Microsoft Certifications in 2026: Which to Take, What They Cost, and What Just Changed

Updated October 27, 2026. Exam names, dates and rules checked against Microsoft Learn and Pearson VUE. The update history is at the bottom. .

Microsoft rebuilt a big part of its certification catalog this year. Between March and September 2026 it retired AZ-204, AZ-500, AI-900, AI-102, MS-900 and a long list of others, and replaced most of them with exams that put AI inside the core job. If a course, a study guide or an older version of this article told you to book one of those exams, it’s out of date.

This guide covers what changed, which certification fits which job, what the exams cost, how renewal works, and how to prepare without losing weeks to an exam that no longer exists. Prices and policies move, so we link to Microsoft’s own pages throughout. Check them before you book.

Where should you start?

If you are…	Start with	Then
New to IT or cloud	Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)	Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
Curious about AI	Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)	AI-103 or AI-200
Running Azure day to day	Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)	Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) or DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)
A developer on Azure	AI-200 or AI-103	DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)
In or heading into security	Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900)	SC-200, SC-300 or SC-500, then SC-100
A Microsoft 365 admin	MD-102, MS-700 or SC-300	See the Microsoft 365 notes below. The expert exam retires November 30.
Working with data and BI	Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)	PL-300 or DP-700

If you remember one thing, make it this: choose the certification that matches the job you want in the next year, not the one with the biggest salary number next to it.

What changed in 2026, and what replaced it

Microsoft is moving AI and security skills into the core role exams instead of keeping them as side tracks. SC-500, for example, now covers securing AI workloads on top of Azure infrastructure. The table lists the changes most likely to affect a study plan, based on Microsoft Learn’s retirement page and Pearson VUE’s Microsoft updates page.

Retired exam	Retired on	Replacement
DP-203 Azure Data Engineer Associate	March 31, 2025	DP-700 Fabric Data Engineer Associate
MS-900 Microsoft 365 Fundamentals	March 31, 2026	No official replacement named. AB-900 is the closest new entry-level credential.
DP-100 Azure Data Scientist Associate	June 1, 2026	AI-300 MLOps Engineer Associate
AI-900 Azure AI Fundamentals	June 30, 2026	AI-901 (same certification name, new exam)
AI-102 Azure AI Engineer Associate	June 30, 2026	AI-103 Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate
AZ-204 Azure Developer Associate	July 31, 2026	AI-200 Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate
AZ-500 Azure Security Engineer Associate	August 31, 2026	SC-500 Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate
PL-200 Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate	August 31, 2026	AB-410 Intelligent Applications Builder Associate
AZ-800 and AZ-801 Windows Server Hybrid Administrator	September 30, 2026	AZ-802, one exam instead of two
PL-500, PL-600, MB-240, MB-335, MB-700	June 30, 2026	None planned
MS-102 Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert	November 30, 2026 (upcoming)	See the Microsoft 365 notes below

If one of these affects you:

• Certifications you already hold stay on your Microsoft Learn transcript. What you lose is the ability to renew them after the retirement date, so renew first if your window is open.
• You can’t retake a retired exam. If you can book before the retirement date, you can still finish what you started. If you can’t, switch to the replacement now.
• Prerequisites get updated. The Cybersecurity Architect Expert, for example, now accepts Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate alongside SC-200 and SC-300.
• The replacements aren’t renamed copies. SC-500 adds AI security and AI-901 expects Python basics, so old notes only get you part of the way.

Are Microsoft certifications still worth it?

Mostly yes, as long as you treat them as proof of a solid baseline and not a substitute for hands-on experience. Employers know the difference.

The research is encouraging but not neutral, so here is where each number comes from:

• Pearson VUE’s 2025 survey of nearly 24,000 IT professionals found that 63% had received a promotion, or expected one, in connection with earning a certification. The answers are self-reported, and Pearson VUE delivers Microsoft’s exams.
• Pearson’s 2026 employer report found that 78% of organizations choose professional certification as their leading upskilling investment.
• A 2021 IDC white paper sponsored by Microsoft estimated that trained and certified IT teams are about 20% more productive than uncertified ones. It’s a vendor-funded estimate, and it’s a few years old.

What about pay? Skillsoft’s IT Skills and Salary survey, fielded from May to September 2024, is a useful reality check. US respondents holding the Azure Administrator Associate certification averaged $148,849, against $91,938 worldwide. For Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert holders the averages were $160,044 in the US and $109,247 worldwide. Skillsoft doesn’t adjust for location or cost of living, and the averages blend every seniority level, so use them to see the range, not to promise yourself a raise.

How Microsoft certifications are organized

• Fundamentals are the entry level. They have no formal prerequisites and they don’t expire.
• Associate certifications are role-based (administrator, developer, engineer, analyst) and assume some hands-on experience.
• Expert certifications are advanced and usually need a specific associate certification first. Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), for example, requires Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104), so you sit two exams in total.

Most exams have 40 to 60 questions. Fundamentals exams give you 45 minutes. Associate and expert exams give you 100 minutes, or 120 if the exam may include labs. The passing score is 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000. Microsoft’s exam duration and experience page has the details.

Fundamentals: the entry points

• Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) (AZ-900 practice exams): cloud concepts, core Azure services, pricing and governance. The best first certification for most people.
• Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901): replaces AI-900 and is more hands-on. It covers AI concepts and building solutions with Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft says candidates should know Python syntax and basic programming techniques.
• Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900): databases and analytics concepts.
• Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900): the usual starting point for the security track.
• Power Platform Fundamentals (PL-900): low-code apps, automation and analytics.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals (AB-900): Microsoft 365 core services plus administering Copilot and agents.

Fundamentals certifications never need renewing.

Associate and expert certifications by career track

Azure infrastructure

Typical path: AZ-900, then AZ-104, then AZ-305

• Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) covers identities and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking and monitoring. It’s our pick for the first role-based certification for most people who work with Azure. It’s also the prerequisite for the Solutions Architect Expert and one of the accepted prerequisites for the DevOps Engineer Expert.
• Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) is about designing Azure solutions: identity, data, business continuity and infrastructure. You need the AZ-104 certification first.

AI and application development

Typical path: AI-901, then AI-200 or AI-103, then AI-300

• Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (AI-200) replaces AZ-204. Microsoft built it for developers working on the back-end services and components of AI solutions.
• Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate (AI-103) replaces AI-102. It focuses on building generative AI and agent solutions with Python and Microsoft Foundry.
• MLOps Engineer Associate (AI-300) takes over from DP-100 and focuses on deploying and managing machine learning and generative AI in production.
• DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400) needs Azure Administrator Associate or Azure Developer Associate first. An AZ-204 earned before retirement still counts, and Microsoft community answers say AI-200 will be added as an accepted prerequisite. Confirm on the certification page before you plan around it.

Security

Typical path: SC-900, then SC-200, SC-300 or SC-500, then SC-100

• Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200) is for security operations work with Microsoft Sentinel and Defender XDR.
• Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300) covers identity and access with Microsoft Entra.
• Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate (SC-500) replaces AZ-500. It covers securing identity, storage, networking and compute in Azure, plus AI solutions. When we checked, its free practice assessment wasn’t out yet.
• Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100) is the design-level security exam: Zero Trust, governance and risk, and security operations. You need one of SC-200, SC-300 or SC-500 first.

Microsoft 365

• Associate certifications: Endpoint Administrator (MD-102), Teams Administrator (MS-700), Identity and Access Administrator (SC-300) and Information Security Administrator.
• Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert (MS-102) replaced the old “Enterprise Administrator Expert” name in 2023. You need MS-102 plus one of the associate certifications above. Microsoft has announced that the exam and the certification retire on November 30, 2026, after which nobody can earn or renew them. If you want it, book soon enough that a failed first attempt still leaves time for a retake.
• Microsoft 365 and AI Services Administrator Associate (AB-650) is Microsoft’s new admin credential for tenants, Copilot and agents, and community discussion treats it as MS-102’s successor path. It launched in beta, so check Microsoft Learn for its current status.

Data and Power Platform

• Fabric Data Engineer Associate (DP-700) replaced the retired Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203). Microsoft announced the change on its Learn blog.
• Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (DP-600) covers analytics engineering in Microsoft Fabric.
• Power BI Data Analyst Associate (PL-300) is for building reports and dashboards. Power Platform Developer Associate (PL-400) is for extending the platform with code.
• Newer AI-flavored additions include AB-410 (Intelligent Applications Builder) and AB-620 (AI Agent Builder). Check their status on Microsoft Learn, since several launched in beta this year. Several Dynamics 365 exams retired in 2026 too, so confirm the current list before you plan a Dynamics path.

What Microsoft certification exams cost

Level	US price
Fundamentals	$99
Associate, Expert and Specialty	$165

These are US list prices. Microsoft sets the price by the country or region where you take the exam, and taxes are extra, so confirm on the exam page before you pay. If you fail, you pay again. Because an expert certification needs a qualifying associate certification, an expert path from scratch means two exams, or $330 at US prices.

Ways to pay less

• Student pricing. Microsoft offers academic pricing in most countries (not India or China) once you mark yourself as a student in your Learn profile and verify your status.
• Exam Replay. Exam Replay bundles an exam voucher with one retake of the same exam, both to be used within 12 months of purchase.
• Event vouchers. Microsoft hands out 100%-off vouchers through limited-time events. The most recent one we found was June 2026’s AI Skills Fest, and its vouchers have expired. There’s no permanent free voucher, so watch AI Skills Navigator and Microsoft Learn announcements.
• Your employer or training provider. Many bundle vouchers with courses, so ask before you pay yourself.

Are Microsoft certifications free? No, but much of what surrounds them is. Microsoft Learn training, study guides, practice assessments, the exam sandbox and annual renewals all cost nothing.

Renewal: keeping a certification active

• Associate, expert and specialty certifications expire after 12 months. Fundamentals don’t.
• Renewal is free. You pass an unproctored online assessment on Microsoft Learn during the six months before your expiration date, and your certification is extended by a year from that date.
• You can retake the renewal assessment as many times as you need, as long as you pass before the certification expires.
• If a certification retires before its expiration date, renew before the retirement date.
• Each certification renews on its own clock, so check the expiry date of any prerequisite you rely on.

Exam day: what to expect

• Delivery. Pearson VUE delivers the exams, online or at a test center. Register with a personal Microsoft account rather than a work or school account, so your records follow you when you change jobs. That’s Microsoft’s own advice.
• Open Microsoft Learn. On associate and expert exams you can open Microsoft Learn from inside the exam. You can’t on Fundamentals exams. The timer keeps running, so use it for lookups, not as a plan.
• Breaks. You can take unscheduled breaks, but the clock doesn’t stop and you can’t go back to earlier questions afterward.
• Beta exams. New exams usually launch in beta. You can take a beta once, and if you pass, it counts toward the certification.
• Retakes. Wait 24 hours after a first failed attempt, then 14 days between later attempts, with up to five tries in 12 months. The retake policy has the details.

How to prepare

1. Start with the official study guide and Microsoft Learn. Each exam page links to a “skills measured” document with an update date. AI-901’s English version, for example, was updated on April 15, 2026, so notes older than that may be missing changes.
2. Take Microsoft’s free practice assessments. For some certifications they’ve moved to AI Skills Navigator, where you need to sign in.
3. Get hands-on. Theory alone won’t get you through a role-based exam. Use an Azure free account and the labs on Microsoft Learn to build things and break them.
4. Add realistic practice exams. Good ones show you your gaps before the real exam does. Full disclosure: practice exams are what CertVista makes, so weigh our opinion accordingly. With any provider, look for coverage of every skills-measured area, question types that match the real exam, explanations for wrong answers, and updates when Microsoft changes the exam. You can find ours on the Microsoft exams page. Avoid “brain dumps”: they violate Microsoft’s exam candidate agreement and don’t teach you anything.
5. Know when you’re ready. A common rule of thumb is to book once you’re consistently scoring above 80% on good practice tests. A passing result of 700 out of 1,000 isn’t the same as 70% of questions correct, so leave yourself some margin.
6. Study with other people. Certification communities are a good place to compare notes and hear about exam changes early.

Allow roughly two to four weeks for a Fundamentals exam and two to three months for an associate exam if you’re studying part-time. Add time if the technology is new to you.

Where to go from here

Pick the one certification that fits your next job, check its exam page for the current skills outline, and book a date. A deadline does more for your study habits than any plan. If you’re weighing other clouds, see our AWS and Google Cloud guides.

Update history

• October 27, 2026: Full revision and fact-check. Added the 2026 retirements and replacements (AI-900, AI-102, AZ-204, AZ-500, DP-100, MS-900, PL-200, AZ-800/801 and others) and the upcoming MS-102 retirement. Replaced the salary table, whose figures we couldn’t trace to a current source, with dated survey data. Replaced older statistics with dated, sourced figures. Updated costs, exam length, retake, renewal and discount details. Added exam-day tips and an FAQ. Removed retired exams (MS-500, DP-203) from the learning paths.
• 2025: Original guide published.