Retired exams and their replacements (2026)
Which exam replaced which
This page answers one question: which exam replaced the one in your old study material, and when did the old one stop. Every date comes from the vendor’s own pages, checked on 16 October 2026. Rows that could not be confirmed are left out. For changes that are announced but not yet final, see the exam changes tracker.
Microsoft
| Retired exam | Replacement | Retirement (official) | What changed | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ-103 | AZ-104 | 31 August 2020 | AZ-104 became the only exam for Azure Administrator Associate | AZ-104 |
| MS-900 | AB-900 | 31 March 2026 | From describing Microsoft 365 to administering Copilot, Purview, Entra ID and agents | AB-900 vs MS-900 |
| DP-100 | AI-300 | 1 June 2026 | Adds MLOps with GitHub Actions and Bicep plus GenAIOps in Foundry | AI-300 vs DP-100 |
| AI-900 | AI-901 | 30 June 2026 | Rebuilt around Microsoft Foundry: two domains instead of five | AI-901 vs AI-900 |
| AI-102 | AI-103 | 30 June 2026 | Weighting moved towards agents, RAG and running AI in production | AI-103 vs AI-102 |
| AZ-204 | AI-200 | 31 July 2026 | Storage replaced by vector search in Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL and Redis | AI-200 vs AZ-204 |
| AZ-500 | SC-500 | 31 August 2026 | Reorganised into four even domains, with new AI security content | SC-500 vs AZ-500 |
| AZ-800 and AZ-801 | AZ-802 | 30 September 2026 | One exam instead of two; containers, clustering, migration and backup dropped | AZ-802 vs AZ-800/801 |
Microsoft’s credential retirement page lists the certification retirement dates above. The AZ-103 date is from Microsoft’s 2020 AZ-104 announcement. SC-500 leads to the Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate certification, and AI-901 is named by Microsoft as the replacement for AI-900 on the AI-900 exam page.
Searching for “az 103” or “az-104 vs az-204”? AZ-103 is long gone, and AZ-204 is a different, now retired developer exam, not a version of AZ-104.
AWS
| Retired exam | Replacement | Last day (official) | What changed | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLA-C01 | MLA-C02 | 28 September 2026 (English) | Adds generative AI tasks alongside traditional ML; beta delivery began 29 September 2026 | MLA-C02 renewal and version swap |
| SAP-C02 | SAP-C03 | 16 November 2026 | Updated exam with new domains; delivery starts 17 November 2026 | SAP-C03 vs SAP-C02 |
| DVA-C02 | DVA-C03 | 30 November 2026 | Adds an AI security task and AI-assisted development; exam guide published (domains 30/26/22/22); in use from 1 December 2026 | DVA-C03 vs DVA-C02 |
MLA-C01 dates come from the AWS announcement; the standard MLA-C02 is expected in early 2027. The SAP-C02 and DVA-C02 last days are on the AWS Solutions Architect Professional and Developer Associate pages.
CompTIA
| Retired exam | Replacement | Retirement (official) | What changed | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N10-008 | N10-009 | December 2024 (English) | N10-009 launched on 20 June 2024; unused N10-008 vouchers carry over | N10-009 |
| CS0-003 | CS0-004 | 22 December 2026 (English) | CySA+ V4 launched on 23 June 2026 | CS0-004 vs CS0-003 |
| SY0-701 | SY0-801 | 11 June 2027 (English) | SY0-801 expected to launch on or around 17 November 2026 | SY0-801 vs SY0-701 |
Sources: CompTIA’s Network+ page and N10-009 blog, the CySA+ V3 and V4 pages, and the Security+ V7 and V8 pages. The Security+ row is a scheduled change: SY0-701 is still bookable today. Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai versions of SY0-701 retire on 13 August 2027, and CySA+ V3 translations on 23 March 2027.
Cisco
| Old name | Current name | Status | What changed | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DevNet Associate (DEVASC) | CCNA Automation (200-901) | Renamed, not retired | Cisco states the content of the associate-level certification has not changed | 200-901 |
Cisco’s announcement says the certification formerly known as Cisco Certified DevNet Associate is now CCNA Automation. Anyone searching for DEVASC material is therefore studying the same exam.
Do I need to retake if I hold the old certification?
Only what each vendor states is repeated here.
Microsoft. A certification earned or renewed before retirement “will remain on your transcript in the Active Certifications section until it expires”, then moves to Historical Certifications (Microsoft). A retired certification cannot be earned or renewed after its date, so a holder of, say, Azure Security Engineer Associate cannot renew it with the free assessment. Whether to take SC-500 is a career decision, not a requirement Microsoft imposes.
AWS. For MLA-C01, AWS says the credential “remains active through its original expiration date”. Its certification pages state a three-year validity and that holders recertify by passing the latest version of the exam.
CompTIA. Certifications earned before an exam retires remain valid for three years from the exam date, and exam retirement does not change the status of an existing certification (CompTIA). The V7 page does not state anything about SY0-701 holders beyond the exam dates, so the expiry date on the certificate decides.
Cisco. Cisco’s rename does not require a retake, since the exam content is unchanged.
What to do with old study material
Check the exam code on the vendor page before buying anything. Material for a retired code covers a different outline, and the table above names how far the new exam moved. The exam changes tracker covers exams that have changed but are not covered here.