Shopify's developer certifications lived on Shopify Academy, and Academy closes on October 29, 2026. Existing credentials stay valid until January 1, 2028. Shopify's Academy FAQ does not name a replacement exam, and certifications are no longer a Partner Program tier requirement. So for now, what proves you can do Shopify development is work someone can look at.
Which Shopify developer certifications existed
The Academy catalog lists these developer exams, each a proctored assessment at the end of a learning path. Badges were shared through Credly.
| Exam | Learning path it closed |
|---|---|
| Shopify Development Fundamentals Assessment | Shopify Development Fundamentals: the platform, its data model and integrations. |
| Liquid Storefronts for Theme Developers Assessment | Liquid Storefronts for Theme Developers: Liquid and theme architecture. |
| Developing Apps for Shopify Assessment | Developing Apps for Shopify: building and extending apps. |
| Creating Solutions for Shopify Checkout Assessment | Creating Solutions for Shopify Checkout: Functions and checkout extensions. |
If you were part way through one of these paths, this list maps each Academy course to where it is taught now.
What happens to the certification you already have
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 1 to 31, 2026 | Every Academy purchase, exams included, is refunded to the original payment method. Nothing to do. |
| October 29, 2026 | Shopify Academy closes. No new exams after this. |
| Through the end of 2027 | Badges you earned stay visible. |
| January 1, 2028 | Academy credentials stop being valid, and the credential links on your profiles stop working. |
Keep your badge on LinkedIn and your site until then. It is still true that you passed it. Just do not let it be the only proof on the page, because in a little over a year the link behind it stops working.
Do you need a Shopify certification for Partner tiers?
No. Shopify's FAQ says Academy certifications are no longer a Partner Program tier requirement, and that Partner tiers are not affected by the change. If you are an agency that kept certified developers on staff for your tier, there is nothing to replace.
Is there a new Shopify developer certification?
Not one Shopify has announced. The FAQ points developers to the Dev Docs, the Partner Help Center and the Dev Community Forums, and none of those has an exam. Be careful with third-party sites selling "Shopify certification" practice tests: they prepare you for exams that are closing.
What proves your Shopify skills now
Clients and agency leads who hire Shopify developers also want to see work they can open. These are the things worth putting on your profile next to any credential, in rough order of how much they convince a client or an agency lead:
- A live store or theme you built. A development store is free. Build a theme with sections a merchant can edit, and link to it.
- Code people can read. A public repository with a custom section, a snippet library or a small app. Clear commits and a short README matter more than size.
- An app installed on a real store. Even a small one shows you got through scopes, the CLI, hosting and a release.
- A short write-up of a real problem. What broke, why, and how you fixed it. It shows judgment, which an exam never measured.
- Someone who vouches for you. One sentence from a client or a lead developer beats any certificate.
To build those from free resources, the free 6-week plan ends each week with something you can link.
Learn this properly · free lesson
Review the AI's price code
One skill no exam tested: an AI wrote the price code for a product page. Review it and decide if it ships. Free, in your browser.
Try this lesson for freeCertificates from courses
Course certificates are not Shopify credentials, whoever issues them. That includes mine. learnshopify.dev gives you a certificate for each module you finish, with a public page anyone can open to check it. It records that you completed checked, hands-on work: Liquid written in a browser editor against a realistic storefront, theme architecture, production features, and in the app path a real app on your own store, checked by a command line tool and through the Admin API.
Use it the way you would use any course certificate: next to the stores and code you can show, not instead of them. Module 1 is free, and so are the first 15 lessons of the app development path.
More on the shutdown: refunds, badges and credentials, and the alternatives compared.
Frequently asked questions
Is there still a Shopify developer certification?
Shopify's developer certifications were Shopify Academy exams, and Academy closes on October 29, 2026. Shopify's Academy FAQ does not name a replacement exam. Existing credentials stay valid until January 1, 2028.
Is my Shopify Academy certification still valid?
Yes, until January 1, 2028. Earned badges stay visible through the end of 2027. After January 1, 2028, the credential links on your profiles stop working.
Do I need a Shopify certification to reach a higher Partner tier?
No. Shopify says Academy certifications are no longer a Partner Program tier requirement, and Partner tiers are not affected by the Academy shutdown.
Will I get my Shopify exam fee back?
Yes. Shopify refunds every Shopify Academy purchase in full to the original payment method, on a rolling basis from October 1 to October 31, 2026, with no action needed.
What can I show clients instead of a Shopify certification?
A store or theme you built on a development store, a public repository with readable code, an app installed on a real store, a short write-up of a problem you solved, and a reference from a client or lead developer.
Is the learnshopify.dev certificate a Shopify certification?
No. learnshopify.dev gives a certificate with a public verification page for each module you finish. It is not a Shopify credential and learnshopify.dev is not affiliated with Shopify.
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About the author
Bas Lefeber, Founder, learnshopify.dev
Bas builds learnshopify.dev, where developers learn production-grade Shopify theme development against a live storefront. He writes about Liquid, theme architecture, and the parts of the job that still matter now that AI writes the code.
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