What You Need to Know About the Partner Premier Tier on the Terraform Registry

Building on the foundation of the Partner tag introduced in 2022, the Terraform Registry now offers a new elite status: the Partner Premier tag. This tier is designed to highlight providers that excel in technical quality, security, and adoption of advanced features. Below, we answer the most pressing questions about this new level of recognition and what it means for practitioners and enterprises.

What is the Partner Premier tier and why was it created?

The Partner Premier tier is a new, higher designation on the Terraform Registry that goes beyond the standard Partner tag. It was developed to recognize technology partners who demonstrate exceptional commitment to technical excellence, security best practices, and early adoption of cutting-edge Terraform provider features. By creating this tier, HashiCorp aims to give end users greater confidence in the providers they choose, knowing that Premier partners have met stricter criteria. The tier also incentivizes partners to implement advanced capabilities like Terraform search, Terraform actions, and ephemeral resources, which extend the platform's automation for Day 2 operations. Ultimately, the Partner Premier tier raises the bar for the entire ecosystem, ensuring that users can easily identify providers that deliver enhanced security, deeper control, and lifecycle management beyond basic CRUD operations.

What are the specific requirements to achieve Partner Premier status?

To earn the Partner Premier tag, providers must first satisfy all existing requirements for the standard Partner tag. On top of that, they must fulfill a new set of advanced criteria divided into two categories:

• Technical requirement: Include a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for the provider, ensuring transparency about its components and dependencies.
• Feature requirement: Implement at least one of the following advanced features: ephemeral resources as a security best practice, Terraform search, or Terraform actions.

These requirements guarantee that Premier providers offer enhanced security, deeper control, and the ability to codify imperative workflows outside the standard Create, Read, Update, Destroy (CRUD) model. The SBOM requirement in particular reinforces transparency by making the provider's internal components visible and verifiable.

How does the Partner Premier tag benefit Terraform users?

The Partner Premier tag provides multiple benefits for Terraform end users. First, it acts as a trust signal: users can immediately see which providers have met the highest standards for security and feature adoption. Premier providers are required to include an SBOM, which gives users visibility into the software components and their origins, helping with compliance and risk assessment. Additionally, because Premier providers implement advanced features like ephemeral resources, Terraform search, or actions, users gain access to capabilities that go beyond basic infrastructure provisioning. For example, Terraform actions allow common Day 2 operational tasks—such as server reboots or database snapshots—to be managed directly within the Terraform pipeline. This streamlines workflows and reduces the need for external tools. Finally, the tag simplifies provider selection: users can sort or filter by the Premier tag on the Registry and quickly identify providers that support these advanced features.

What new features must Premier providers support?

Partner Premier providers are required to implement at least one of three advanced features announced at HashiConf 2025: Terraform search, Terraform actions, or ephemeral resources. Terraform search allows providers to expose preset search operations, making it easier to find and filter resources. Terraform actions enable providers to define imperative, operational workflows for common Day 2 tasks—such as restarting a server, taking a snapshot, or running a configuration command—directly within Terraform. Ephemeral resources are a security best practice that allows temporary, short-lived resources to be created and destroyed automatically, reducing credential exposure and sprawl. By adopting these features, Premier providers extend Terraform's automation beyond the standard CRUD lifecycle, empowering users to manage the full lifecycle of infrastructure and applications in a more automated and secure manner.

Who are the launch partners and what do they offer?

The Partner Premier tier launched with industry leaders who are pushing the boundaries of what Terraform can do. Two notable launch partners are Scaleway and Cisco. Scaleway offers providers that orchestrate the full lifecycle beyond CRUD, enabling operations like server reboots, instance snapshots, database actions, and VPN management. Cisco provides automation for configuration saves and commits in both Cisco IOS and NX-OS environments. These partners exemplify how Premier providers can help enterprises manage complex Day 2 tasks—such as security, lifecycle management, and sovereignty—directly through Terraform. By partnering with these innovators, HashiCorp demonstrates that the Premier tag is reserved for providers that deliver genuine, production-grade advanced capabilities, not just basic resource creation.

How can users identify Premier providers on the Registry?

Finding Partner Premier providers on the Terraform Registry is straightforward. Users can apply a sort or filter using the Partner Premier tag when browsing the provider list. Once selected, the Registry will display only those providers that have earned the Premier status. Each Premier provider's page will clearly show the tag, along with indicators for which advanced features they support—Terraform search, ephemeral resources, or Terraform actions. This visual cue gives users immediate confidence that the provider adheres to security best practices, includes an SBOM, and has ongoing support. The tag also serves as a quality mark, helping practitioners quickly distinguish Premier providers from those with the standard Partner tag, thereby simplifying the provider selection process for both new and existing Terraform projects.

What does the future hold for the Partner Premier program?

While the Partner Premier tier has just launched, HashiCorp has indicated that it will continue to evolve as new features and best practices emerge. The program is designed to reward partners who stay at the forefront of Terraform's capabilities, and the criteria may be updated to include additional advanced features in the future. As infrastructure as code (IaC) becomes the backbone of modern enterprises, the Premier tag will likely become an essential benchmark for provider quality. HashiCorp also plans to expand the number of launch partners and encourage more providers to meet the elevated standards. For end users, this means a growing ecosystem of premier providers that offer deeper automation, security, and lifecycle management. The ultimate goal is to make the Terraform Registry a more trustworthy and feature-rich marketplace where users can confidently select providers that support their evolving infrastructure needs.