The following certifications are currently available:

Certifications

• Fundamentals
  
• Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA)
  
• Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE)
  
• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)
  
• Role-based:
          Microsoft Azure
          Microsoft 365
          Dynamics 365
          Microsoft Power Platform
          Microsoft Teams
  
• Specialty:
          Windows Virtual Desktop Specialty
          Azure IoT Developer Specialty
          Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty
  

Required Skills

• Good communication skills
  
• Originality and innovativeness
  
• Ability to think in three-dimensions
  
• Goal oriented
  
• Eye for detail
  
• Good understanding of soft skills
  
• Persuasiveness
  
• Observation
  

Certification Process

Any skill level can benefit from the Microsoft certification process. There are three levels of certifications to seek in order to meet you at your individual level:

1. Fundamental: For Microsoft's certification program, this is the entry level Microsoft certifications. If you're transitioning into a new career or are new to the IT area, start here.

2. Associate: If you have two years of experience in the tech industry, start here. Microsoft recommends that you obtain Fundamental qualifications before moving on to Associate certifications, but they are not needed.

3. Expert: If you have between two and five years of technical experience, start at the Expert level. To be eligible for Expert-level credentials, you may need to pass Associate-level tests.

You'll take a qualifying exam at the start of the certification process, and if you pass, you'll be a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). You'll be able to take more advanced examinations and take advantage of program perks once you've earned MCP status. You can then choose a specialized path.

Candidates preparing for gmetrix can build exam confidence with our GMetrix practice exam 2026, which covers all key topics and question formats used in the real assessment.

Students preparing for standardized admissions tests should also practice with our AZ-900 practice test 2026, covering the quantitative, verbal, and analytical sections tested in the real exam.

Certification Categories

You can choose whether to take each exam in order to become an expert in numerous fields or to focus on just one. For Microsoft training, there are numerous pathways and specializations to choose from. Microsoft has certificates in the following categories to meet your needs:

• Cloud
• Productivity
• Mobility
• App Builder
• Data
• Business Applications

Exam Duration

Microsoft Certification Exam

The number of questions on a certification exam is subject to change as they update it to keep up with current technological and job role developments. Most Microsoft Certification examinations have between 40 and 60 questions; however, the number of questions varies every exam.

Exam duration varies depending on the type of exam.

Score Release Schedule

You will obtain your pass or fail result for most examinations within a few minutes of finishing them. You'll also get a report that includes your exam score as well as feedback on your performance in the skill areas that were assessed. Exams that include labs may take longer to score, and you may have to wait up to 30 minutes for your results. Within 24 hours, the exam delivery team will offer your score to Microsoft.

Exam Grading Methods

• Some questions are worth one point, while others are worth several. This information will be supplied in the question if the question is worth more than one point. You will receive one point for each successfully answered component while answering these questions, thus you can earn all, some, or none of the points available for that question.
• There are no consequences for guessing. You simply do not receive a point for that item or part of the item if you chose the incorrect answer. For erroneous replies, no points are removed.
• Some exam questions may not be taken into account when calculating your score. They provide new questions to candidates without counting the results toward their score in order to collect data for updating and improving the quality of each exam. Items that meet Microsoft's psychometric requirements will be assessed as soon as it receives the relevant data to evaluate the question's quality. As a result, you should answer every question as if it will be scored. Microsoft will not tell you which questions are unscored.
• Microsoft continues to develop new and inventive question kinds that may necessitate different scoring methods. If a question is scored differently, Microsoft will indicate it in the question's text.