Introduction
In May 2026, Red Hat rebuilt its entire certification program from the ground up. The old model, where you collected specialist exams from whatever domain you liked and eventually qualified for a single generic Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) credential, is gone. In its place: five specialization tracks, each with five progressive levels, and a track-specific RHCA at the top of each one.
If you’re planning your certification path, or you already hold Red Hat credentials and want to know where you stand, this is the complete breakdown, with a direct link to every exam page.
Table of Contents
Info
None of your existing certifications were invalidated by this change. Exam content, objectives, pricing, proctoring format, and the 3-year validity period are all unchanged. What changed is the organizational framework around them, and how new RHCA candidates combine exams to earn the credential.
Source: Red Hat’s official announcement, “Validate targeted expertise: Major updates to Red Hat Certification,” published May 11, 2026.
Five Tracks, Five Levels
Every Red Hat certification now lives inside one of five tracks: Enterprise Linux, Ansible, OpenShift, Cloud-native applications, and AI. Within each, there are up to five progressive levels: Technologist, Administrator/Developer, Engineer, Specialist, and Architect. AI is the newest track and currently only goes as far as Administrator/Developer.
Quick summary before the detail below:
- Enterprise Linux - RHCSA (EX200) to RHCA, 8 specialist exams to pick from
- Ansible - RHCSA (EX200) to RHCA in Ansible, 4 specialist exams to pick from
- OpenShift - the only track with a Technologist entry point, 7 specialist exams to pick from
- Cloud-native applications - developer-focused path, 7 specialist exams to pick from
- AI - just one exam so far, EX267
Enterprise Linux: From RHCSA to RHCA
RHCSA (EX200) is still the entry point, now based on RHEL 10.
The Engineer level requires EX200 plus EX342, a repositioned exam previously known as Red Hat Certified Specialist in Linux Diagnostics and Troubleshooting.
For Specialist level, pick any one of:
EX210 (Cloud Infrastructure), EX260 (Ceph Cloud Storage), EX358 (Services Management and Automation), EX362 (Identity Management), EX403 (Deployment and Systems Management), EX415 (Security: Linux), EX436 (High Availability Clustering), or EX442 (Performance Tuning).
RHCA in Enterprise Linux needs EX200 + EX342, plus any three of the specialist exams above. Note that EX318 has been retired as part of this restructure.
Ansible: From RHCSA to RHCA in Ansible
Covered in more depth in our Learn Ansible guide.
Engineer level is EX200 plus EX294, now titled Red Hat Certified Advanced System Administrator in Ansible.
Specialist level, pick any one of: EX374 (Developing Automation with Ansible Automation Platform), EX417 (Microsoft Windows Automation), EX457 (Network Automation), or EX467 (Managing Automation at Scale).
RHCA in Ansible needs EX200 + EX294, plus any three of those four specialist exams.
OpenShift: The Only Track With a Technologist Level
OpenShift starts a level lower than the rest, at EX180 or EX156, reflecting how many people learn Kubernetes and OpenShift concepts before touching RHEL administration.
Admin/Dev level is EX280, and Engineer level adds EX380.
Specialist level has the widest pool of any track, pick any one of: EX316 (Virtualization), EX336 (Automating VM Management), EX370 (Data Foundation), EX430 (Advanced Cluster Security), EX432 (Advanced Cluster Management), EX229 (ROSA), or EX480 (MultiCluster Management) (Expired).
RHCA in OpenShift needs EX280 + EX380, plus any three of those seven specialist exams.
Cloud-native Applications: The Developer Path
This track targets developers building on Red Hat’s platforms rather than administrators managing infrastructure. Admin/Dev level is EX188, and Engineer level adds EX288.
Specialist level, pick any one of: EX183 (Enterprise Application Development), EX221 (Cloud-native Integration), EX240 (API Management), EX248 (Application Server Administration), EX328 (Resilient Microservices), EX378 (Cloud-native Development), or EX482 (Event-Driven Application Development).
RHCA in Cloud-native applications needs EX188 + EX288, plus any three of those seven specialist exams.
AI: The Newest, Shallowest Track
Right now this track has just one exam, EX267, Red Hat Certified Developer in AI, sitting at the Admin/Dev level. No Engineer, Specialist, or Architect exams exist yet. Expect this to expand as Red Hat’s AI product line matures.
Warning
A handful of specialist exam codes (EX229, EX480, EX221, EX240) still sit on Red Hat pages titled “Retired” even though they appear in the current official specialist pool for their track. This looks like a page-labeling lag from the restructure rather than an actual retirement. Confirm directly with Red Hat before booking any of these four.
What This Means If You Already Hold Certifications
If you earned RHCA under the old cross-domain model before May 11, 2026, your credential remains valid and is grandfathered in. You don’t need to retake anything.
If you’re pursuing a new RHCA, the rules changed: you can no longer mix specialist exams from unrelated domains. Earning RHCA now means picking one track and completing its Administrator/Developer, Engineer, and three Specialist exams within that same track.
Tip
If your current RHCA plan was built around collecting exams from across Enterprise Linux, Ansible, and OpenShift without a clear track focus, it’s worth re-checking your remaining exam list against the breakdown above before booking anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. EX318 in the Enterprise Linux track has been retired. Several other older exams, like EX407 and EX447 in the Ansible track, were already retired before this restructure and remain retired.
No, not for new RHCA attempts. RHCA is now track-specific: you need the Administrator/Developer exam, the Engineer exam, and three Specialist exams, all within the same track.
No. Red Hat has been explicit that exam content, objectives, pricing, proctoring format, and the 3-year validity period are unchanged. Only the organizational framework and track structure are new.
If your work centers on RHEL system administration, start with Enterprise Linux. If you’re focused on automation across systems, start with Ansible. If you work with Kubernetes and containerized applications, OpenShift or Cloud-native applications will fit better depending on whether your role is more infrastructure or more development focused.
Conclusion
Red Hat’s 2026 restructure trades a loose, generic RHCA model for five clearly defined specialization tracks. For anyone starting fresh, that’s arguably an improvement: your credential now signals exactly what you specialize in, rather than a pile of unrelated exams. If you’re mid-path on an existing certification plan, the main thing to do is map your remaining exams against the breakdown above before you book your next attempt.