Apple revamps AppleCare technician certifications program

Apple has revamped its AppleCare technician certification program. Officially called the Service Training and Certification program, it exists to train technicians in diagnosis and repair of Apple products. Until now technicians needed to renew their certification each year and take their exams at a certified examination center.

As of June 23 however, technicians will no longer need to be recertified each year and all exams will be done online. The changes come as a result of feedback from technicians.

From Apple's Service Training and Certification FAQ:

Changes include the following:

No more ACMT recertifications: All service technicians with existing ACMT certifications as of June 23 will be granted a new ACMT certification that eliminates yearly recertification exams. This new certification will allow the same ordering of service parts as the preceding ACMT certification and will not expire.

New exam resources: The following Apple service exams will be available solely from a new online resource:

9L0-010 - Apple Macintosh Service Certification Exam

9L0-064 - OS X v10.8 Mountain Lion Troubleshooting Exam

9L0-E04 - iOS Qualification Exam

Notes:

All other AppleCare online exams are not affected by this change. You will still access other exams at ibt.prometric.com/apple.

Details on the new exam resource will be provided in other communications.

No more testing centers: All AppleCare Service exams will be available online. You will be able to take these exams without the need to travel to a testing center.

No more proctored exams: Initial ACMT certification exams will no longer require exam proctors for exams taken at training centers.