Three Esri exams now carry the same label on Esri’s own site: pending retirement. GIS Fundamentals Foundation 2024, ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript Associate 2024, and ArcGIS Utility Network Associate 2024 all stop being bookable after December 31, 2026. As of November 3, that leaves about eight weeks.
If you are partway through studying for any of them, you are facing a choice that most Esri certification candidates have never had to make: sit the older exam you have been preparing for, or switch to the 2026 version. I have read the blueprints for all three side by side, and the answer is different for each exam. Here is what Esri actually changed, what the deadline rules allow, and how to pick.
Which Esri Certification Exams Retire on December 31, 2026
Esri’s list of certification exams marks exactly three 2024 versions as pending retirement. Each has a 2026 successor, though the successors are at different stages. All six exams are 75 questions and 90 minutes.
| 2024 exam (code) | Level and voucher price | Last day | 2026 successor |
|---|---|---|---|
| GIS Fundamentals Foundation (EGFF_2024) | Foundation, $275 | December 31, 2026 | EGFF_2026, publication set for October 26, 2026 |
| ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript Associate (EJSA_2024) | Associate, $295 | December 31, 2026 | EJSA_2026, publication listed for November 20, 2026 |
| ArcGIS Utility Network Associate (EUNA_2024) | Associate, $295 | December 31, 2026 | EUNA_2026, published September 25, 2026 |
One warning about status labels. Esri’s pages do not fully agree with each other on whether the first two successors are live. The exam list already shows both as available to the public, while the comparison articles written for each exam still describe them as in development with the dates above. Check the exam’s page in Esri Academy before you plan around a date.
How Esri’s Exam Retirement Policy Works
The rules come from Esri’s exam retirement policy FAQ, and they are stricter than many candidates assume:
- Operational exams retire roughly 18 to 24 months after they are published, and an older version retires within six months of its replacement going live.
- While an exam is pending retirement, it stays visible in Esri Academy and you can still book it through Pearson VUE, at a test center or with OnVUE online delivery.
- Appointments made before the cutoff are honored. If you cancel one, you must rebook before the retirement date.
- There are no extensions to retirement dates, and Esri warns that appointment availability may be limited as the date approaches.
A hard last day is not unusual this season. AWS has set a similar cutoff for its Solutions Architect Professional exam, which we walked through in our post on which AWS exam version to sit before the winter retirements. The difference with Esri is the scale: the same deadline lands on three exams at once.
What Happens to Your Credential and Your Voucher
Esri states plainly that exam retirement applies only to the exam and that the certification you earned is never retired. A passing score on a 2024 exam stays on your record after the exam disappears.
Vouchers are more flexible than most people expect. According to Esri’s pricing and policies page, a voucher is valid for one year from purchase and is tied to a level (foundation, associate, or professional), not to a specific exam. A voucher bought for a 2024 exam can be spent on the 2026 version of the same level. Voucher prices are $275 for Foundation, $295 for Associate, and $325 for Professional. Esri allows three attempts per live exam version, with at least 14 days before a retake and a 90-day wait after a second failed attempt. Every attempt needs a new voucher.
The Three Exams, One at a Time
The blueprint differences below come from the 2026 versus 2024 comparison article Esri publishes for each exam, which lists the skills measured and the software each version is aligned to.
GIS Fundamentals Foundation: Same Study Plan, Updated Questions
What changed between 2024 and 2026
Esri’s comparison article for this exam shows a small shift in weighting. The 2026 version is aligned to ArcGIS Online workflows as of February 2026 and ArcGIS Pro Basic 3.6, where the 2024 version used workflows as of October 2023 and ArcGIS Pro 3.x. The domain weights moved like this (2024 to 2026):
- Data Discovery: 35% to 37%
- Processing and Analysis: 22% to 21%
- Mapping and Visualization: 25% to 25%
- Managing and Sharing Content: 18% to 17%
Who the exam is for has not changed: 150 hours of GIS coursework or 3 to 6 months of workplace experience with ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.
Which version to sit
This is the exam where the choice matters least. A move of two points in one domain is not a different exam, and Esri’s education team has said the same learning materials and the same guidance on who should sit it still apply to the 2026 update. If you are already prepared, book whichever version you can get a seat for soonest. Candidates who want a bank of questions to test themselves against can use the EGFF_2024 practice set, keeping in mind that practice questions are a rehearsal and not the real exam.
ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript Associate: The Target Moves to Version 5.0
What changed between 2024 and 2026
The JavaScript comparison article describes a genuine software jump. The 2024 exam was aligned to ArcGIS Online as of June 2021, ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9.1, and JavaScript Maps SDK 4.20 and up. The 2026 exam is aligned to ArcGIS Online as of March 2026, ArcGIS Enterprise 12.0, and JavaScript Maps SDK version 5.0.
Weights barely move, but the content underneath does:
- Visualization: 32% to 31%
- Analysis: 23% to 22%
- Programming Patterns: 31% to 32%
- UI/UX: 14% to 15%
Inside Analysis, the 2024 list has separate objectives for geocode, utility, and routing services, while the 2026 list keeps only geocoding and reverse geocoding. The 2024 programming objective about widgets and components, with pop-ups, web components, and the layer list as examples, becomes a broader one about map components in 2026. The 2024 UI/UX list also named the View.UI layout pattern, where the 2026 version asks how to place and arrange map components.
Which version to sit
If you write against SDK 5.0 every day, wait for the 2026 version; the 2024 blueprint is built around SDK 4.20 and up, while the 2026 blueprint has moved on to version 5.0. If your team is still on 4.x and you have been studying the 2024 guide, sitting it early is reasonable. The catch is timing: with the 2026 successor listed for November 20, anyone planning to switch has roughly six weeks to prepare, so decide early.
ArcGIS Utility Network Associate: The Widest Software Gap of the Three
What changed between 2024 and 2026
Of the three, this exam shows the biggest gap between versions. According to Esri’s Utility Network comparison article, the 2024 exam is aligned to Utility Network version 4 and later, ArcGIS Enterprise 10.8.1, and ArcGIS Pro 2.6. The 2026 exam is aligned to Utility Network version 7, Enterprise 11.3, and Pro 3.3. Esri also split two of the original objectives into two each to give them more detail.
- Deploy: 20% to 20%
- Configure: 23% to 25%
- Edit: 25% to 26%
- Analyze: 32% to 29%
Esri expects 2 to 4 years of experience configuring, editing, analyzing, and managing data in a utility network. A small note if you read that article yourself: one table header still says the 2024 exam retires June 30, 2026. Esri’s exam page and the article text both say December 31, so treat the header as a leftover.
Which version to sit
With the 2026 exam live since September 25, there is no waiting game here. The question is whether your own environment looks like the 2024 blueprint or the 2026 one. A utility still running older Enterprise and Pro releases may find the 2024 objectives closer to daily work, while a team on current releases should prefer 2026. For candidates on the older stack, the EUNA_2024 practice set covers the 2024 version.
Should You Sit the 2024 Exam Before It Retires or Wait for 2026?
Esri’s own advice is short: compare the exam information guides for both versions, then register quickly, because the date cannot move. That mirrors a decision we described for ISACA candidates in our COBIT 7 post on buying the old exam first, where the old version also had a hard purchase cutoff. Here is how I would split it.
Reasons to Sit the 2024 Version Before December 31
- You have already worked through the 2024 exam information guide and your preparation is built on it.
- Your employer or school has a calendar-year reimbursement deadline or a requirement due by year end.
- Your organization still runs the older software that the 2024 blueprint targets.
- You are sitting GIS Fundamentals Foundation, where the weight changes are small and Esri says the study materials still apply.
Reasons to Wait for the 2026 Version
- You work in the current software every day: SDK 5.0, Enterprise 12.0, or Utility Network version 7.
- You have less than about four weeks to prepare and cannot afford a failed first attempt.
- You want the longer shelf life. The 2026 exams will themselves run for roughly 18 to 24 months before the next retirement cycle. Cisco candidates face the same trade-off with the new CCNA, covered in our guide to which CCNA 200-301 version to sit.
- You are worried about how the credential reads. You do not need to be: Esri recommends leaving the version number out of records and approved exam lists, and the same thinking applies on a resume.
An Eight-Week Timeline If You Are Sitting the 2024 Exam
- This week: open the exam information guides for the 2024 and 2026 versions of your exam on Esri Community and read the skills lists side by side.
- By mid-November: buy a voucher at the right level. It is not exam specific, so buying one does not lock you into a version.
- Right away: book the Pearson VUE appointment. Availability gets tight near a hard cutoff, and a cancelled slot must be rebooked before December 31.
- Aim for a first attempt by early December. That keeps a retake of 14 days or more inside the window.
- If a retake no longer fits, move to the 2026 version rather than gambling on a late slot. Esri counts attempts per live exam version.
What the Job Market Says About GIS and Esri Skills
A caution before the numbers: the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks occupations, not vendor credentials, so none of this proves that an Esri certification raises pay. It shows how large and how fast-moving the fields these exams sit in are.
GIS and Mapping Roles
The BLS profile for cartographers and photogrammetrists reports a median annual wage of $81,390 as of May 2025, about 14,700 jobs in 2025, and projected growth of 7% from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 900 openings per year. A bachelor’s degree in cartography, geography, geomatics, surveying, or a related field is the typical entry route. BLS does not have a separate line for utility GIS analysts, so it cannot size the Utility Network audience directly. Treat this as the nearest published proxy.
Web Mapping Developers
For the JavaScript SDK exam, the closest category is web developers and digital designers. Per the BLS web developers profile, the median pay was $99,520 in May 2025, there were 220,100 jobs in 2025, growth is projected at 5% through 2035, and about 13,600 openings arise each year. That category is far broader than ArcGIS work, so use it as context for the developer skill set, not a pay estimate for Esri developers.
DirectCertify is an independent certification prep provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Esri. Exam codes, voucher prices, and retirement dates here come from Esri’s own pages and can change, so confirm them in Esri Academy before you book. Our catalog currently lists the 2024 versions of these three exams.