Both Python Institute Exams Are Being Replaced This Quarter
Both of the Python Institute's programming exams are being replaced. PCEP-30-03 and PCAP-31-04 are listed as in development on the Python Institute's own site, with a Q3 2026 release. That is the quarter we are in.
If you are studying for either exam right now, that changes your timeline. Here is what is actually confirmed, and what to do about it.
What is changing
PCEP-30-02 is still the active version of the entry-level exam, and PCAP-31-03 is still the active version of the associate exam. Neither has been retired. What the Python Institute has published is that a successor to each is in development for release this quarter.
Note what has not been published: a retirement date for the current versions. Vendors almost never pull the old exam the day the new one lands, and the Python Institute has not said it will here. Treat Q3 2026 as the arrival date of the new exams, not the departure date of the old ones.
The exams as they stand today
PCEP-30-02 is 30 questions in 40 minutes, plus a 5 minute NDA and tutorial period, and you need 70% to pass. It starts at $69. An exam plus retake bundle starts at $86, and exam plus retake plus practice test at $95. The practice test on its own is $29.
The question formats are wider than most entry-level exams: single and multiple select, drag and drop, gap fill, sort, code fill, code insertion, and interactive scenario-based items. If you have only ever done multiple choice, that is worth knowing before you sit down.
PCAP-31-03 is 40 questions in 65 minutes, plus 10 minutes for the NDA and tutorial, also at 70% to pass. It is $295 for the exam alone, $345 with a retake, and $359 with a retake and practice test. The practice test alone is $49. Formats here are single and multiple select plus interactive and scenario-based items.
That price gap is the thing to sit with. PCAP costs more than four times what PCEP costs, and a failed attempt is not cheap.
Sit the current version now if
You are close to ready. Both blueprints are mature, the study material for them is everywhere, and a pass stays on your record no matter which version succeeds it. Nobody has ever been asked whether their PCAP was 31-03 or 31-04.
You are targeting PCAP specifically. At $295 a go, sitting an exam whose material you already know beats waiting for a version nobody has written a study guide for yet. The first months after a new exam version lands are the worst time to take it, because the preparation ecosystem has not caught up.
Our PCEP-30-02 question set and PCAP-31-03 question set both cover the current blueprints, and updates are free for life, so you get the revision when we publish it.
Wait for the new version if
You have not started yet. There is little sense learning a syllabus that is about to be superseded, especially at the entry level where you have no sunk cost to protect.
Your reason for certifying is the knowledge rather than the certificate. A refreshed Python syllabus in 2026 will reflect how the language is actually written now, and that is worth more to you than a badge issued three months earlier.
The retake trap
This one catches people on every version transition, and it bites hardest on the expensive exam. If you fail close to a changeover, your retake can land on the new version, with material you have not studied and a bill you have already paid twice.
If you are inside a few weeks of a version change and not confident, the cheap move is to wait. If you are confident, book early enough that a retake still falls on the version you prepared for.
If you already hold PCEP or PCAP
Nothing changes. Python Institute certifications do not expire, and a new exam version does not invalidate a credential you already earned. You do not need to retake anything.
Before you book
Open pythoninstitute.org, find the exam page, and read the version status line yourself. It states plainly which version is active and which is in development. Dates move, and the two minutes it takes to check is the cheapest insurance in certification.
Studying Python and not sure which code to book? Try the free samples first and see where you actually stand.