# Palantir Specialist Certification Exams launch on 30 September **URL:** \ **Category:** Community Announcements\ **Tags:** certification, training\ **Created:** [September 22, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://community.palantir.com/t/palantir-specialist-certification-exams-launch-on-30-september/7256 "2026-09-22T19:12:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joshOntologize](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/palantir/user_avatar/community.palantir.com/joshontologize/32/4460_2.png) [@joshOntologize](https://community.palantir.com/u/joshOntologize)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://community.palantir.com/t/palantir-specialist-certification-exams-launch-on-30-september/7256/1 "2026-09-22T19:12:45Z")
Three Specialist certifications will be live starting 30 September 2026; these new exams are domain-specific and will each focus on the work a Data Engineer, Application Developer, and AI Engineer would find themselves doing in Foundry & AIP. All are timed, proctored, open-internet\* (see Format section below), **hands-on in a real Foundry & AIP environment** , and valid for two years. All three exam types will be offered once a month and in North America-friendly times (additional EMEA- and APAC- time slots will be offered in the future). ## Format All three Specialist exams have a standardized 3-hour, phased format where access to AIP tools will be granted and revoked. Exams are proctored over Zoom. | Phase | Duration | Description | AIP Access | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1: Plan | 20 minutes | Given a prompt, design and outline a satisfactory build approach. | No | | 2: Build | 120 minutes | Given multiple prompts and access to the AIP suite (including AI FDE), build and debug Foundry resources to meet targeted functional requirements. | Yes | | 3: Modify | 40 minutes | Given prompts that introduce complexity to the scenarios from the previous Build phase, modify and supplement your existing work to meet new feature requests without access to the AIP suite (including AI FDE). | No | ## Study Guides Track-specific exam guides are available at https://www.ontologize.com/exams#study-guides ## Registration Process _Pre-requisite: Only candidates who have passed the equivalent Associate-level exam can successfully register for a Specialist-level exam (e.g., to take the Data Engineer Specialist exam, you must have passed the Data Engineer Associate exam first)._ Palantir Customers or Partners can register their employees via the link below. Candidates who are not associated with a Palantir Customer or Partner can express interest via the same link and will be notified when individual registration will be rolled out. Registrations close at 5pm Pacific Time, 7 days prior to an official exam date. Each unique candidate attempt costs $350, and a candidate may retake an exam after a 30-day cooldown period. _Ready? Register below._ [https://www.ontologize.com/exams#specialist-exam-registration](https://www.ontologize.com/exams#specialist-exam-registration) ---
**Author:** ![michaelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@michaelt](https://community.palantir.com/u/michaelt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 7:41am UTC](https://community.palantir.com/t/palantir-specialist-certification-exams-launch-on-30-september/7256/2 "2026-09-23T07:41:54Z")
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**Author:** ![orchid](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/palantir/user_avatar/community.palantir.com/orchid/32/8336_2.png) [@orchid](https://community.palantir.com/u/orchid)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://community.palantir.com/t/palantir-specialist-certification-exams-launch-on-30-september/7256/3 "2026-09-29T17:37:36Z")
What happens to older certifications like the app developer professional certification? Can it be used to apply to transfer to the associate or specialist cert? ---
**Author:** ![michaelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@michaelt](https://community.palantir.com/u/michaelt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://community.palantir.com/t/palantir-specialist-certification-exams-launch-on-30-september/7256/4 "2026-10-06T13:26:11Z")
Hi @orchid - thanks for your question. Your old certifications remain valid until they expire, but you would need to take the new Associate and Specialist exams to obtain those certifications.