ITIL (Version 5) – Frequently asked questions

Our aim is to be able to deliver the quality of course content and the delivery expected from QA’s exceptional Service Management team, as soon as certifications are available.

ITIL 5 Transition is for holders of the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation.  This 5-day course covers key learning points from: ITIL5 Foundation, ITIL5 Experience, ITIL5 Product, ITIL5 Service and ITIL5 Transform – This Transition course is to upgrade your ITIL4 designation to ITIL5 equivalent.

ITIL 5 Transform is a 3-day course that can be  taken by ITIL 4 Practice Manager and ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designations to upgrade their framework qualifications to ITIL 5 equivalent, or as part of ITIL 5 Managing Professional designation 

That is certainly our intention. To begin we will focus upon ILT and vILT options. It is an intention to offer the full suite of learning modality (Instructor led, Virtual instructor led, Blended and Self-paced) for ITIL 5 Foundation. As the following titles launch, we will consider on a case-by-case basis. Should customer demand for alternate modalities rise, and the business case stacks up, we will develop these options.

ITIL 4 Foundation holders will automatically be eligible to purchase and complete the higher levels of the ITIL 5 qualification framework; there is no requirement for them to ‘retake’ an ITIL 5 Foundation course.

If you have started your ITIL 4 journey, you could continue to complete your ITIL 4 journey before jumping to ITIL 5. Alternatively, you can jump directly into ITIL 5 upper-level courses. But advice can be given for each circumstance by your account manager.

No.  ITIL 4 Practice Manager qualifications (Monitor, Support and Fulfil / Plan, Implement and Control / Collaborate, Assure and Improve) will be updated to reflect syllabus changes in ITIL 5, the remaining ITIL 4 qualifications will remain untouched.

There is currently no plan to retire any of the core ITIL 4 courses in 2026.

Learners who have already gained the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader or Practice Manager designations will be eligible to attend and complete the ITIL 5 Transformation course and exam (from April 2026). This will automatically upgrade them to the ITIL 5 Strategic Leader or Practice Manager designation.

Learners who have already gained the ITIL 4 Managing Professional, will be eligible to attend and complete the ITIL 5 Transition course and exam, this will automatically upgrade them to the ITIL 5 Managing Professional.

If you have booked ITIL 4 Foundation and not yet attended, you can switch to ITIL 5 if you wish to. However, this depends on whether you are booked on a public course or a private course (run just for your team/company). Speak to your account manager as they will advise. 

ITIL 4 Foundation will be a recognised pre-requisite for the ITIL 5 upper-level courses.

If you have booked but not yet attended an ITIL 4 Specialist course, you should continue and attend.

ITIL 4 will still be available for the foreseeable future. The journey to ITIL Managing Professional, ITIL Strategic Leader, ITIL Practice Manager and ITIL Master remain as they are.

There will be a course to transition from any ITIL 4 designation to the same designation in ITIL 5 and all certificate validity updated. We expect this course to be available mid-2026.

The ITIL 4 qualifications will (until we are otherwise informed) continue to be offered throughout 2026, so you should continue with this journey and then, should you wish to ‘upgrade’, complete the relevant course (more information will be available soon).

If you wish to speak to a Service Management expert about your situation, please contact your account manager.

These courses are being retired. Currently there is no date yet for the total course withdrawal.

If you are new to ITIL, you should consider only ITIL 5 qualifications.

ITIL v2 qualifications are no longer relevant in any circumstance.
ITIL v3 Foundation holders can ‘upgrade’ to ITIL 4 by completing either an ITIL 4 Foundation or any ITIL 4 Specialist course, this would then enable the learner to jump up to ITIL 5 immediately.

Generally speaking, the voucher code received with any ITIL 4 course is valid for 12 months. QA has not been informed that this timeframe has been reduced as a result of the ITIL 5 launch.

If concerned, please feel free to make direct contact with PeopleCert.

Technology pervades every aspect of our lives today, and AI is fast becoming a significant player in many organisations.

So, what is the differentiator for any business trading today?

• Customer experience, the customer service aspect of any business is now the main driver for customer retention, the flux for gaining new customers and the differentiator when customers have the choice of multiple service providers. 
• ITIL is best practice for delivering customer services in every sector, in every geographical region. 
• ITIL 5 builds upon this. It has taken 40 years of experience and concentrated the millions of customer interactions into six core books of best practice. It demonstrates and even provides clear advice and guidance on how to implement exceptional customer service practices in a world driven by technological developments. 
• Put simply, ITIL 5 will help every business to be better, to grow and to succeed in the 2030s.