Earn Google Cloud tiers, competencies and certifications
Google Cloud's public pages confirm nine certification paths for partners: three tiers (Select, Premier and Diamond), competencies at two levels, and individual certifications and skill badges that your staff earn. Tiers and competencies recognize the company. Certifications and badges recognize people, and they feed the tier requirements, so staff credentials come first. Google's partner learning page says certifications and credentials are a requirement for the tiers on the selling and services paths. It states no such requirement for the technology path.
As of
Which certification programs can you use?
| Path | What it gives you | Role it needs | Works with others? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select tier | What it gives youBaseline recognition for partners that have shown foundational knowledge. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
| Premier tier | What it gives youRecognition for a significant investment in certified technical resources. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
| Diamond tier | What it gives youGoogle's highest level of partnership. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
| Competency (Product, Solution, Industry) | What it gives youRecognition for skills and real-world success in one category. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Stack: operates independently from tiering. |
| Advanced Competency | What it gives youThe second level of a competency. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Sequence: second level of a competency. |
| Cloud Digital Leader (Foundational certification) | What it gives youAn entry certification for staff. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
| Associate certification | What it gives youFor technical staff with six or more months of hands-on experience. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
| Professional certification | What it gives youFor staff with three or more years of industry experience and one or more years of hands-on experience. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
| Skill badges | What it gives youDigital credentials that Google Cloud issues for hands-on skills. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
Which of these fit depends on how many certified staff you have, which products and industries you serve, and whether you sell with Google, deliver services or build on Google Cloud.
How do these programs combine?
Stack: competencies run alongside tiers. Google's partner network announcement says competencies operate independently from tiering. A company can hold a tier, a competency, or both.
Sequence: an advanced competency follows a competency. Google describes competency and advanced competency as two levels of the same recognition. Competencies come in Product, Solution and Industry categories and are measured on capacity and capability.
Sequence: staff credentials come before company recognition. Google's partner learning page says certifications and credentials are a requirement for Select, Premier and Diamond on the selling and services paths. The public pages don't state how many are needed at each tier.
Role: the path you follow changes the requirement. Google's partner network has three paths: selling with Google, services and technology. The partner learning page ties the certification requirement to the selling and services paths, and it doesn't say what applies to the technology path, so a software company should check with Google Cloud before it plans staff credentials around a tier.
Stack: not stated for badges. Google's public pages don't say whether skill badges count toward a tier or a competency. Check with Google Cloud.
How do you claim or earn each one?
Earn a certification
- 1Choose the level that fits the person: Foundational for any role, Associate for six or more months of hands-on work, Professional for three or more years of industry experience.
- 2Pick the certification that matches the role, such as Cloud Architect for design work or Security Engineer for security work.
- 3Take the exam; Google's public pages state the registration steps on the certification page.
- 4Record the credential in Google's partner portal so it counts toward your company's requirements.
Google's certification page lists three levels. Foundational includes Cloud Digital Leader and Generative AI Leader. Associate includes Cloud Engineer, Google Workspace Administrator and Data Practitioner. Professional includes Cloud Architect, Cloud Developer, Data Engineer, Cloud DevOps Engineer, Cloud Security Engineer, Cloud Network Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer and Security Operations Engineer, among others. Google also lists an Agentic Architect professional exam, with general availability described as mid-November.
Earn a skill badge
- 1Skill badges are digital credentials issued by Google Cloud for hands-on skills. Google's credentials page describes them, and the public pages give no requirement for how many a partner needs.
Reach a tier or a competency
- 1Google's public pages describe what each tier recognizes and name the Select, Premier and Diamond tiers, and they state no numeric thresholds or application steps. Those sit in Google's partner portal. Check there before you plan a tier target, and ask Google Cloud which competencies apply to your products and industries.
Why do two similar companies choose differently?
Company A is a services firm with a strong security team and few Google Cloud certifications
Its first path is staff credentials, because they feed the tier requirements on the services path. Its question is how many certified people each tier needs.
Company B is a software company whose engineers already hold Professional certifications and sells to one industry
Its path is a competency in that industry, which runs independently of a tier, so it can hold one without the other. Its question is which competency categories apply to its product.
Same programs, two different right answers. Which fits yours depends on who your staff are, what you sell and which customers you serve.
What changed recently?
- 16 Dec 2025Google announced Google Cloud Partner Network, with Select, Premier and Diamond tiers and competencies in Product, Solution and Industry categories.
The change is covered in how Google Cloud Partner Network changed the program. Google's certification page also lists the new Agentic Architect professional exam.
Google Cloud has the paths. Playmaker finds yours.
You’ve just seen how much Google Cloud offers: programs, funding, listings, specialists and the many ways they combine. All of it is real, and much of it can run at the same time. Which of it fits your company depends on your tier, your roles and your deals.
Playmaker does that work for you:
- Ranked by revenue. It looks at your company and orders the Google Cloud plays by revenue expectancy, so you spend your time on the plays that matter most.
- A recipe for each play. Every play comes with the steps to run it. You know what to do next, not just what exists.
- Built for your mix. Reseller and services, a Marketplace listing and competencies, several funding programs at once. Playmaker works out how they fit together for your company, not for a generic partner.
- Ready in 3 minutes. Generate your playbook in 3 minutes, then refresh it as your deals change.
What does your playbook show?
Frequently
asked questions
The short answers for Google Cloud certifications. Playmaker shows you the rest in 3 minutes.
Select, Premier and Diamond. Google describes Select as a baseline of foundational knowledge, Premier as a significant investment in certified technical resources and Diamond as its highest level.
No. Google's announcement says competencies operate independently from tiering.
Three levels: Foundational, Associate and Professional, with Cloud Digital Leader and Generative AI Leader at the Foundational level.
Google's partner learning page says certifications and credentials are a requirement for Select, Premier and Diamond on the selling and services paths. It states no numbers.
Google's public pages don't say. Check with Google Cloud in its partner portal.
Google says competencies operate independently from tiering, and it doesn't say how skill badges combine with either, so check with Google Cloud.
Sources
Primary sources for this page, all accessed Nov 4, 2026. Program names and terms belong to Google Cloud.
Where can you read more?
- Google Cloud partner programs: every path, seven areasThe front door for every Google Cloud program area.
- Google Cloud services programs and how to claim themSupport paths for services partners.
- Google Cloud competitors and how partners stand outThe signals customers compare partners on.
What’s your next play?
Get your ranked plays for up to 3 partners in 3 minutes. Plus, get 30 free days to execute your plays.