain certified for the standard three years from the date they earned it. Its analytics scope is now covered mainly by the Data Engineer – Associate. [Source]
2024-04-29	The AWS Certified Database – Specialty (DBS-C01) and AWS Certified: SAP on AWS – Specialty (PAS-C01) reach their last exam day and are retired. Individuals who earned them remain certified for the standard three-year period. [Source]
2024-08-13	AWS opens beta registration for two new certifications: the AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) and the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate (MLA-C01). AI Practitioner becomes the second Foundational certification, and both certifications become generally available in October 2024. AI Practitioner targets a broad, non-specialist audience, while Machine Learning Engineer targets practitioners who build and operate machine learning systems. [Source]
2025-07-15	AWS announces that the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate will be renamed the AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate. The updated exam carries the new code SOA-C03 and broadens the scope to modern cloud operations. [Source]
2025-09-30	The AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate (SOA-C03) becomes available, replacing the SysOps Administrator – Associate. The last day to take the legacy SysOps SOA-C02 exam is September 29, 2025. The rename reflects the broader scope of modern cloud operations beyond traditional system administration. [Source]
2025-11-18	AWS opens beta registration for a new AWS Certified Generative AI Developer – Professional (AIP-C01) and registration for an updated AWS Certified Security – Specialty (SCS-C03). Generative AI Developer is a new Professional-tier certification focused on building production generative AI applications with foundation models, RAG, and vector databases. The same announcement signaled AWS's broader expansion of its AI-focused certification portfolio. [Source]
2025-12-01	The AWS Certified Security – Specialty is updated to SCS-C03, whose predecessor SCS-C02 has its last exam day on December 1, 2025. SCS-C03 expands coverage of emerging technologies, with dedicated focus on generative AI and machine learning security. [Source]
2026-03-31	The AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty (MLS-C01) reaches its last exam day and is retired, and the Generative AI Developer – Professional standard exam replaces its beta. Machine learning skills are now represented mainly by the Machine Learning Engineer – Associate; existing MLS holders remain certified until their expiration date. Its retirement marks the end of the original standalone machine-learning Specialty. [Source]
2026-06-23	AWS opens an open beta of a new recertification path that lets you keep a certification current by completing training and hands-on labs on AWS Skill Builder instead of retaking the exam. Available once a certification is within 90 days of expiring, it extends the certification by one year (Associate: 500 points including at least one practical activity; Professional: 700 points including at least two), and it cascades to related, still-active lower-level certifications. Unlike retaking an exam, which renews a certification for three years, this training path extends it by one year at a time. [Source]
2026-08-25	The AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty (ANS-C01) is scheduled to reach its last exam day and be retired. After this date AWS stops issuing new certifications for it; existing holders remain certified until their expiration date. Its retirement would leave Security as the remaining Specialty certification. [Source]

Key Themes in the History of AWS Certification

Looking across the timeline, a few long-running themes explain how the AWS Certification program reached its current shape.

From a single exam to a four-tier portfolio. The program began in 2013 with one Associate exam and grew deliberately: the Associate trio (2013–2014), the first Professional exams (2014–2015), the first Specialty exams (2017), and finally the Foundational tier with Cloud Practitioner (2017). By the end of the 2010s, AWS had a full ladder from cloud fluency to deep specialization.

Lowering the barriers to entry. Two changes in 2018–2019 made the program more accessible: exam prerequisites were removed, so candidates could take any exam in any order, and the recertification period was extended from two years to three. Together they reduced the time and cost of both earning and maintaining certifications.

Evolving exam delivery. The program moved from test-center-only delivery to worldwide online proctoring in 2020 (accelerated by COVID-19), briefly introduced hands-on Exam Labs in the SysOps Administrator exam (2021–2023), and consolidated on Pearson VUE as the sole delivery provider from 2023.

Continuous exam-code revisions. Rather than leaving exams static, AWS refreshes each one every few years and marks the revision with an incrementing code (for example, SAA-C01, SAA-C02, SAA-C03). This keeps the exams aligned with current AWS services while preserving the credential for people who already hold it.

The AI-era reshuffle and the shift to role-based certifications. The most significant recent change is the move away from narrow Specialty exams toward role-based Associate and Professional certifications, together with a wave of AI-focused credentials. Between 2024 and 2026, AWS added AI Practitioner, Machine Learning Engineer – Associate, Data Engineer – Associate, and Generative AI Developer – Professional, while retiring the Big Data, Data Analytics, Database, SAP on AWS, and Machine Learning Specialty certifications and renaming SysOps Administrator to CloudOps Engineer.

Current Overview of the AWS Certification Program

AWS Certification is a program of role-based and specialized exams that validate cloud skills and knowledge with an industry-recognized credential. Certifications are organized into four levels — Foundational, Associate, Professional, and Specialty — and each certification is earned by passing a single exam, is valid for three years, and can be maintained through recertification. There are no prerequisites: any exam can be taken in any order, though AWS publishes recommended experience for each one.

The sections below summarize the program as of the Last Updated date of this article. Because certifications are periodically added, renamed, revised, and retired, always confirm the current lineup on the official AWS Certification and Coming Soon to AWS Certification pages.

Certification Levels and Portfolio Evolution

The four levels build on one another in recommended experience, from cloud fundamentals to deep specialization.

Foundational — entry-level credentials that validate overall cloud fluency for both technical and non-technical roles. This tier is often the first step for sales, project managers, and career changers as well as engineers, and AWS suggests roughly six months of general AWS exposure.
Associate — role-based certifications that validate the hands-on skills for a specific cloud role, such as architecting, developing, operating, data engineering, and machine learning engineering. AWS typically recommends about one year of hands-on experience.
Professional — advanced, role-based certifications for experienced practitioners, with a broader and deeper scope than the Associate tier. AWS typically recommends around two or more years of hands-on experience.
Specialty — deep, focused expertise in a specific technical domain, such as networking or security. These certifications assume significant, targeted experience in the domain they cover.

The table below shows how the portfolio has evolved across the four levels: it lists the current and the former certifications together, with the current exam code and the status of each as of the Last Updated date of this article. "Introduced" is the year the exam first became available to candidates (counting beta exams); the individual dates and sources are in the timeline above.
* You can sort the table by clicking on the column name.

Level	Certification	Current Exam Code	Status (as of Last Updated)
Foundational	AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner	CLF-C02	Active (introduced 2017)
Foundational	AWS Certified AI Practitioner	AIF-C01	Active (introduced 2024)
Associate	AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate	SAA-C03	Active (introduced 2013)
Associate	AWS Certified Developer – Associate	DVA-C02	Active (introduced 2014)
Associate	AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate	SOA-C03	Active (introduced 2014 as SysOps Administrator, renamed 2025)
Associate	AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate	DEA-C01	Active (introduced 2023)
Associate	AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate	MLA-C01	Active (introduced 2024)
Professional	AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional	SAP-C02	Active (introduced 2014)
Professional	AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional	DOP-C02	Active (introduced 2014)
Professional	AWS Certified Generative AI Developer – Professional	AIP-C01	Active (introduced 2025)
Specialty	AWS Certified Security – Specialty	SCS-C03	Active (introduced 2018)
Specialty	AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty	ANS-C01	Retiring (introduced 2017; last exam day scheduled for 2026-08-25)
Specialty	AWS Certified Big Data – Specialty	—	Retired (introduced 2017, retired 2020)
Specialty	AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty	—	Retired (introduced 2019, retired 2021)
Specialty	AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty	—	Retired (introduced 2019, retired 2024)
Specialty	AWS Certified Database – Specialty	—	Retired (introduced 2019, retired 2024)
Specialty	AWS Certified: SAP on AWS – Specialty	—	Retired (introduced 2022, retired 2024)
Specialty	AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty	—	Retired (introduced 2019, retired 2026)

A few notes on the portfolio as of 2026:

The AI era reshaped the lineup. Between 2024 and 2026, AWS added AI Practitioner (Foundational), Machine Learning Engineer – Associate, Data Engineer – Associate, and Generative AI Developer – Professional, while retiring the Data Analytics, Database, SAP on AWS, and (in 2026) Machine Learning Specialty certifications.
Role-based over domain-based. The trend has been to move skills from the Specialty tier into role-based Associate and Professional certifications (for example, data skills moved from Data Analytics – Specialty to Data Engineer – Associate).
Names and codes change; the credential continues. When an exam is renamed or revised (for example, SysOps Administrator → CloudOps Engineer, or SAA-C02 → SAA-C03), holders keep their existing certification until it expires.
Retired does not mean revoked. When a certification is retired, individuals who already earned it remain certified for the remainder of their three-year validity period.

Exam Codes and Naming Conventions

Every AWS Certification has a short exam code made of a letter prefix and a version suffix. The prefix identifies the certification and the suffix (C01, C02, C03, and so on) identifies the revision, so the code tells you both which exam it is and how many times it has been refreshed.

Foundational — CLF (Cloud Practitioner), AIF (AI Practitioner).
Associate — SAA (Solutions Architect), DVA (Developer), SOA (SysOps Administrator, now CloudOps Engineer), DEA (Data Engineer), MLA (Machine Learning Engineer).
Professional — SAP (Solutions Architect – Professional), DOP (DevOps Engineer – Professional), AIP (Generative AI Developer – Professional).
Specialty — ANS (Advanced Networking), SCS (Security), plus the retired BDS (Big Data), DAS (Data Analytics), DBS (Database), PAS (SAP on AWS), MLS (Machine Learning), and AXS (Alexa Skill Builder).

A common point of confusion is that a code prefix can outlive a name change: the operations Associate certification keeps the SOA prefix (SOA-C03) even though it was renamed from SysOps Administrator to CloudOps Engineer.

The Lifecycle of an AWS Certification

Most AWS Certifications follow a predictable lifecycle, which is why the timeline above records several kinds of dates for the same certification.

Beta. A new certification (or a major revision) is usually offered first as a discounted beta exam for a limited window. Passing the beta counts as passing the certification, and results are released after the beta period closes.
General availability (GA). The standard exam then launches and is offered continuously worldwide.
Revision. Every few years the exam is refreshed and the code suffix increments (for example, SAA-C02 to SAA-C03); AWS announces a last day to take the old version and a first day for the new one.
Retirement. When a certification is discontinued, AWS announces a last day to take the exam. Importantly, retiring the exam does not revoke the credential — people who already earned it remain certified for the remainder of their three-year validity.

This is why, in the timeline, a certification such as Machine Learning – Specialty can have both a launch date (2019) and a last-exam-day/retirement date (2026), and why a rename such as SysOps Administrator to CloudOps Engineer appears as an announcement date plus a switch-over date.

Notable Renames and Successions

Several of today's certifications are the direct descendants of earlier ones, which is why the same skill area can appear under different names across the timeline.

Data: Big Data → Data Analytics → Data Engineer. The Big Data – Specialty (2017) was renamed and refocused as the Data Analytics – Specialty (2020); when that Specialty was retired in 2024, data skills moved into the role-based Data Engineer – Associate.
Operations: SysOps Administrator → CloudOps Engineer. The operations Associate certification was renamed from SysOps Administrator to CloudOps Engineer in 2025 (SOA-C03), broadening its scope to modern cloud operations while keeping the SOA exam-code prefix.
Machine learning: ML – Specialty → ML Engineer – Associate. As the Machine Learning – Specialty heads toward retirement in 2026, machine learning is represented by the role-based Machine Learning Engineer – Associate (2024).
AI as a new pillar. Generative AI produced entirely new certifications rather than renames: the AI Practitioner (Foundational, 2024) and the Generative AI Developer – Professional (2025).

Recertification and Validity

Each AWS Certification is valid for three years. AWS provides more than one way to keep a certification current:

Retake the current exam. Passing the current version of the same exam renews the certification for three years from the completion date.
Pass a higher-level related exam. Earning a higher-level certification can recertify a related lower-level one — for example, passing the Solutions Architect – Professional can recertify the Solutions Architect – Associate.
Maintain through training (introduced in 2026). An open-beta path lets you extend a certification by one year by completing curated training and hands-on labs on AWS Skill Builder, once the certification is within 90 days of expiring. Maintaining a certification can also cascade an extension to related, still-active lower-level certifications.
Cloud Practitioner alternative. In addition to the options above, the Foundational Cloud Practitioner can be recertified by completing AWS Cloud Quest.

Historically, the validity period was two years and separate, shorter recertification exams existed; AWS extended validity to three years and discontinued the standalone recertification exams in 2019. For the current rules, see the official AWS recertification policy.

Exam Format and Delivery

Delivery. Exams are delivered through Pearson VUE, either at a test center or as an online proctored exam (OnVUE) taken from home or the office. Pearson VUE became the sole delivery provider on January 1, 2023, after AWS previously used multiple providers.
Question types. Exams use multiple choice and multiple response questions; newer exams have added additional formats such as ordering, matching, and case-study questions. The scoring is a scaled score, and results are reported as pass or fail against a minimum standard.
Hands-on labs. AWS introduced hands-on Exam Labs with the SysOps Administrator – Associate (SOA-C02) exam in 2021, then temporarily removed them in 2023.
Beta exams. New certifications are typically offered first as a discounted beta exam for a limited window before the standard version launches; passing the beta counts as passing the certification, and beta results are usually released about 90 days after the beta window closes.

Languages and Accessibility

AWS Certification exams are offered in multiple languages (English plus a set of additional languages that varies by exam), and candidates can request accommodations such as additional time (for example, ESL +30 minutes for non-native English speakers, subject to eligibility). Widely taken exams have historically been available in languages such as Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese in addition to English, while newer or Specialty exams may launch in English first and add languages later. The exact language availability and accommodation options are listed per exam in each official exam guide and on the AWS Certification policies pages.

References:
AWS Certification
AWS Certification Exam Guides
Coming Soon to AWS Certification

Frequently Asked Questions about AWS Certification History

When did the AWS Certification program start?: AWS launched its global AWS Certification program on April 30, 2013. The first certification was the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate; the Developer – Associate and SysOps Administrator – Associate followed on January 13, 2014, and the first Professional exam (Solutions Architect – Professional) arrived on May 7, 2014.
Which AWS certifications have been retired?: The retired AWS certifications are: Big Data – Specialty (retired 2020, replaced by Data Analytics – Specialty); Alexa Skill Builder – Specialty (last exam day March 22, 2021); Data Analytics – Specialty (last exam day April 8, 2024); Database – Specialty and SAP on AWS – Specialty (last exam day April 29, 2024); and Machine Learning – Specialty (last exam day March 31, 2026). The Advanced Networking – Specialty is scheduled to retire on August 25, 2026. In every case, individuals who already earned the certification remain certified until their three-year validity expires.
How often are AWS exams updated, and what do the exam codes (for example, SAA-C03) mean?: AWS periodically revises each exam to align it with current services and best practices, and marks each revision with an incrementing code suffix (C01, C02, C03, and so on). For example, the Solutions Architect – Associate exam has gone through SAA-C01, SAA-C02 (2020), and SAA-C03 (2022); Cloud Practitioner moved from CLF-C01 to CLF-C02 (2023); and Security – Specialty went from SCS-C01 to SCS-C02 (2023) to SCS-C03 (2025). There is no fixed schedule, but popular exams have typically been refreshed every two to three years.
What is the recertification period for AWS certifications?: Every AWS Certification is valid for three years. It was originally two years; AWS extended it to three years and discontinued the separate recertification exams in 2019. You can recertify by retaking the current exam, by passing a higher-level related exam, or — through an option introduced in 2026 — by completing training and hands-on labs on AWS Skill Builder to extend the certification by one year.
What is the difference between the Associate and Professional levels?: Associate certifications are role-based credentials that validate hands-on skills for common cloud roles, with recommended experience of roughly one year. Professional certifications are advanced, role-based credentials for experienced practitioners, with recommended experience of about two or more years and a broader, more complex scope. Until late 2018, Professional exams required first holding the related Associate certification, but that prerequisite was removed, so any exam can now be taken in any order.
What is the newest AWS certification?: As of the Last Updated date of this article, the newest AWS certification is the AWS Certified Generative AI Developer – Professional (AIP-C01), which opened as a beta on November 18, 2025 and moved to its standard version in 2026. It is a Professional-tier certification for building production generative AI applications using foundation models, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and vector databases.

All entries in the timeline above are linked to their primary AWS source (an AWS "What's New" post, the AWS News Blog, the AWS Training and Certification Blog, or an official AWS Certification page). This article is reviewed regularly to incorporate new AWS Certification launches, renames, revisions, and retirements.

Summary

In this article, I created a historical timeline of the AWS Certification program and summarized the current certifications, levels, and policies.

AWS Certification launched on April 30, 2013 with a single Associate exam and has grown into a four-tier portfolio (Foundational, Associate, Professional, and Specialty). Along the way it added the Cloud Practitioner Foundational tier (2017), built out the Specialty tier (2017 onward), removed exam prerequisites and extended validity to three years (2018–2019), adopted online proctoring (2020) and hands-on Exam Labs (2021), and was reshaped around the AI era (2024–2026) with new AI Practitioner, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Engineer, and Generative AI Developer certifications, several Specialty retirements, and the SysOps-to-CloudOps rename. Throughout, renames and exam-code revisions changed how the certifications look without taking credentials away from the people who earned them.

I would like to continue monitoring how the AWS Certification program evolves, especially as the AI-era certifications mature.

In addition, there is also a historical timeline of all AWS services, as well as related articles about obtaining all AWS Certifications, so please have a look if you are interested.

AWS History and Timeline - Almost All AWS Services List, Announcements, General Availability(GA)

I have also written related articles on AWS Certification and the AWS services that appear most often in the exams:

This timeline will be updated as the AWS Certification program continues to evolve.

References:
AWS Certification
AWS Certification Exam Guides
Coming Soon to AWS Certification
AWS Certification Information and Policies
AWS Recertification Information and Policies
AWS Training and Certification Blog
What's New with AWS?

References:
Tech Blog with curated related content

Written by Hidekazu Konishi