Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) - Big Data Engineer (2026 Version) announcement
Changes
Dear Alibaba Cloud certification user,
Thank you for your support of Alibaba Cloud. The Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) - Big Data Engineer certification will be updated on May 20, 2026. The new version (hereafter, the 2026 version) will launch and run in parallel with the previous version for one month. The update includes the following changes:
Starting May 20, 2026: The 2026 version will launch and run in parallel with the previous version. We will fully update the exam syllabus and exam questions to align with the capabilities of Alibaba Cloud big data products as of 2026. During this parallel period, the course and exam portals will be labeled "(2026 Version)" for easy identification.
Starting June 20, 2026: The previous version will no longer be available for new purchases. All new purchases will be for the 2026 version. Users who have already activated the previous version can continue to access the old course content.
Starting September 20, 2026: The exam for the previous version will be discontinued, and the course will be retired. From this date, all related content will revert to the single name "Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) - Big Data Engineer" without version identifiers.
We invite you to prepare for the big data certification. For more details, see Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) - Big Data Engineer (2026 Version).
Impact
Impact of the change: Users who have activated the previous version cannot use the old course materials to prepare for the 2026 version exam. You must complete the exam for the previous version before September 20, 2026, or request a refund.
Refund eligibility: Starting May 20, 2026, you can request a refund for any order of the previous version, if you have not taken the exam and the purchase has not expired.
Not impacted: This change does not affect users who already hold the certification, as certificates for both versions have equal validity and require no re-examination, or users with unactivated authorization codes, who can select the 2026 version directly upon activation.
Recommendations
For users with unactivated authorization codes: Select the 2026 version to access the latest content and long-term support.
For users who have activated the previous version but have not taken the exam: Complete the previous version exam before September 20, 2026. If you do not wish to continue with the previous version, you can request a refund starting May 20, 2026, if you have not taken the exam and the purchase has not expired.
Important: Once an Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) - Big Data Engineer certification is activated, the selected version cannot be changed. Starting May 20, 2026, new users should activate the 2026 version directly to avoid being locked into the previous version.
Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact us.