Does Salesforce Admin Certification Expire?

Salesforce Administration is a beginner-level certificate you should take to begin your career in Salesforce. It’s a widely recognized credential that demonstrates a professional’s expertise in the administration and configuration of the Salesforce platform. The certification requires passing an exam that covers various aspects of the platform, such as setup and maintenance, data management, and security. However, the question that many Salesforce professionals ask is whether the certification expires and requires recertification. 

In this blog, we will explore the answer to this question and provide information on maintaining the Salesforce Admin Certification.

As technology keeps updating, you must keep your knowledge up-to-date with the latest functionality of the Salesforce platform. So, “YES,” you need to give a Salesforce maintenance examination to ensure your admin certificate does not expire. Salesforce certification was moved to the Trailhead in 2018. Let’s examine the alterations that occurred afterward.

Modification in Salesforce Certificate Maintenance Examination

Below mentioned are the changes made in the Salesforce maintenance examination.

1. Reducing the Number of Examinations

Salesforce required individuals to take a maintenance exam for each certification they held each year prior to the transition to Trailhead. With the transition to Trailhead, Salesforce reduced the number of maintenance exams required of individuals to one certification per year. If you have multiple Salesforce certifications, you only need to take one maintenance exam per year to keep them all current.

2. Offering “code” Badges

Salesforce launched a new way for users to prepare for maintenance exams in 2018: Trailhead provides several hands-on learning modules known as “Trails” that include the topics covered in the maintenance exams. Depending on their level of experience and interests, users can earn either a “no/low code” or a “code” badge. The no/low code badge emphasizes using Salesforce’s point-and-click tools and declarative features, whereas the code badge focuses on more advanced topics such as Apex and Visualforce. Both badges demonstrate that the user possesses the necessary knowledge and skills to pass the corresponding maintenance exam.

3. No Cost for the Exam 

Yes, you heard it right! Salesforce made maintenance exams available to all Salesforce users for free. Maintenance exams are intended to assess a person’s knowledge and skills related to a specific Salesforce product or technology, such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, or AppExchange. Salesforce made it easier for users to access and complete these exams by moving them to Trailhead, as well as tracking their progress and earning badges for completing certain modules.

How to Maintain a Salesforce Admin Certificate?

If you don’t complete all your maintenance modules within the given deadline, all your certification associated with the module will expire. So here are the steps which you need to follow in order to maintain your Salesforce Admin certificate

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1. Complete the Trailhead Maintenance Modules

To keep your Salesforce certification(s) up-to-date, certified professionals must complete the necessary maintenance modules on Trailhead each year, specific to their respective certifications. One maintenance module must be completed annually for each certification.

You can view the expiration date and the number of modules required for your certification by logging into your Trailhead account and visiting your certification page.

To prepare for Salesforce maintenance modules, go into your Trailhead account and then search for the “Trailhead Maintenance” project. In this project, opt for the modules which are relevant to your certificate and start working on them. You will earn points and badges for completing each module, allowing you to track your progress.

2. Check Status

To check the status of your Salesforce Admin certificate maintenance:

1. Visit your “Trailblaze.me” profile and scroll down to the certification section.
2. This will bring you to the current status of your every certificate. You will see “Maintenance Due” status if you have not begun learning and testing to maintain your certificate. 
3. You will see an “Active” status which means you have started the process but have not yet completed it.

3. Email Reminders

If you have signed up for Salesforce training updates, Salesforce will send you emails with reminders about your certification expiration date and renewal process. Visit the Salesforce website and fill out the newsletter or training updates form to get regular reminders of your Salesforce maintenance examination. 

What is the Cost of Maintaining a Salesforce Admin Certificate?

The Salesforce maintenance examination is free of charge, but your certificate will expire if you do not complete it within the specified time frame. It means you will have to retake the full Salesforce certification exam, which will cost you between $200 and $400.

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Summing Up

Given that Salesforce Admin certificates do expire, it is critical to keep your knowledge up to date with the ever-changing Salesforce platform. Regularly taking advanced courses and staying informed of new releases and updates will ensure that certified admins maintain the validity of their certification. 

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