Certification updates from AWS Training and Certification: September 2026

AWS Certification is updating three exams to reflect how cloud roles have evolved – AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate (MLA-C02), AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C03), and AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C03). This blog covers what’s changing, why, and the key dates you need to know.

Beta registration now open: AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate (MLA-C02)

Registration for the beta version of the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate exam (MLA-C02) is now available in English. The last day to take the current version of the exam (MLA-C01) in English will be September 28, 2026. The current version of the exam (MLA-C01) will remain available in Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese during the beta period until GA delivery on January 14, 2027.

The role of the machine learning (ML) engineer has evolved. Today’s ML engineers don’t just build and deploy traditional models. They implement generative AI solutions, work with foundation models and large language models (LLMs), orchestrate agentic AI workflows, and operationalize AI at scale. To keep pace with this evolution, the updated exam (MLA-C02) will include generative AI, agentic AI, and foundation model/LLM workloads alongside traditional ML engineering. This certification validates your ability to build, deploy, maintain, and monitor ML and generative AI solutions on AWS using services like Amazon SageMaker AI, Amazon Bedrock, and others.

Who is this certification for?

The updated AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate certification is designed for professionals who build and operationalize ML and generative AI solutions in production environments. Target roles include:

• ML Engineers and MLOps Engineers responsible for end-to-end ML lifecycle management
• LLMOps Engineers operationalizing foundation models and GenAI applications
• Data Engineers building and managing ML data pipelines
• Software Developers integrating ML/GenAI capabilities into applications
• Data Scientists transitioning into ML engineering roles
• Machine Learning Architects and Solutions Architects designing ML systems

Recommended experience:

• At least 1 year of experience using Amazon SageMaker AI, Amazon Bedrock, and other AWS services for ML engineering
• At least 1 year of experience in a related role such as backend software developer, DevOps developer, data engineer, or data scientist
• Experience with both traditional ML and generative AI (GenAI)

For employers and AWS Partners: This certification provides confidence that your ML engineers and MLOps engineers have validated, current skills across both traditional ML and generative AI, ensuring your teams can deliver production-grade solutions that meet today’s business objectives.

What has changed in MLA-C02 and why

The domain structure of the exam remains the same. No new domains were added. However, the updated exam reflects key additions that align with how the ML engineer role has broadened in practice:

• Generative AI implementation: Building and deploying GenAI solutions, fine-tuning foundation models, and implementing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) architectures
• Agentic AI: Orchestrating AI agents and complex workflows
• Foundation models and LLMs: Selecting, customizing, and operationalizing large language models
• Amazon Bedrock: Expanded coverage of Amazon Bedrock capabilities for GenAI workloads
• Responsible AI practices: Updated guidance on responsible AI implementation across both traditional ML and GenAI

Existing task statements and skills have been updated to align with current industry practices, while retaining the core ML engineering competencies that the certification has always validated.

Note: The full exam guide with detailed task statements is now available.

Key dates

• September 1, 2026 – Beta registration opens (English only); exam guide released
• September 28, 2026 – Last day to take MLA-C01 in English (Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese will remain available during the beta period)
• September 29, 2026 – Beta delivery begins
• January 14, 2027 – GA delivery begins (all languages); MLA-C01 retired in all languages

Beta exam details

• Duration: 170 minutes
• Number of questions: 85
• Price: $75 USD
• Language: English only
• Delivery: Pearson VUE (test center or online proctoring)

Should you take MLA-C01 or MLA-C02?

For those taking the exam in English, consider:

• Take MLA-C01 (by September 28, 2026) if you’re already prepared and want to earn the certification now. Your credential remains active through its original expiration date.
• Take the beta (registration open now) if you want your certification to validate both traditional ML and GenAI skills.

For those taking the exam in Japanese, Korean, or Simplified Chinese, MLA-C01 will remain available until GA delivery of MLA-C02 on January 14, 2027.

Coming soon: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C03)

AWS Certification is updating the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional exam. Registration for the updated exam (SAP-C03) will open on October 27, 2026, with GA delivery beginning November 17, 2026. The last day to take the current version of the exam (SAP-C02) will be November 16, 2026. SAP-C03 will be available in all languages currently supported at launch.

The solutions architect role has expanded. Today’s architects don’t just design highly available, cost-efficient systems. They integrate generative AI and agentic architectures, implement post-quantum cryptography, design resilience-as-a-service patterns, and build DevSecOps automation into every layer of the stack. To keep pace with this evolution, the updated exam (SAP-C03) validates your ability to design optimized AWS solutions aligned with the AWS Well-Architected Framework, including cloud-native architectures with AI/ML integration, security and compliance architectures, cost optimization, resilience and business continuity, and operational excellence.

Who is this certification for?

The updated AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional certification is designed for experienced architects who provide expert guidance across multiple applications and projects in complex, multi-account environments. Target roles include:

• Solutions Architects designing enterprise-grade cloud systems
• Cloud Architects leading multi-account governance strategies
• Infrastructure Architects implementing modern resilience and security patterns
• Technical leads guiding teams on cloud-native and AI-integrated architectures

Recommended experience:

• 2 or more years of experience using AWS services to design and implement cloud solutions
• Ability to evaluate cloud application requirements and make architectural recommendations for implementation on AWS
• Experience providing guidance across modern cloud-native, serverless, and AI-integrated architectures

For employers and AWS Partners: This certification provides confidence that your solutions architects have validated, current skills across both traditional infrastructure design and modern AI-integrated cloud architectures, ensuring your teams can deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage the full breadth of AWS services.

What has changed in SAP-C03 and why

Key additions that align with how the architect role has broadened in practice:

• GenAI and agentic AI (11 new skills): Designing generative AI integrations using Amazon Bedrock, AI agent architectures with Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, RAG architectures, Bedrock Guardrails for content filtering, and human-oversight workflows for AI operations
• Resilience engineering: AWS Fault Injection Service, AWS Resilience Hub, AWS Application Recovery Controller, and automated runbooks via AWS Systems Manager
• Cloud-native patterns (7 new skills): Serverless data pipelines, durable workflows with AWS Step Functions, service mesh with Amazon VPC Lattice and Amazon ECS Service Connect, container image security, multi-tenant architectures, and real-time data architectures
• DevSecOps and observability (6 new skills): Pipeline vulnerability scanning, multi-account deployment pipelines, container monitoring, AI/ML metrics monitoring, and synthetic/real-user monitoring
• Data and analytics (3 new skills): Data lakehouse architectures with AWS Lake Formation and Apache Iceberg, real-time and batch analytics pipelines, and cross-account data sharing via AWS Clean Rooms
• Post-quantum cryptography: AWS KMS with ML-DSA and ML-KEM

The five domains in SAP-C03:

1. Cloud-native architecture design and implementation
2. Security, compliance, and governance
3. Cost-optimized architecture design
4. Resilience, migration, and business continuity
5. Operational excellence and automation

Existing task statements and skills have been updated to align with current industry practices, while retaining the core architectural competencies that the certification has always validated.

Note: The full exam guide with detailed task statements will be available when registration opens on October 27, 2026.

Key dates

• October 27, 2026 – Registration opens (all languages)
• November 16, 2026 – Last day to take SAP-C02
• November 17, 2026 – SAP-C03 GA delivery begins

GA exam details

• Duration: 180 minutes
• Number of questions: 75
• Price: $300 USD
• Languages: All currently supported languages
• Delivery: Pearson VUE (test center or online proctoring)

Should you take SAP-C02 or SAP-C03?

• Take SAP-C02 (by November 16, 2026) if you’re already prepared and want to earn the certification now. Your credential remains active through its original expiration date.
• Wait for SAP-C03 (registration opens October 27, 2026) if you want your certification to validate cloud-native, GenAI/agentic AI, and modern resilience engineering skills alongside traditional architecture competencies.

Coming soon: AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C03)

AWS Certification is updating the AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam. Registration for the updated exam (DVA-C03) will open on October 27, 2026, with GA delivery beginning December 1, 2026. The last day to take the current version of the exam (DVA-C02) will be November 30, 2026. DVA-C03 will be available in all languages currently supported at launch.

The developer role has evolved. Today’s developers don’t just write application code. They use AI-assisted development tools to generate, review, and optimize code; integrate managed AI services into applications; and secure AI agent interactions. AI-assisted development is now a core competency, not an optional add-on. To keep pace with this evolution, the updated exam (DVA-C03) validates your ability to develop, test, deploy, and debug cloud-based applications on AWS using modern tooling and AI-assisted development workflows.

Who is this certification for?

The updated AWS Certified Developer – Associate certification is designed for developers who build, test, deploy, and debug applications using AWS services. Target roles include:

• Software Developers building cloud-native applications
• Backend Engineers integrating AWS services and AI capabilities into applications
• DevOps practitioners managing CI/CD pipelines and deployments
• Full-stack Developers working across application layers

Recommended experience:

• 1 or more years of hands-on experience developing and maintaining applications using AWS services
• Proficiency in at least one high-level programming language
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools and workflows
• Understanding of application lifecycle management and CI/CD pipelines

For employers and AWS Partners: This certification provides confidence that your developers have validated, current skills in both traditional cloud development and AI-assisted development workflows, ensuring your teams can ship high-quality, secure applications using modern tooling.

What has changed in DVA-C03 and why

Key additions that align with how the developer role has broadened in practice:

• New Task 2.3 — AI security (5 skills): Access management for AI services, data privacy controls (VPC endpoints, ensuring inputs/outputs are not used to train AI models), content filtering and prompt injection protection, AI agent interaction security (tool-use authorization, session isolation, human-in-the-loop approval flows), and protecting sensitive content in monitoring logs
• AI-assisted development across all domains: Code generation and automated review (Domain 1), test automation and regression testing (Domain 3), CI/CD workflow support including automated deployment approvals (Domain 3), error analysis and troubleshooting suggestions (Domain 4), and performance optimization recommendations (Domain 4)
• Container management: Building and managing container images with Amazon ECR, and deploying containerized applications with Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS, and AWS Fargate
• New in-scope services: Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, Amazon Q, Kiro, Amazon Data Firehose, AWS PrivateLink

Key consolidations:

• DynamoDB: 4 separate skills consolidated into 1 comprehensive skill
• Security (encryption and sensitive data): 13 skills across 2 tasks consolidated into 7 skills in 1 task
• Testing: 11 skills across 2 tasks consolidated into 5 skills in 1 task
• Observability: 8 skills consolidated into 5 skills
• Optimization: 9 skills consolidated into 6 skills

The four domains remain unchanged:

1. Development with AWS Services (30%)
2. Security (26%)
3. Testing and Deployment (22%)
4. Troubleshooting and Optimization (22%)

Out of scope: Prompt engineering, RAG design, AI model selection, Amazon SageMaker AI, and AI governance framework design.

Existing task statements and skills have been updated to align with current industry practices, while retaining the core development competencies that the certification has always validated.

Note: The full exam guide with detailed task statements will be available when registration opens on October 27, 2026.

Key dates

• October 27, 2026 – Registration opens (all languages)
• November 30, 2026 – Last day to take DVA-C02
• December 1, 2026 – DVA-C03 GA delivery begins

GA exam details

• Duration: 130 minutes
• Number of questions: 65 (50 scored, 15 unscored)
• Price: $150 USD
• Passing score: 720 out of 1,000
• Languages: All currently supported languages
• Delivery: Pearson VUE (test center or online proctoring)

Should you take DVA-C02 or DVA-C03?

• Take DVA-C02 (by November 30, 2026) if you’re already prepared and want to earn the certification now. Your credential remains active through its original expiration date.
• Wait for DVA-C03 (registration opens October 27, 2026) if you want your certification to validate AI-assisted development skills and modern security practices for AI services.

Get started today

Cloud roles are evolving, and these certifications evolve with them. Whether you’re building ML pipelines, designing enterprise architectures with generative AI, or shipping applications with AI-assisted tools.

• Learn more about AWS Certifications
• Start preparing with AWS Skill Builder
• Explore the AWS Certification paths