Agentic AI Foundation announces MCPA, a Linux Foundation-administered MCP certification

The Agentic AI Foundation announced the Model Context Protocol Associate (MCPA) on July 10, describing it as the first official certification dedicated to MCP. The credential is administered through the Linux Foundation, of which the AAIF is part, and the announcement positions it as "a vendor-neutral, foundational credential" demonstrating understanding of MCP concepts, architecture, and implementation considerations.

The exam covers five domains, weighted per the Linux Foundation's listing: MCP Fundamentals (16%), Architecture & Components (14%), Interactions & Execution (26%), Security & Governance (24%), and Use Cases & Ecosystem (20%). The format is an online proctored multiple-choice exam running 120 minutes, at beginner level, with the certification valid for two years and the purchase including twelve months of exam eligibility and one retake. The listing directs candidates to the 2026-07-28 specification when preparing.

The AAIF states the certification was shaped by an advisory council with representatives from Anthropic, Google, AWS, Microsoft, Block, GitHub, and Hugging Face, among others.

When first published, this story recorded an availability caveat: the exam was not yet open for individual purchase, and the Linux Foundation page showed a notify-me control that routed early purchase through AAIF events at a 20% discount.

Update, 2026-09-15: that caveat has lapsed. On 2026-09-14 the Linux Foundation published a press release stating that "The MCPA is live and open for enrollment." The same release keeps the 20% discount for people attending AGNTCon + MCPCon Europe in Amsterdam that week and for those registering for AGNTCon + MCPCon North America, and restates the exam format: 120 minutes, online, proctored, multiple choice, across the same five domains and weightings listed above. Nine weeks separate the announcement from enrollment opening.