The AWS certifications, tiers and competencies you can earn
This page maps 20 AWS paths for earning recognition across services, resale, software and hardware: three partner tiers, Competencies, the MSP Program, the Foundational Technical Review, individual AWS Certifications and newer credentials. AWS updated its tiers page on October 29, 2026. Check which tier criteria your certified people already meet.
For AWS partners that deliver services, resell, sell software or build hardware.As of
Which certification programs can you use?
Every path below is AWS’s own name for it, including paths that apply to only one role.
Tiers and programs that validate your company
| Path | What it gives you | Role it needs | Works with others? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Services Partner Tier: Select | What it gives youPartner Tier badge, Solutions Finder listing, promotional credits, Partner Opportunity Acceleration funding | Role it needsServices, Resell | Works with others?Check with AWS: time needed at Select before Advanced isn’t stated |
| AWS Services Partner Tier: Advanced | What it gives youSelect benefits plus a co-branded case study, an APN Blog post and Marketing Development Funds | Role it needsServices, Resell | Works with others?Sequence: Competency, MSP and Well-Architected programs are listed as Advanced and Premier benefits |
| AWS Services Partner Tier: Premier | What it gives youAdvanced benefits plus early access to AWS events sponsorship packages | Role it needsServices, Resell | Works with others?Sequence: needs the tier criteria sustained for more than 6 months, and 3 opportunities that include an MSP, DevOps or CloudOps Competency |
| AWS Solution Provider Program | What it gives youAn AWS Partner badge with the Solution Provider designation | Role it needsResell, Services | Works with others?Check with AWS: the tier it needs isn’t stated |
| AWS Competency Program | What it gives youA badge for validated expertise, reviewed through technical assessments and customer success examples | Role it needsServices, Software | Works with others?Sequence for services: listed as an Advanced and Premier benefit. Software: Check with AWS |
| AWS Data Competency: Databases and Relational Databases | What it gives youTwo categories added September 29, 2026 — Databases for services and Relational Databases for software — with more marketing and deal funding in 2027 | Role it needsServices, Software | Works with others?Check with AWS: no extra prerequisite is named |
| AWS MSP Program | What it gives youAn MSP badge after a third-party audit, plus Marketing Development Funds, migration incentives and tooling credits | Role it needsServices | Works with others?Sequence: listed as an Advanced and Premier benefit |
| AWS Well-Architected Partner Program | What it gives youAn AWS Partner badge with the Well-Architected designation | Role it needsServices | Works with others?Sequence: listed as an Advanced and Premier benefit |
| AWS Service Delivery and Service Ready Specializations | What it gives youValidated skills in one AWS service, or a validated software product; both end June 1, 2027 | Role it needsServices, Software | Works with others?Check with AWS: new applications are closed |
| AWS Direct Connect Partner Program | What it gives youReplaces the Direct Connect Service Delivery Program; V1 needs no case studies, V2 needs two within 24 months | Role it needsAny | Works with others?Check with AWS: no other prerequisite is named |
Which of these fit depends on the services you sell most, your team’s certifications, and the firms you compete with.
Software, hardware and other paths
| Path | What it gives you | Role it needs | Works with others? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational Technical Review (FTR) | What it gives youA “Qualified Software” badge and listing, free, with results in minutes | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: AWS says it opens program eligibility, naming the Competency Program and ISV Accelerate |
| Co-Selling with AWS learning module | What it gives youOne of eight ISV Accelerate requirements: 1 person on your team completes it | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: ISV Accelerate requires it |
| AWS Device Qualification Program | What it gives youAWS’s route into the Hardware Path | Role it needsHardware | Works with others?Check with AWS: criteria weren’t published on the pages read |
| AWS Training Partner (Training Path) | What it gives youA path for organizations that sell, deliver or incorporate AWS training | Role it needsTraining providers | Works with others?Check with AWS: criteria weren’t published on the pages read |
| AWS Authorized Distributor (Distribution Path) | What it gives youA path for organizations that recruit and support resellers; not the reseller path | Role it needsDistributors | Works with others?Check with AWS: criteria weren’t published on the pages read |
Whether a software or hardware path pays off depends on your deal sizes, the customers you sell to, and whether your product already runs on AWS.
Credentials and training for your people
| Path | What it gives you | Role it needs | Works with others? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certifications (Foundational to Specialty) | What it gives youIndividual credentials counted toward each tier’s criteria | Role it needsServices, Resell | Works with others?Sequence: AWS says certifications are a key factor in tier promotion |
| AWS Partner accreditations | What it gives youAccredited technical and business individuals, counted toward each tier | Role it needsServices, Resell | Works with others?Sequence: each tier sets a number of accredited individuals |
| AWS Partner Certification Readiness | What it gives youVirtual sessions and instructor-led cohorts; listed cohorts cover Foundational certifications, starting November 2026 | Role it needsAny | Works with others?Check with AWS: only Foundational cohorts are listed |
| FDE Validated (pathways: Ground, Orchestrate, Prove) | What it gives youA credential for hands-on production agentic AI delivery, earned through Skill Builder at no cost since October 1, 2026 | Role it needsServices | Works with others?Sequence: needs an active Associate- or Professional-level AWS Certification |
| FDE Advanced | What it gives youA deeper credential across all three pathways | Role it needsServices | Works with others?Sequence: needs an active AWS Certified Generative AI Developer – Professional certification |
Which ones matter most depends on how many certified people you already have, which tier criteria they count toward, and who on your team delivers the work.
How do these programs combine?
AWS lists the Competency, MSP and Well-Architected programs as Advanced and Premier benefits, so services companies reach them through the tier ladder; Premier adds more than 6 months at the criteria. For software, AWS says the Foundational Technical Review opens program eligibility. Individual certifications feed tier criteria and both FDE credentials.
AWS doesn’t say which paths can be held together, so this page labels no pair as a stack. It does say the Data Competency is open to both Services and Software Partners, so a company in both roles meets both categories.
The AWS pages read for this page name no exclusions between these paths. The Program Guides in AWS Partner Central need a partner sign-in, so check them before planning around two paths at once.
How do you claim or earn each one?
Earn a Services Partner Tier
AWS lists these criteria, and an annual APN fee of $2,500 on each tier.
| Criterion | Select | Advanced | Premier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accredited individuals | Select4 (2 technical, 2 business) | Advanced8 (4 technical, 4 business) | Premier20 (10 technical, 10 business) |
| Foundational Certified individuals | Select2 | Advanced4 | Premier10 |
| Technical Certified individuals | Select2 | Advanced6, at least 3 Professional or Specialty | Premier25, at least 10 Professional or Specialty |
| Launched opportunities | Select3 (MRR of at least $1,500) | Advanced20 (MRR of at least $10,000) | Premier50 (MRR of at least $50,000) |
| Partner Business Plan | SelectNot required | AdvancedRequired | PremierRequired |
| Executive Business Review | SelectNot required | AdvancedNot required | PremierRequired |
- 01
Join and enroll
Join the AWS Partner Network, then enroll in the Services path in AWS Partner Central.
- 02
Meet the counts
Meet the accredited and certified individual counts for your tier.
- 03
Log opportunities
Log launched opportunities until you reach the tier’s count and MRR.
- 04
File the paperwork
For Advanced and Premier, file a Partner Business Plan; for Premier, also complete an Executive Business Review.
Earn a Competency, MSP or Well-Architected designation
- 01
Check your tier
Confirm your tier is Advanced or Premier, the tiers AWS lists these programs under.
- 02
Open the checklist
Open the program’s validation checklist in AWS Partner Central.
- 03
Submit evidence
Complete the technical assessment and submit customer success examples; the MSP Program adds a third-party audit.
- 04
Receive the badge
AWS issues the badge once your submission is approved.
Earn the Foundational Technical Review
- 01
Read the guide
Join AWS Partner Central and read the FTR Guide for prerequisites.
- 02
Request the review
Request the review for your solution.
- 03
Submit an audit
Submit an existing SOC 2 Type II audit report or a Well-Architected Framework Review.
- 04
Receive the badge
Receive the “Qualified Software” badge, valid for two years from approval.
AWS’s public pages don’t list reasons validations get rejected, and the checklists sit behind the Partner Central sign-in.
Why do two similar companies choose differently?
Company A — 40-person services provider running managed services on AWS, no software
Its paths are the Advanced tier criteria, the MSP Program, a Competency in a workload where it has customer success examples, and FDE Validated for its delivery engineers.
The same tier ladder gets it to Competency, MSP and Well-Architected once it holds Advanced.
Company B — 40-person reseller that also lists its own AI product on AWS Marketplace
Its first question is whether its five certified people cover the Select criteria. Its paths include the Foundational Technical Review, the Co-Selling with AWS learning module and a Certification Readiness cohort.
The same partner and the same rules lead to a different set of paths than Company A’s.
Illustrative. Neither set is a recommendation for you.
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What changed recently in certifications?
- Oct 29, 2026 — AWS Direct Connect Partner Program replaces the Direct Connect Service Delivery Program.
- Oct 1, 2026 — New forward deployed engineering pathways and credentials: FDE Validated and FDE Advanced.
- Sep 29, 2026 — Data Competency adds Databases and Relational Databases: one category for services, one for software.
- Jan 1, 2026 — New MSP Program benefits: Customer Management, Strategic Services and Government Practice.
- Jun 1, 2027 — Service Delivery and Service Ready Specializations end; new applications are closed.
Frequently
asked questions
The short answers for AWS certifications. Playmaker shows you the rest in 3 minutes.
AWS lists 4 Foundational Certified and 6 Technical Certified individuals, at least 3 of them at Professional or Specialty level, plus 8 accredited individuals and 20 launched opportunities.
AWS’s tiers page lists the Competency Program as a benefit of Advanced and Premier. Software companies are validated through the Foundational Technical Review, which AWS says opens program eligibility. Check the program’s checklist in Partner Central for the full criteria.
AWS lists Software, Hardware, Services, Training and Distribution paths and says partners enroll in the relevant ones in Partner Central. The page states no limit on how many a company can join, so check with AWS before planning around several.
AWS says Service Delivery and Service Ready will be deprecated on June 1, 2027, and new applications are closed.
AWS’s review page says two years from approval. A November 2024 AWS blog post said renewal had been extended from 2 to 3 years, but AWS notes the review has evolved since, so confirm the current period in the FTR Guide.
Sources
The AWS pages this page reads, all accessed Nov 1, 2026. Program names and terms belong to AWS.
- AWS, AWS Partner Tiers
- AWS, Specializations
- AWS, Foundational Technical Review
- AWS, Partner Paths
- AWS, ISV Accelerate Program
- AWS, MSP Program
- AWS, Well-Architected Partner Program
- AWS, Solution Provider Program
- AWS, Partner Certification Readiness
- AWS Partner Network blog, new categories and benefits for AWS Data Competency partners
- AWS Partner Network blog, new FDE pathways for AWS partners
- AWS Partner Network blog, introducing the AWS Direct Connect Partner Program
AWS, Amazon Web Services and AWS Marketplace are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. WorkSpan is not affiliated with or endorsed by AWS.
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