To keep your Salesforce credentials valid, it’s essential to take Salesforce maintenance exams. This is beneficial as it ensures you stay up-to-date with the constantly evolving Salesforce platform, keeping your skills current and relevant. This article will outline everything you need to know ahead of taking your Salesforce maintenance exam.
Salesforce maintenance exams were transitioned to Trailhead in 2018, introducing several key changes:
- Individuals now only need to complete one Salesforce maintenance exam per certification each year.
- Optional ‘no/low code’ and ‘code’ badges are available. Beyond the required maintenance badges, it’s highly recommended to explore all available badges across certification paths to deepen your knowledge of the latest Salesforce features. These badges include hands-on challenges and are released three times a year.
- Enhancing the exam interface has made it easier to access Salesforce maintenance exam requirements through your single Trailblazer login. The interactive, gamified modules are now more accessible, with clearer notifications and significantly less friction compared to the previous WebAssessor platform.
- Additionally, Salesforce maintenance exams are now free of charge, eliminating the previous $100 fee per exam – a change that has been welcomed by the community!
With new certifications introduced every year and more tracks and pathways available, Trailblazers have the opportunity to upskill without breaking the bank or feeling overwhelmed.
With new certifications added every year and more ‘tracks’/pathways opening up, Trailblazers can upskill without spending a fortune or becoming overloaded.
How Do I Maintain My Salesforce Certification?
In a nutshell, head to your trailblazer.me profile, and scroll down to the certification section.
For each of your Salesforce certifications, you’ll see either a green “Active” or red “Maintenance Due” icon. 
Note: You must link your Webassessor and Trailhead account together.
Follow the links to the Trailhead modules, which are “open book” (i.e. you are free to look at any resources), with the aim for you to learn while you sit the short exam.
You can also access maintenance Trailhead Modules by using the Trailhead search bar.
Don’t panic about remembering to check regularly. When new maintenance exams are due, you’ll receive a clear email notification.
Salesforce Architect Maintenance Exams
“Architect Designer certifications will have their own Designer maintenance module, created specifically for the designer and/or architect audience.”
Note: Architect (and Designer) certifications have their own maintenance modules which will cover all related certifications (Data Architect, Sharing and Visibility Architect, etc.) rather than an individual module by certification like the Admin or CPQ Specialist ones.
How Much Does it Cost to Maintain a Salesforce Certification?
Salesforce maintenance exams are free.
Important! If you fail to maintain your certifications after a certain amount of time has elapsed, they will expire – yes, this means you will have to take the full certification exam again plus pay the $200/$400 bill to sit the exam.
How Do I Check My Salesforce Maintenance Exam Status?
You can also use the ‘Certification Status Request‘ service which sends an email directly to you.
Inputting your email address (linked to your Webassessor account) will trigger an email outlining the status for each of your Salesforce certifications. 
Inputting your email address (linked to your Webassessor account) will trigger an email outlining the status for each of your Salesforce certifications.
Summary
Stay current with the ever-evolving Salesforce platform (the carrot) and protect your hard-earned credentials (the stick). I learned this the hard way when I accidentally let my Pardot certification expire (unfortunate timing, as I was working as a Pardot consultant at the time). The introduction of a streamlined and cost-effective Salesforce certification maintenance process was a welcome change, especially as Salesforce professionals continue to accumulate more certifications per person. Now, we can explore new certifications and alternative tracks without worrying about monetary constraints.
Note: All certification exams are still hosted on the Webassessor platform, with proctoring available either onsite or online. You can view the fees for each exam here.
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