GCP exams moved to Pearson VUE in early 2026: what changed

If you scheduled a GCP exam in early 2026 and got bounced around between two different test platforms, here's the short of it: Google moved all GCP certification delivery from Kryterion / Webassessor to Pearson VUE. The cutover happened over a tight window — no exams could be scheduled between February 23 and March 1, 2026, and the first Pearson-delivered exam went live March 2.

This is the biggest operational change to GCP certifications since the program launched. The exam content didn't change. Validity didn't change. Fees didn't change. But almost everything around scheduling, identity verification, and the proctored online experience is now different. If you're sitting an exam in 2026 you're going to interact with Pearson VUE, not Webassessor, regardless of whether you booked before or after the cutover.

The timeline, plainly

• Before February 23, 2026 — Kryterion / Webassessor handled scheduling and delivery. If you had an exam booked through Webassessor for a date before Feb 23, it ran on Kryterion. Done.
• February 23 to March 1, 2026 — scheduling outage. You couldn't book an exam on either platform during this window. Existing Webassessor bookings for dates after Feb 23 were migrated to Pearson VUE automatically (most candidates got an email; some had to chase support).
• March 2, 2026 onward — Pearson VUE is the only delivery platform. New scheduling, new portal, new ID verification flow. CM Connect (Google's certification dashboard) is now the canonical place to register, not Webassessor.

If you booked before Feb 23 for a date after March 1, your exam should have been migrated to Pearson VUE automatically. Check CM Connect for the new confirmation. If it's not there, contact Google Cloud certification support — not Pearson directly, since Pearson can't reissue something they didn't originally book.

CM Connect's new role

CM Connect (Certification Management Connect) was already the dashboard for digital badges and recertification reminders. Post-migration it's also the entry point for:

• Registering for new exams (which then redirects you to Pearson VUE for scheduling)
• Viewing your exam history and badges
• Managing the renewal flow when your cert is approaching expiration
• Downloading score reports — though remember, Google still doesn't publish numeric scores, just pass/fail

The redirect-to-Pearson flow is a little clunky. You sign in to CM Connect, click "register for exam," it bounces you to Pearson VUE, you create or sign in to a Pearson account, then schedule. Two accounts, two systems. Pearson has been talking about deeper integration but as of April 2026 it's still two-step.

OnVUE vs. Kryterion's online proctoring

This is the part that's actually noticeably different. If you've taken AWS or Microsoft exams online, you know OnVUE — it's Pearson's proctored online platform. If you've only taken GCP exams before, Kryterion's Sentinel was a different experience and the muscle memory you built doesn't transfer cleanly.

What's different from Sentinel:

• Check-in is more involved. OnVUE wants four photos: front of ID, back of ID, full-face photo of you, and a 360-degree pan of your room. Sentinel was lighter on the room scan. Plan to be on the check-in screen for 15–20 minutes before the exam actually starts.
• No scratch paper, no whiteboard. OnVUE doesn't allow physical scratch paper. There's a digital whiteboard in the exam UI but it's clunky. If you used a physical pad on Kryterion, this is a real adjustment.
• The proctor watches your eyes. OnVUE's AI flags suspicious eye movement (looking off-screen too long, looking down). The legend that you can't move at all is exaggerated, but the constraint is tighter than it was on Sentinel. Don't read questions out loud. Don't lean back and look at the ceiling while thinking. The flagging triggers human review.
• Background noise tolerance is lower. OnVUE will pause your exam if it picks up sustained voices in the background. Pick a room you can actually be alone in for 2.5+ hours.
• Reschedule policy is stricter. Pearson VUE's standard reschedule fee kicks in if you're inside 24 hours of your appointment. Kryterion was looser about this.

What's better:

• Test center option is back. Kryterion / Webassessor had test centers but the network was thin. Pearson VUE's test center network is much larger and more reliable. If you're somewhere with a Pearson VUE center nearby and you find online proctoring stressful, this is a real upgrade.
• Familiar UI for cross-cloud candidates. If you're alternating between AWS, Microsoft, and Google certs, you now use the same delivery platform for all three. Less context-switching.
• Better accessibility accommodations. Pearson's accommodations process is more mature. If you need extended time or other adjustments, the request flow is cleaner.

What didn't change

This is the reassuring list:

• Exam content. The CDL, ACE, PCA, PMLE, PCSE, GAIL, and other GCP exams have the same blueprints, same domains, same question shapes as they did on Kryterion. Anyone telling you "the exams got harder with the migration" is making it up. Migration is a delivery change, not a content change.
• Fees. $99 CDL / GAIL, $125 ACE, $200 Professional certs. No change.
• Validity periods. Foundational + Associate: 3 years. Professional: 2 years. No change.
• Score reporting. Pass/fail only. No numeric scores. Google has been clear they're not changing this and the migration didn't change it either.
• Recertification path. Retake the current version of the same exam. Google doesn't have Microsoft's free-renewal model.
• Practice exams. Google's official practice exams on Cloud Skills Boost are unaffected — they were always separate from Kryterion / Webassessor and now are separate from Pearson VUE.
• Digital badges. Still issued through CM Connect / Credly. Existing badges remain valid.

If you scheduled before the cutover and your exam is after March 1

Three things to check:

1. Open CM Connect. Look for your booking. It should now show as a Pearson VUE appointment with a Pearson confirmation number.
2. Check your email. Google sent migration confirmations during the Feb 23–Mar 1 window. If you missed it, check your spam folder for messages from noreply@pearsonvue.com or Google Cloud certification support.
3. If it's not migrated, file a support ticket through CM Connect. Don't try to resolve through Pearson directly — they'll bounce you back to Google. The volume during the migration window meant a small percentage of bookings got dropped.

If you're scheduling fresh

Sign in to CM Connect, register for the exam, follow the redirect to Pearson VUE, create your Pearson account if you don't have one (use the same email as CM Connect), schedule. If you're going online, run OnVUE's system test the day before — bandwidth and webcam compatibility are the most common surprises.

Bottom line

Better experience overall, particularly for candidates who already use Pearson VUE for AWS or Microsoft exams. Slightly more friction on the room scan and the digital whiteboard. Same exam content, same fees, same validity. The transition window was rough — it always is for migrations like this — but the steady state is an improvement.

Studying for a GCP exam right now? Browse practice questions for ACE, PCA, CDL, GAIL, PMLE and PCSE on CertLabPro. If you booked before the migration and you're confused about where your appointment is, CM Connect is your first stop.