What the designation is
ASTQB awards the Test Automation Pro™ designation to software testers, QA engineers, automation engineers, test leads, and other software quality professionals who have completed a specific set of ISTQB certifications. The three required certifications are ISTQB Foundation Level, ISTQB Test Automation Engineering, and ISTQB Test Automation Strategy.
The designation is not a separate exam. There is no Test Automation Pro test you sit for. The underlying credentials are the three ISTQB certifications. Once you hold all three, earned through ASTQB or AT*SQA, you contact the AT*SQA support team and request the designation. It is then added to your profile on the Official U.S. List of Certified and Credentialed Software Testers™, AT*Work, and AT*Consult. After one year, renew it by completing an AT*SQA test automation micro-credential.
Think of it as a signal layered on top of the certifications themselves. Instead of listing three separate credentials on a resume and hoping an employer connects them, Test Automation Pro™ shows a single, readable marker that communicates: this person has covered the full width of test automation knowledge that ISTQB defines.
Why ASTQB created it
Test automation is central to modern software delivery. CI/CD pipelines, Agile sprints, and DevOps workflows all depend on automated testing. But automation done poorly creates its own problems: brittle test suites that need constant maintenance, false confidence from tests that pass when they should not, and wasted investment when the wrong things get automated.
Companies need professionals who understand both the technical and strategic sides of automation. Someone who can build a maintainable framework is not the same as someone who can also evaluate where automation provides real ROI, how to staff an automation program, and how to connect automation work to software quality goals. Most professionals have one or the other. ASTQB designed the Test Automation Pro™ path to recognize those who have built both.
What the three certifications cover
Each certification in the path addresses a distinct layer of test automation knowledge. Together they cover the complete picture that the designation is meant to signal.
Who the designation is for
The most obvious audience is software testers and QA professionals who already do automation work and want a recognized credential to back it up. For them, the designation validates what they have been learning through real project work.
It is also useful for people moving into automation from a manual testing background. The structured certification path gives them a clear curriculum and, once complete, a visible signal to employers that the transition is real and verified.
Test leads and managers who are responsible for automation programs but may not write code themselves benefit from the strategy layer in particular. Understanding costs, ROI, risk, and organizational fit for automation is exactly what the Test Automation Strategy certification is designed to develop.
Consultants who advise teams on automation practices, and Agile or DevOps team members who work alongside automated testing pipelines, round out the typical audience. For organizations that need to build automation capability across a whole team quickly, ASTQB also offers the ASTQB Test Automation Accelerator™, a cohort-based program designed to move groups through the path efficiently.
What the designation is not
Test Automation Pro™ is not a replacement for hands-on tool experience. Employers still look for specific technical skills: familiarity with frameworks like Selenium or Playwright, languages like Python or Java, CI systems like GitHub Actions or Jenkins, and API testing tools. The designation strengthens a professional profile but works alongside a demonstrated tool stack, not instead of it.
It is also not a guarantee of employment or promotion. ASTQB maintains examples of U.S. job postings that ask for ISTQB certification, and the certifications are valid globally through the ISTQB Successful Candidate Register. But the designation is a signal, not a contract. It is most effective when it sits on top of real project experience.
The best follow-up from here is the certification guide, which walks through each of the three required exams individually, or the step-by-step path page if you are ready to start mapping out the sequence.