Last year we announced the implementation of our new certification name changes, where the year will be used to identify when the certification was earned. This change was intended to make it easier for certification holders and potential employers to immediately identify how current a holder’s certification is. Click here to review the FAQ. To continue aligning with this change and enable you, as a certification holder, to better show your most recent certification, we are announcing today the changes made to our Certifications and Exams Catalog.
The combination of exam and certification names and versions allows you to show when and on what you have validated your expertise. Exam names show the product version on which you certified, and the certification names will show when you passed all requirements and earned the certification. You can download and share a copy of your transcript and record in Certification Manager.
Starting today, August 1, 2019, our certifications that contained the year 2018 in their naming convention are now updated to 2019. The trainings and exams qualifying for these certifications may remain the same, but now reflect when you passed the requirement, and new exam and training content will continue to be added and replace older content throughout the year. We have also retired our older version certifications that have been replaced by a newer version. To view our Retired Certifications & Exams click here.
Hi,
I was planning to take the VCAP6-DCV Deploy exam before you retire it on August 30 to get the VCAP6-DCV Deploy certification. (Because I have a VCP6-DCV I cannot go straight to the newer VCAP cert). Now today you announce that from today that certification is retired and the replacement of course requires the newer VCP? So for the next month that exam doesn’t earn any certification? Or am i missing something?
Kind regards
Hi, you may still take the VCAP6-DCV Deploy exam before August 31. Since the change in versioning means that the certification you earn awards you the certification for that year, you will now earn the VCAP-DCV 2019. And that starts now… (admittedly, we’re behind this year during the transition. The 2020 certifications will be awarded starting on Jan 1.)
Thanks,
Karl
Hi,
Even if I don’t have VCP6.5-DCV as a prerequisite? As I said, I have VCP6-DCV which was OK for the old certification but not for the replacement.
Kind regards
That is right. The VCAP-DCV 2019 requires the prerequisite VCP6.5-DCV or VCP-DCV 2019. As we make changes, we try to look across the whole program and I’ll relook at the logic strategy, but for now, you can upgrade the VCP by one exam.
I have scheduled the vcap 6.5 dcv design exam for vmworld with the idea that it will give me a vcix cert since i have the vcap 6 deploy. Is this still the case?
Hi Stephen, that is correct.
I am confused by the Retired Certifications & Exams document. It was previously stated that VCP certifications no longer expire after 2 years. But now, it seems certifications will be “retired” at the end of every year. How is this easier to seem current, with no alignment to product versions?
Also, with every certification retiring at the end of the year, do lower level certs get updated if I recertify a VCAP/VCDX within the same track/path?
Thanks
Hi Chris,
Correct, the certifications do not expire for you as an individual. However, they do become unavailable to achieve, or “retired”, once the new version is released. Since the certifications are based on when you earn the certification, the previous year’s certifications will retire at the end of each year and the new version will be available on Jan 1. (Admittedly, we’re behind this year due to our transition.)
The Exams and available transcripts will continue to show the product versions you tested on, and the year will communicate how currently you were to prove your expertise.
As of now, if you update a higher-level certification, such as VCAP or VCDX, it will not automatically award you the new lower-level certification.
Thanks,
Karl
So before your certification expired in two years, but now it is ‘retired’ in less than 12 months, that is great!
¡I got VCP7 – DM at the end of august, just before the exam was retired, so i got -1 months of valid certification!
Thanks
Hi Dave, your certification is still valid. In fact, we expanded the life of all certifications, so they don’t retire. While the version shows when you earned the certification and how recently you were able to validate your expertise, certifications going at least 3 versions back are valid, current, and still allow the same upgrade path to recertify (one upgrade exam). That is beyond the two years it used to be. No longer are you forced to upgrade within the two years…you decide when it makes sense to you, and in the meantime, your certification remains valid!
Thanks,
Karl