AWS sorts the consulting and services companies in its partner network into tiers. The tier is the quickest way to tell a company that has passed AWS's checks from one that has only signed up, and it decides which AWS programmes the company can use on a customer's behalf. It is also widely misunderstood: tiers are not awards, they are not the same as AWS Competencies, and a higher tier does not automatically mean a better fit for your project.
This guide explains the four tier levels as AWS publishes them in October 2026, what each requires, what each unlocks, how the tiers relate to the other AWS partner credentials, and how to check any partner's tier yourself. AWS reviews its partner programme every year, so confirm the current figures on AWS's own pages before you rely on them.
AWS Partner Paths: where tiers fit in the APN
The AWS Partner Network (APN) is organised into Partner Paths, one for each way a company works with AWS: Services, Software, Hardware, Training and Distribution. A company can join more than one. Tiers belong to the Services Path, which covers consulting, professional services, managed services and resale. Software and hardware companies take a different route: they validate individual offerings, for example through AWS's Foundational Technical Review, rather than earning a tier for the whole company.
So when a company says it is a "Select" or "Advanced" partner, it is talking about the Services Path. That is the path that matters if you are hiring someone to migrate, build or run workloads on AWS for you.
| Path | Who it is for |
|---|---|
| Services | Consulting, professional services, managed services and resale. This is the path with the Select, Advanced and Premier tiers. |
| Software | Companies selling software that runs on or integrates with AWS |
| Hardware | Companies making devices and hardware that work with AWS |
| Training | Companies delivering AWS training |
| Distribution | Distributors that resell AWS through other partners |
AWS introduced Partner Paths in 2022. Before that, the network was split into Consulting Partners and Technology Partners, which is why "AWS consulting partner" is still used for what is now a Services Path partner.
The four AWS partner tier levels
- Registered. Any company can create an AWS Partner Central account for free and become a registered partner. Nothing about skills or projects is checked.
- Select. The first validated tier. The company has shown AWS a minimum number of trained and certified people and real customer projects launched on AWS, and pays the annual APN fee.
- Advanced. The same kinds of requirements at a larger scale, plus a partner business plan agreed with AWS.
- Premier. AWS's top services tier: a large certified team, many launched projects, an executive review with AWS, and several specialist designations held over time.
What each tier requires
These are the minimums AWS publishes for the Services Path. A partner has to meet them to reach a tier and keep meeting them to stay there:
| Select | Advanced | Premier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accredited people | 4 (2 technical, 2 business) | 8 (4 technical, 4 business) | 20 (10 technical, 10 business) |
| AWS certified people | 2 foundational, 2 technical | 4 foundational, 6 technical (3+ Professional or Specialty) | 10 foundational, 25 technical (10+ Professional or Specialty) |
| Customer launches on AWS | 3, with at least $1,500 monthly recurring revenue in total | 20, with at least $10,000 monthly recurring revenue in total | 50, with at least $50,000 monthly recurring revenue in total |
| Business requirements | $2,500 annual APN fee | $2,500 annual APN fee, partner business plan | $2,500 annual APN fee, business plan, executive review, 3 AWS Competency or MSP-type designations, sustained for 6+ months |
Accreditations and certifications are different things
An accreditation is a free AWS Partner training course, technical or business, that shows the person understands AWS and how to work with it. A certification is an AWS exam, such as Solutions Architect or Developer, at foundational, associate, professional or specialty level. Every tier counts both, and the higher tiers ask for a growing number of the hardest certifications. A Select partner needs a handful of certified people; a Premier partner needs dozens.
Launches are the requirement that cannot be studied for
A launched opportunity is a customer project the partner registered with AWS and that AWS confirmed went live, producing recurring AWS usage. This is what separates a tiered partner from a company that has passed some exams: it has delivered on AWS for real customers, and AWS has seen the result in billing, not just in a case study.
What each tier unlocks
The tier matters to you as a customer mostly because of what it lets the partner do with AWS on your behalf. AWS's published benefits build up by tier:
| Benefit | Select | Advanced | Premier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner Opportunity Acceleration (POA) funding requests for customer POCs and migrations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Co-selling through the APN Customer Engagements (ACE) programme | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tier shown on the AWS Partner Solutions Finder listing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Marketing Development Funds (MDF) for the partner's own marketing | No | Yes | Yes |
| Co-marketing with AWS, such as case studies and APN blog posts | No | Yes | Yes |
| Executive business review with AWS | No | No | Yes |
For a customer, the first two rows are the ones that count. POA funding lets a Select-or-higher partner ask AWS to fund part of a proof of concept or migration, paid as AWS promotional credits or as reimbursement; a registered-only partner cannot submit these requests at all. Our guide to AWS POC credits explains how they work, and our comparison of POC and MAP funding shows which fits which project. ACE means the partner registers your project with AWS, so your AWS account team knows about it and can support it.
The marketing benefits further down the table are real, but they pay for the partner's own visibility, not your project. AWS also says partner benefits are reviewed yearly and "may not be available in all geographies and markets", so a good partner checks the current terms for your country before promising anything.
Tiers, Competencies and other partner credentials
A partner's listing can show several kinds of credential. They answer different questions:
- Tier (Select, Advanced, Premier): how much the company has delivered on AWS overall, and with how many certified people.
- AWS Competency: validated depth in one area, such as Migration, Security or Data and Analytics, backed by customer references and a technical review. Competencies are earned separately from the tier, and Premier requires several.
- Service Delivery and Service Ready designations: validated experience with one AWS service, such as Amazon RDS or AWS Lambda.
- Managed Service Provider (MSP): validated ability to run customers' AWS environments day to day, audited by a third party.
If your project is specialised, a Competency or Service Delivery designation in that area tells you more than the tier does. For a general migration or build, the tier is a sensible first filter and the people on your project are the real test.
How to check a partner's tier in two minutes
- Open the AWS Partner Solutions Finder at partners.amazonaws.com and search for the company's name.
- Read "AWS Validated Qualifications". The tier appears under Partner Programs, for example "Select Tier Services". No listing, or no tier shown, means the company is not a tiered services partner.
- Compare the counts. The listing shows the number of AWS certifications and customer launches, as reported by AWS. The description text is written by the partner and is not verified by AWS.
- Match the badge. A tier badge on the company's website should name the same tier as the listing. A higher tier on the website than in the Finder is a warning sign.
- Look for Competencies in your project's area on the same page.
Does a higher tier mean a better partner for you?
Not necessarily. A higher tier means a larger certified team and more launched projects in total. It does not tell you who will work on your project, how senior they are or what they will charge. Large Premier partners often focus on large enterprise accounts; a Select or Advanced partner may give a mid-sized company more senior attention and faster decisions.
What the tier does give you is a floor. A Select partner or above has passed AWS's checks, has launched real customer projects and can request AWS funding for yours. Below that floor you are relying on the company's own word. Above it, choose on the people, the written plan and the price. If you are hiring in Egypt, our guide to choosing an AWS partner in Egypt lists the questions to ask before you sign.
How partners move from Select to Advanced to Premier
A partner does not apply for a tier and wait for a verdict. It reaches each tier by meeting the published requirements in AWS Partner Central, and AWS reviews them. In practice, moving up comes down to three things:
- Certified people. Advanced needs at least 6 technical certifications, 3 or more of them at Professional or Specialty level, against 2 for Select. Growing the certified team is usually the longest lead time.
- Launched customer projects. The jump from 3 launches to 20, and from $1,500 to $10,000 in total monthly recurring revenue, is where most partners spend their time. A launch only counts when the project was registered with AWS and went live.
- A business plan with AWS. Advanced adds a partner business plan agreed with AWS. Premier adds an executive review and several Competency or MSP-type designations, held for at least six months.
The practical point for a customer: a tier reflects work the partner has already delivered, not a promise about yours. Ask about launched projects like your own, not just the tier.
Next steps
To see how partner funding sits alongside MAP and AWS Activate, compare the AWS funding programmes. If you are planning an AWS migration and want to know which programmes could realistically apply, the free credit eligibility check takes a few minutes.