Microsoft Certification exams

Microsoft Certification can take you from the start of your career to its pinnacle. Certification increases your visibility, differentiates you from your peers, and brings you recognition for your knowledge and skills.

Register for a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) exam

There are two ways to register for an exam:

  • For Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exams and Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) exams delivered through academic outlets, register at Certiport.

  • All other Microsoft Certification paths and Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) exams delivered through commercial outlets, register at Prometric.

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The preparation guide for each exam contains a Skills Measured section that you can review, as well as a list of preparation tools and resources provided by Microsoft. The best way to prepare for an exam is to practice the skills listed in the preparation guide. Hands-on experience with the technology is required to successfully pass Microsoft Certification exams.

Here’s an example of the preparation guide for a popular SQL Server exam.

Here are some additional resources that can help you get started:

Training

Practice tests

Further resources

To protect exam security and the value of our certifications, we do not identify exam formats or question types before the exam. The exam may contain any of the following:

Microsoft continually introduces innovative testing technologies and question types and reserves the right to incorporate either into exams at any time without advance notice.

Microsoft Certification exams are carefully developed with input from industry professionals to reflect how Microsoft products are used in organizations throughout the world.

  1. Define the skill domain: Experts identify the critical tasks performed within specific job functions and/or when using a specific technology.

  2. Define distribution of skills on exam: These skills are evaluated by additional technical and job function experts from around the world; their evaluation becomes the blueprint that defines the distribution of questions across the skill domain.

  3. Write exam questions: Based on the blueprint, subject matter experts write exam questions to measure the critical skills.

  4. Alpha review: A panel of experts who did not write the items reviews each item for technical accuracy, relevancy, useful knowledge, and objective alignment.

  5. Beta test: The alpha-reviewed items are then pilot tested in an exam-like situation known as a “beta exam.” This ensures only the best content is included in the live exam.

  6. Finalize question pool: The results of the beta exam are analyzed for factors such as difficulty, ability to differentiate high and low performers, reliability, and more. Only those questions that meet Microsoft’s psychometric criteria will appear on the live exam.

  7. Set cut score: A panel of experts works with Microsoft’s psychometrician to determine a passing score. This score is based on the skills needed to be considered competent in the skill domain and on the difficulty of the questions included on the exam.

  8. Live exam: Prometric or Certiport, independent exam delivery providers, administer the final certification exam. The exam is available at testing centers worldwide.

A critical part of the exam development process is the beta exam. By taking the exam in its beta format, candidates provide us with useful information to evaluate the technical accuracy, relevance, and psychometric characteristics of the questions before we score examinees.

How to participate

Microsoft offers a limited number of beta seats for free; these seats are available by invitation only. Invitations to participate in beta exams are sent by email to qualified members of the Microsoft Learning SME Profile database. This notification includes a registration code that enables you to register for that specific beta exam. Only candidates who have work experience in the technology are sent notifications. For some technologies (Windows Server, Windows operating systems), we have significantly more qualified candidates in the SME Profile database than we have available seats. In these cases, we randomly select an appropriate number of qualified candidates, and send the invitation to those that were randomly selected.

If you’d like to take the beta exam but did not receive an invitation or were unable to register for a free seat, you may take the exam during this period by registering as you would for any exam and paying the regular price. Although this exam is not free, we understand that some candidates may have interest in taking the exam early to meet job requirements or career growth needs or to demonstrate that they are early adopters of (and competent in) the technology. By providing this as an option, we are able to meet the needs of such candidates who, in the past, would have had to wait until the live version of the exam was available.

If there are remaining seats, their availability is posted in Microsoft certification-related blogs.

Note: Receiving an invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta exam. Participation in the beta is on a first come, first served basis. Due to popular demand, we recommend that you register as soon as the beta registration period begins.

Preparing for a beta exam

In most cases, you will have access to an exam preparation guide. However, this is not always possible. In addition, formal courseware and other training are rarely available when the beta exam period begins. People interested in beta exams usually have access to other resources, are experienced with the technology, or work with the beta product. We recommend that you consult peers, community resources, and early-adopter articles for support if you need additional preparation materials.

Beta exam scoring

When you complete a beta exam, you do not receive a score immediately because the scoring model for the exam is not yet finalized.

You usually receive your exam score by the time the final version of the exam becomes available—this can be up to 16 weeks after you take the exam. This timeframe reflects the comprehensive process used to evaluate the beta exam results.

Note: Participation in beta exams is voluntary, and Microsoft makes no promises or guarantees regarding the beta exam process, availability of your scores, or the timing of your results.

Beta exam results

Once the beta period closes, we statistically analyze the data to evaluate the performance of each question. We also read and evaluate all the comments provided during the beta exam.

Passing the beta exam

Passing a beta exam in your certification path counts towards your certification. You do not need to retake the exam in its final version.

If you do not pass the beta exam, you cannot retake the beta exam. If you are interested in earning a certification that requires successful completion of that exam, you must wait to retake the exam when it’s live and at its regular cost.

If you believe your beta score should be available and it is not, first check whether Prometric has posted it on its website. If not, contact Prometric. (Note that it can take up to two weeks after the final version of the exam is publicly available for your beta score to appear on the Prometric website.) If Prometric has posted a score, but you do not see the score on your Microsoft transcript, contact your Microsoft Regional Service Center.

To receive news about exams as they become available, subscribe to the MCP Flash newsletter.

The following table lists new exams, beginning with the most recently released.

Exam title

Exam number

Technology Literacy for Educators (English, Russian)

62-193

Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-246

Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-247

Administering Office 365 (Portuguese (Brazil))

70-323

Core Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-331

Advanced Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-332

Core Solutions of Microsoft Lync Server 2013 (English)

70-336

Enterprise Voice & Online Services with Microsoft Lync Server 2013 (English)

70-337

Core Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-341

Core Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-342

Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 (English)

70-410

Administering Windows Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-411

Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services (English)

70-412

Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-413

Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-414

Implementing a Desktop Infrastructure (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-415

Implementing Desktop Application Environments (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-416

Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012

70-417

Transition Your MCTS on SQL Server 2008 to MCSA: SQL Server 2012, Part 1 (English)

70-457

Transition Your MCTS on SQL Server 2008 to MCSA: SQL Server 2012, Part 2 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-458

Transition Your MCITP: Database Administrator 2008 or MCITP: Database Developer 2008 to MCSE: Data Platform (English)

70-459

Transition Your MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008 to MCSE: Business Intelligence (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-460

Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-461

Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-462

Implementing a Data Warehouse with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-463

Developing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-464

Designing Database Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-465

Implementing Data Models and Reports with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-466

Designing Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-467

Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 (English)

70-480

Essentials of Developing Windows Store Apps using HTML5 and JavaScript (English)

70-481

Advanced Windows Store App Development using HTML5 and JavaScript (English)

70-482

Programming in C# (English)

70-483

Essentials of Developing Windows Store Apps using C# (English)

70-484

Advanced Windows Store App Development using C# (English)

70-485

Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications (English)

70-486

Developing Windows Azure and Web Services (English)

70-487

Developing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Core Solutions (English)

70-488

Developing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Advanced Solutions (English)

70-489

Upgrade your MCPD: Web Developer 4 to MCSD: Web Applications (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-492

Administering Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-496

Software Testing with Visual Studio 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-497

Delivering Continuous Value with Visual Studio 2012 Application Lifecycle Management (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-498

Configuring Windows 8 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-687

Managing and Maintaining Windows 8 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-688

Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows 8 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-689

Administering Office 365 for Small Businesses (English)

74-324

Lync 2013 Depth Support Engineer (English)

74-338

Managing Projects with Microsoft Project 2013 (English)

74-343

Managing Programs and Projects with Project Server 2013 (English, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish)

74-344

OEM Preinstallation (English)

74-697

Word 2013 (English)

77-418

Excel 2007 Expert (Korean)

77-851

Office 365 (English)

77-891

MCSM SharePoint Recertification Exam (English)

88-930

MCSM SharePoint Knowledge Exam (English)

88-943

MCSM SharePoint Lab Exam (English)

88-944

MCSM Data Platform Knowledge Exam (English)

88-986

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Installation & Configuration (English)

MB3-700

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Financials (English)

MB3-701

Microsoft Dynamics C5 2012 Application Consultant (English, Danish)

MB5-700

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Project (English)

MB6-700

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Financials (Chinese (Simplified), Japanese)

MB6-871

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Installation and Configuration (Chinese (Simplified), Japanese)

MB6-872

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Installation & Configuration (English, French, German, Spanish)

MB7-700

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Core Setup and Finance (English, French, German, Spanish)

MB7-701

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 C/Side Development (English, French, German, Spanish )

MB7-702

Core Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-331

Advanced Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-332

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Installation & Configuration (English)

MB3-700

Core Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013

70-341

Advanced Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013

70-342

Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-413

Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-414

Implementing a Desktop Infrastructure (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-415

Implementing Desktop Application Environments (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-416

Transition Your MCTS on SQL Server 2008 to MCSA: SQL Server 2012, Part 2 (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-458

Transition Your MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008 to MCSE: Business Intelligence (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-460

Managing and Maintaining Windows 8

70-688

Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows 8

70-689

Microsoft Dynamics C5 2012 Application Consultant

MB5-700

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Core Setup and Finance

MB7-701

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 C/Side Development

MB7-702

Administering Windows Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-411

Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure (English, Japanese)

70-413

Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure (English, Japanese)

70-414

Implementing a Desktop Infrastructure (English, Japanese)

70-415

Implementing Desktop Application Environments (English, Japanese)

70-416

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Installation & Configuration

MB7-700

Core Solutions of Microsoft Lync Server 2013

70-336

Enterprise Voice & Online Services with Microsoft Lync Server 2013

70-337

Administering Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-496

Software Testing with Visual Studio 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-497

Delivering Continuous Value with Visual Studio 2012 Application Lifecycle Management (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-498

Configuring Windows 8

70-687

Essentials of Developing Windows Store Apps using HTML5 and JavaScript

70-481

Essentials of Developing Windows Store Apps using HTML5 and JavaScript

70-481

Advanced Windows Store App Development using HTML5 and JavaScript

70-482

Programming in C#

70-483

Essentials of Developing Windows Store Apps using C#

70-484

Advanced Windows Store App Development using C#

70-485

Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications

70-486

Developing Windows Azure and Web Services

70-487

Delivering Continuous Value with Visual Studio 2012 Application Lifecycle Management

70-498

Configuring Windows 8 (Chinese (Simplified), German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-687

Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3

70-480

Designing Database Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (French)

70-465

Office 365

77-891

Developing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases (Chinese (Simplified), German, French, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-464

Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-246

Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-247

Transition Your MCTS on SQL Server 2008 to MCSA: SQL Server 2012, Part 1 (English)

70-457

Transition Your MCTS on SQL Server 2008 to MCSA: SQL Server 2012, Part 2 (English)

70-458

Transition Your MCITP: Database Administrator 2008 or MCITP: Database Developer 2008 to MCSE: Data Platform (English)

70-459

Transition Your MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008 to MCSE: Business Intelligence (English)

70-460

Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-461

Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-462

Implementing a Data Warehouse with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-463

Developing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases (English)

70-464

Designing Database Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (English)

70-465

Implementing Data Models and Reports with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified),English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-466

Designing Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil))

70-467

Administering Office 365 (Portuguese (Brazil))

70-323

Excel 2007 Expert (Korean)

77-851

Administering and Deploying System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (English)

70-243

Deploying Office 365 (English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America))

70-321

Administering Office 365 (English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Spanish (Latin America))

70-323

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Advanced Design and Deployment (English)

74-322

HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals (Korean, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin America))

98-375

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Trade and Logistics (German, French, Spanish, Italian)

MB6-870

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Process Manufacturing Production and Logistics (German, French, Spanish, Italian)

MB6-886

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Service Management (English)

MB6-889

HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals (Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), German)

98-375

Extending Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 (Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish)

MB2-876

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Financials (French, German)

MB6-871

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Installation and Configuration (French, German)

MB6-872

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Public Sector (English)

MB6-885

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Process Manufacturing Production and Logistics (English)

MB6-886

Mobile Development Fundamentals (Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian)

98-373

HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals (English)

98-375

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Financials (Italian, Spanish)

MB6-871

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Installation and Configuration (Italian, Spanish)

MB6-872

Mobile Development Fundamentals (Spanish – Latin America, Chinese – Traditional, Chinese – Simplified, German)

98-373

MTA: Gaming Development Fundamentals (Chinese – Traditional, Korean, Russian, German, Spanish – Latin America, Portuguese – Brazil)

98-374

MTA: Gaming Development Fundamentals (Japanese)

98-374

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Lean Manufacturing (English)

MB6-884