Updated on 29 September 2026. What’s new: the exam now targets Pega Platform '25 (paper code PEGACPSA25V1) and adds a Pega GenAI topic worth 10% of the marks
PCSA is the older name for what Pega now calls the Certified Pega System Architect exam, CPSA. It is the entry-level Pega developer exam: 60 questions in 90 minutes, USD $190, and 65% to pass. The current paper is written for Pega Platform '25 and weights case management highest, at 25% of the marks. This guide covers the topics, the rules and a six-week plan.

If you searched for "PCSA certification" and landed on a page that talks about CPSA, you are in the right place. The credential is the same one, and Pega renamed the exam code in step with its platform releases. Older study notes, forum threads and practice sites still say PCSA, and some quote version 8.6 or 8.8 figures that no longer describe the paper you will sit.
The rest of this article is built around what actually earns marks. It explains what changed, where the 60 questions come from, what each topic asks you to do, how the booking and exam-day rules work, and how a beginner can prepare in six weeks. It is written for developers, analysts and business users who are new to Pega and want a plain route to the first Pega certificate.