What Changed in the 2026 CompTIA and AWS Exam Versions

Nine exams changed version, retired, or had their content quietly revised across 2026. CompTIA shipped a new AI security certification and put a retirement date on Security+. AWS swapped its machine learning exam over this month and rewrote the AI Practitioner service list without changing the exam code. Snowflake and PeopleCert both replaced a foundation exam in February.

Last verified 19 September 2026. Vendor dates move, and several of the entries below were different three months ago. Check the vendor's exam page before you book.

CompTIA

Security+ SY0-701 — live, with an end date

SY0-701 launched in November 2023 and is still the current exam. It now has a published retirement date. June 11, 2027 for the English exam, and August 13, 2027 for the Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai versions. CompTIA lists a Security+ V8 as under development with no exam code and no launch date announced.

The domain restructure from SY0-601 is a separate question. The Security+ guide covers it.

Network+ N10-009 — live, no end date

N10-009 launched in June 2024 and replaced the N10-008, which retired in December 2024. CompTIA has not published a retirement date for the N10-009. It does list a Network+ V10 as under development. Again, no exam code and no launch date. See the Network+ guide for what the current version covers.

A+ 220-1201 and 220-1202 — live, no end date

The current A+ pair launched in March 2025, replacing 220-1101 and 220-1102. CompTIA has not published a retirement date for either exam. It typically retires a version about three years after launch. Nothing is listed as under development. The A+ guide covers both exams.

SecAI+ CY0-001 — new in February

CompTIA launched SecAI+ on February 17, 2026. It is a first version. Nothing preceded it, and nothing is scheduled to replace it. The SecAI+ guide covers the exam.

AWS

Machine Learning Engineer Associate — MLA-C01 to MLA-C02, this month

The switchover is happening now. The MLA-C01 is in use until September 28, 2026. The MLA-C02 is in use from September 29, 2026. Registration for the C02 opened on September 1, so both are bookable today and which one you sit depends only on your test date.

The C02 is launching as a beta. AWS has not published a general availability date or the price the exam will settle at. The question types changed as well, so material built for the C01 format does not fully transfer. The ML Engineer guide has the detail on both versions.

AI Practitioner AIF-C01 — same code, different content

The exam code has not moved. That is what makes this one easy to miss. AWS revised the exam guide twice in 2026, in March and again on April 30, 2026.

The April revision cut Amazon Kendra, Amazon Q, Amazon Fraud Detector, Amazon Augmented AI and Amazon QuickSight from the in-scope service list, and added Amazon Nova, Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, Strands Agents, Kiro, Amazon Quick and SageMaker JumpStart. It also dropped the case-study question type that older study guides still describe.

Check the date on any service list you study from. A guide published in early 2026 is already wrong about a third of this. The AI Practitioner guide reflects the April revision.

Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 — live, stable

CLF-C02 remains the current Cloud Practitioner exam and no successor has been announced. The Cloud Practitioner guide covers it.

Snowflake: COF-C02 to COF-C03

Snowflake replaced the COF-C02 with the COF-C03 on February 16, 2026. The English COF-C02 retired on May 14, 2026. The translated versions retired on July 31, 2026. The C03 is the only version you can sit.

The C03 adds four subject areas. Snowflake Cortex AI, Apache Iceberg tables, Snowflake Notebooks and Git integration. Everything else carried forward from the C02, so older material still works for the foundational content and the gap is narrow but real. The SnowPro Core guide lists what to add.

PeopleCert: ITIL 4 and ITIL 5 running in parallel

ITIL 5 Foundation went live on February 12, 2026. It is the one entry on this page where the older version is still a legitimate choice. ITIL 4 is still sold and still examinable. PeopleCert runs both versions at once.

ITIL 4 Foundation still counts as a prerequisite for the higher-level ITIL 5 modules, so existing holders do not have to retake it to progress. There is an optional ITIL Foundation Bridge for anyone who wants the Version 5 credential without repeating material they already know. PeopleCert's current plan is to sunset all ITIL 4 modules on 31 December 2027. The ITIL 5 guide covers what changed.

Announced but not dated

Three successors are known to be coming with nothing published to plan around:

• CompTIA Security+ V8 — listed by CompTIA as under development. No exam code, no launch date.
• CompTIA Network+ V10 — listed by CompTIA as under development. No exam code, no launch date.
• AWS MLA-C02 general availability — the beta is bookable, but AWS has not published a GA date or a final price.

Dates for any of these do circulate on training-provider blogs. None of them came from the vendor. Treat a date as real when it appears on the vendor's own page and not before, because the alternative is planning a year of study around a rumour.

What a retirement date does not mean

A retirement date governs which version you can sit. It says nothing about a certification you already hold. If you passed SY0-701 this year, June 2027 is not your expiry date, it is the last day someone else can take the same exam you took.

CompTIA certifications run on a three-year cycle instead. You stay certified by completing the continuing education requirements within three years of earning or renewing, and the number of CEUs required differs by certification. Holding several does not multiply the work. Renewing your highest-level certification renews the lower ones with it.

So a version change is a deadline for people who have not sat the exam yet.

How to read a version change

Book the version that is live on your test date, not the version that is live while you study. Most of the entries above have a switchover date rather than a cliff. The overlap periods are generous.

The more useful habit is checking whether the exam code moved. A new code means a new blueprint and a real gap in old material. That change is easy to catch. A revised guide under the same code is the quiet one. The AIF-C01 is the example on this page: same code all year, five services dropped, six added, one question type removed, and nothing about the exam name to tell you.

Only one deadline here needs a calendar entry. Security+ SY0-701 ends on June 11, 2027. Everything else on this page is open-ended or already settled.