Preparing for 2026 ProAdvisor Awards - Current Certification

If you want to know what certifications will be required for the 2026 U.S. ProAdvisor Awards, this article is for you. 

Please know that these certifications fall under the auspices of Intuit and the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program, which are subject to change should Intuit determine certification changes are appropriate.  Insightful Accountant has no control over ProAdvisor Certifications, even though Insightful Accountant's Awards Committee determines the standard for QuickBooks ProAdvisor Awards as the required minimum certification(s). 

2026 Minimum U.S. ProAdvisor Certification Requirements

To participate in the 2026 Awards Process, U.S. ProAdvisors must hold at least one of the following certifications:

• QuickBooks Online Level 1 Certification,
• QuickBooks Online Level 2 Certification,
• QuickBooks Desktop Certification

Before November 1, 2024, QuickBooks Online Level 1 Certification was called "Core", and QuickBooks Online Level 2 Certification was called "Advanced."

All certifications must be current, which means for QuickBooks Online certifications, any ProAdvisor who became or was recertified in QuickBooks Online 'Core' or QuickBooks Online 'Advanced' before November 1, 2024, must recertify and be issued new QuickBooks Online Certifications by not later than June 30, 2025. 

In the absence of recertification before June 30, 2025, a ProAdvisor will be required to provide evidence they subsequently earned a 're-issued' certification by taking the comprehensive QuickBooks Online (Level 1 or Level 2) Certification(s) subsequent June 1, 2025 or later. 

Newly certified ProAdvisors whose certificate issuance date(s) are after November 1, 2024, will also be eligible for participation in the 2026 U.S. ProAdvisor Awards.

Importance of Recertification

ProAdvisor Recertification is the annual process by which ProAdvisors maintain and demonstrate their knowledge of the innovations and enhancements made to the various QuickBooks product lines. The current ProAdvisor Recertification period opened on April 28, 2025, and ends at 11:59 PM Pacific time on June 30, 2025. 

U.S. QuickBooks ProAdvisors who became or were recertified before November 1, 2024, must pass the recertification exam by the Recertification deadline on June 30, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific time.

The current Recertification exams build upon the content you learned in your previous ProAdvisor certification training.  This year’s ProAdvisor training and exam features updates to QuickBooks Online Accountant, Intuit Enterprise Suite, and Intuit Assist.

How to Recertify

• The new self-paced training modules can be accessed via the ProAdvisor Academy. If you don’t need to recertify (because you earned certification after November 1, 2024), the 2025 Recertification option(s) won’t appear within your ProAdvisor Academy course and exam offerings.
• ProAdvisors needing recertification can take the modules and pass the course exam or opt to test out and sit for the exam without going through the modules. In either case, you must pass the exam with 80% and have three attempts to pass it.
• Intuit is also hosting bi-weekly Recertification webinars; you can register for those webinars HERE.

2026 Award Recertification and Certifications Implications

1. You can't qualify for the 2026 U.S. Awards if you do not hold current certification in at least one of the following:
   • QuickBooks Online Level 1,
   • QuickBooks Online Level 2,
   • QuickBooks Desktop.
2. You can't qualify for any of the 2026 U.S. "QuickBooks Online" ProAdvisor (QBO, Mid-Market Advisor, QBO App-ology) awards if you don't hold current QuickBooks Online Level 1 or QuickBooks Online Level 2 certification(s).
3. You can't qualify for the 2026 U.S. "QuickBooks Desktop" ProAdvisor award if you don't hold a current QuickBooks Desktop certification.

Disclosures:

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