If you’re asking whether DoD 8570 vs 8140 changes what certification you need, the short answer is yes — the Department of Defense retired the old 8570 approach and replaced it with DoD 8140, a work-role-based qualification system that changes which credential counts for your job. DoD Training Center San Diego runs 8140-aligned certification training out of Kearny Mesa, and this is the question nearly every active-duty student, contractor, and training officer asks before booking a class.
What DoD 8570 Actually Required
DoD 8570.01-M governed the Information Assurance workforce for over a decade. It sorted personnel into three functional levels — I, II, and III — and matched each level to a short list of approved baseline certifications. If your job touched network defense or information assurance, you needed one cert off the list, full stop. It was rigid, but it was simple: one chart, one answer.
That simplicity became the problem. The 8570 chart only covered information assurance and computer network defense roles. It said nothing about cyber intelligence, offensive operations, or the dozens of technical specialties that didn’t exist — or weren’t formally recognized — when the manual was written.
What DoD 8140 Changed
DoD Manual 8140.03, the Cyberspace Workforce Qualification and Management Program, officially superseded 8570 on February 15, 2023. That’s the real story behind the DoD 8570 vs 8140 shift: rather than three broad functional levels, 8140 maps personnel to specific work roles drawn from the DoD Cyber Workforce Framework (DCWF) — cyber defense analyst, vulnerability assessment analyst, system administrator, and dozens more — each with its own proficiency tier of Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced.
Patrick Johnson, who directs the Pentagon’s cyber workforce program, put it plainly when the manual was issued: 8570 “focused solely on qualifying a section of the cybersecurity workforce centered on information assurance and computer network defense professionals using a narrow set of requirements,” while 8140 was built to guide qualification “in the areas of information technology, cybersecurity, cyber effects, cyber intelligence, and cyber enablers” — a scope covering all 225,000 members of the DoD cyber workforce. There’s no clean lookup table between the old system and the new one — the official transition guidance is direct about that: your old 8570 category doesn’t map one-to-one onto a DCWF work role.
What This Means If You’re in San Diego Right Now
If your command or contract still lists an 8570 requirement, don’t assume it’s obsolete — plenty of position descriptions haven’t been rewritten yet, and older baseline certs often still satisfy the equivalent 8140 work role. But if you’re new to the requirement, studying for the wrong chart wastes weeks you don’t have. Our Security+ certification training and CySA+ course are both built against the current DCWF work roles, not the retired 8570 categories, so you’re studying for the requirement your command actually has to meet today. The full San Diego course lineup shows every 8140-mapped option side by side.
Talk to an Advisor before you register for anything — a five-minute conversation about your work role and proficiency tier will tell you exactly which course to book, and you can hear back the same day.
Which Certifications Still Count Under 8140
The good news: most of the certifications that mattered under 8570 still matter under 8140, because the same testing bodies re-mapped their exams to the new framework. CompTIA holds approval for seven certifications spanning 30 DCWF work roles, and ISC2 credentials — CISSP included — qualify for 87% of all work roles in the DoD 8140 Qualification Provider Marketplace. That’s the subject of our companion breakdown, which certifications meet DoD 8140, role by role, if you want the full chart before choosing a course.
What didn’t survive the transition is the idea of a single, permanent qualification. Under 8570, some certifications were “good for life.” Under 8140, every credential has to be renewed on the certifying body’s own schedule — CompTIA’s three-year continuing education cycle, for example. Our CISSP training covers this directly, since ISC2’s renewal requirements are stricter than most of the certs that came before it. Compliance isn’t a one-time event anymore; it’s something you maintain.
The Command & Contractor Angle
Training officers filling seats for a whole unit face a version of this problem at scale: ten sailors with ten different 8570 histories, all needing to land on the correct 8140 work role before a contract deadline. DoD Training Center San Diego holds a CAGE code and runs the same courses on-site at commands and bases — we’ve taught in San Diego, South Korea, and Guam — so a unit can get its entire roster qualified without shipping people to a classroom one at a time.
Cleared contractors at firms like Leidos, Northrop Grumman, and Booz Allen are watching this closely too, since DFARS updates will eventually pull contractor billets under the same 8140 structure that already governs military and civilian roles. Every course is taught by instructors who’ve held the clearances they teach to, which matters when a command is deciding who to trust with a group contract.
How to Get Compliant Without Losing Weeks
The fastest path is usually the most direct one: confirm your DCWF work role and proficiency tier, pick the certification that’s actually mapped to it, and sit for training that ends in the exam — not weeks after it. Our bootcamps run in Kearny Mesa with onsite Pearson VUE testing, so you certify the same week you finish the course instead of scheduling a separate test date and waiting.
If funding is the holdup, Tuition Assistance and COOL credentialing usually cover this training for active-duty students — we cover exactly how in our funding breakdown for CompTIA certifications.
Frequently Asked Questions
DoD 8570 vs 8140 — is the old manual still valid, or is it fully retired?
DoD 8570.01-M was officially superseded by DoD Manual 8140.03 on February 15, 2023. Some older baseline certifications carry forward if they map to an equivalent 8140 work role, but new qualification decisions are made against the 8140 framework, not the retired manual.
How do I know which DCWF work role applies to my job?
Your position description or command training officer should identify the work role and proficiency tier tied to your billet. If it’s unclear, our advisors can help you match your role to the correct certification before you enroll.
Do I need a new certification if I already hold one from the 8570 era?
Often no — many 8570-approved baseline certs, like Security+ and CISSP, still satisfy an equivalent 8140 work role. The certification itself usually carries forward; what changed is the framework it’s measured against and the renewal requirement going forward.
Can DoD Training Center San Diego train my whole command at once?
Yes. We hold a CAGE code and run onsite, contract-based training for commands and units, including deployments outside San Diego. Contact us to scope a group training schedule.
Ready to Get Started?
Whether you’re mapping your own DCWF work role or qualifying an entire unit, DoD Training Center San Diego builds every course to the current 8140 framework — not the retired 8570 chart.
Talk to an Advisor or call us at (858) 215-6174.