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The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate is now earned through exam AB-400, which replaced PL-400 for new registrations on October 16, 2026. This October 2026 guide covers what changed and what didn't, the four domains and their weights, the 700 passing score and $165 fee, the free annual renewal, and the developer roles the credential fits.
The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate is Microsoft's certification for developers who extend Power Platform with code. Since October 16, 2026, you earn it by passing exam AB-400: Extending Microsoft Power Platform Solutions with Code and AI, which took over from PL-400.
Power Platform is built for low-code, and this exam is about the work that starts where low-code stops. AB-400 checks whether you can write and register Dataverse plug-ins, build PCF components and Power Apps code apps, script model-driven forms with the Client API, call the Dataverse Web API, push long-running jobs to Azure Functions, and build custom connectors. The 2026 update adds agents, both Microsoft Foundry agents that reach Dataverse through MCP servers and Copilot Studio agents called from code.
AB-400 carries no formal prerequisites. The credential is issued and maintained by Microsoft, and the old PL-400 exam retires on October 30, 2026. If you passed PL-400, you already hold this same certification.
Technical architecture, solution component design, and ALM with Pipelines and Build Tools. 15 to 20%.
Client API scripting, PCF code components, and Power Apps code apps. 25 to 30%.
Plug-ins, platform APIs, Azure Functions, flows, and Foundry agents. The heaviest domain at 35 to 40%.
Dataverse events, data synchronization, and custom connectors. 10 to 15%.
Four things to know about the October 2026 switch, for people studying now and for people who already hold the certification.
Microsoft announced the change on its Skills Hub blog on September 15, 2026. PL-400 registration closed on October 16, 2026, and AB-400 opened the same day. Anyone who registered for PL-400 by then can still sit it through October 30. Either exam earns the same credential, the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate.
Microsoft's change log drops Create a technical design and Implement Power Apps improvements as standalone areas. The platform configuration, advanced canvas app and app troubleshooting objectives are gone. Design work now lives inside Build Microsoft Power Platform solutions, and three of the four remaining areas gained weight.
The new objectives cover Power Apps code apps, Microsoft Foundry agents that reach Dataverse through Power Platform MCP servers and Work IQ, and Copilot Studio agents called through the Copilot Studio client library. Our guide to Microsoft certifications puts the rename next to the rest of the 2026 changes.
Holders don't need to do anything. Microsoft says the certification earned stays unchanged, along with its value and the renewal process, so you keep renewing it free each year through a short online assessment on Microsoft Learn. Microsoft claims no DoD 8140 mapping for it, so its weight comes from the developer work it describes.
If you're still booked on PL-400, study the new outline anyway. Microsoft's PL-400 study guide now shows the same four domains as AB-400, labeled as of October 16, 2026. And after October 30 there's no PL-400 left to retake, so any second attempt would be on AB-400.
The certification, the AB-400 exam, and how you keep the credential current, as of October 2026.
Microsoft retired the Power Platform Solution Architect Expert (PL-600) on June 30, 2026, so the old next step is gone. These three are where a Power Platform developer goes from here.
Microsoft's expert-level credential for designing AI and agent-based business solutions across Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Foundry. You need the AB-100 exam plus one qualifying associate certification, and the Power Platform Developer Associate is on that list. AB-100 itself gets an exam update on November 16, 2026.
For developers who build and integrate custom agents in Copilot Studio, with MCP servers, the Agent2Agent protocol, custom connectors and computer-using agents. The exam runs 120 minutes and picks up where the agent objectives in AB-400 leave off.
The Azure side of agent work, built on Python and Microsoft Foundry. It makes sense if the Foundry objectives in AB-400 turned into the part of the job you want more of, and it also counts toward AB-100.
AB-400 is the code-first associate credential in Microsoft's Power Platform path. PL-900 sits below it, AB-410 sits beside it for low-code builders, and the expert step is now AB-100.
The platform groundwork
Code on top of Dataverse
Pick your path
Two questions to answer before you commit: can you sit it, and should you pursue AB-400 specifically. Here's a straight answer to both.
No prerequisite credential required.
Microsoft lists no prerequisite certification, and PL-900 isn't required first. You register on Microsoft Learn and test through Pearson VUE at a test center or online. That makes AB-400 a realistic first Microsoft certification for an experienced developer who is new to the Microsoft credential system.
Configuration skills alone won't carry it.
Microsoft expects development experience with JavaScript, TypeScript, Power Fx, C#, Python, HTML, YAML and REST APIs, plus Azure, Foundry and Copilot Studio. If you've never written a plug-in and registered it with the Plug-in Registration Tool, or packaged a PCF component, do that in a test environment before you book.
The Power Platform Developer Associate maps to the roles that write code on top of Dataverse, Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform tools around them.
The role the certification is named for. Writes the plug-ins, PCF components, client scripts and code apps that carry a Power Platform solution past the point where the low-code designers stop.
Customizes and extends Dynamics 365 customer engagement apps, which run on Dataverse. The plug-in, Client API and Web API work in AB-400 is the same work these apps call for.
Connects Dataverse to other systems through webhooks, Azure Service Bus, Event Hubs, Azure Functions and custom connectors, and keeps records in sync with change tracking and alternate keys.
Owns solution layers, environment variables, Power Platform Pipelines and CI/CD with Power Platform Build Tools, so changes move from development to production without surprises.
Builds Microsoft Foundry agents that reach Dataverse through Power Platform MCP servers and Work IQ, or calls Copilot Studio agents from code. This is the newest part of the AB-400 outline.
Delivers Power Platform projects for a Microsoft partner or software vendor, where clients need someone who can write code once configuration runs out.
AB-400 is the code-first associate exam in the Power Platform path. Here's how it lines up with the fundamentals exam below it and the low-code associate exam beside it.
| Power Platform Developer (AB-400) | Power Platform Fundamentals (PL-900) | Intelligent Applications Builder (AB-410) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Microsoft | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Level | Associate | Fundamentals | Associate |
| Focus | Extending Power Platform with code and AI | Power Platform concepts and capabilities | Low-code apps, flows and agents built with Copilot |
| Prerequisites | None | None | None |
| Exam | 4 domains, time not yet posted | 5 skill areas, 45 min | 3 domains, 120 min |
| Passing Score | 700 of 1000 | 700 of 1000 | 700 of 1000 |
| Cost (US) | $165 | $99 | $165 |
| Languages | English only | 12 languages | 13 languages |
| Validity | 1 year, free renewal | Does not expire | 1 year, free renewal |
| Best For | Developers who write C# and TypeScript | Beginners and business users | Makers and low-code app builders |
US prices as of October 2026. Microsoft sets prices by country, and taxes can apply. The Power Platform Functional Consultant (PL-200) retired on August 31, 2026, and Microsoft points its candidates to AB-410. Microsoft claims no DoD 8140 mapping for any of the three. Fundamentals certifications don't expire, while associate certifications renew free each year.
Certification Matchups: the published facts, strengths and weak spots of 33 certifications, side by side.
Our five-day Power Platform Developer boot camp is taught live, online or in person, to the AB-400 skills outline. You get Official Microsoft Courseware, hosted labs with a Dataverse environment and the Power Platform CLI ready to use, practice questions mapped to the four domains, your $165 exam voucher, an exam retake, and 180 days of one-to-one instructor help after class.
How the Microsoft path changed in 2026, how to study from a study guide, and what exam day looks like.
The full Microsoft map as of September 2026, from fundamentals to expert, with the Power Platform track and the PL-400 to AB-400 rename flagged in place.
From 1990s product exams through MCSA and MCSE to role-based credentials, and why nearly every 2026 replacement puts AI inside the job itself.
Which Microsoft exams people are actually sitting as of September 2026, and the retirements and replacements that left older rankings out of date.
Microsoft publishes its objectives as a study guide on Microsoft Learn. How to read the domains, weights and verbs and turn them into a study plan.
Why a raw percentage says little on its own, why the domain breakdown matters more, and what Microsoft's scaled 700 out of 1,000 does and does not mean.
ID rules, breaks, remote proctoring and retake waits compared across vendors, including how Microsoft handles a session that fails on test day.
The ten risks OWASP lists for AI agents that call tools and act with delegated authority. Useful background now that AB-400 tests agent integration.
The AB-400 exam is organized into four domains, each with its own weight. Extend Microsoft Power Platform is the heaviest at 35 to 40 percent, more than a third of the exam on its own. Click any domain for what it covers.
Designing the technical architecture, starting with where business logic belongs (client script, business rules, plug-ins, automation or cloud services), when to use standard, virtual or elastic tables versus connectors, when to use code apps, generative pages, PCF components, web resources or MCP app widgets, and when to build an agent in Microsoft Foundry or Copilot Studio. It also covers designing plug-ins, custom APIs, custom connectors, MCP servers and Application Insights monitoring, plus ALM with solution layers, environment variables, Power Platform Pipelines and CI/CD through Power Platform Build Tools.
Client scripting in model-driven apps against the Client API object model and the Dataverse Web API, commands and buttons with Power Fx and JavaScript, and PCF code components from manifest to packaging. The newer part of the domain is Power Apps code apps, from wiring them to connections, Dataverse tables, cloud flows, Copilot Studio agents and environment variables to setting Content Security Policy, monitoring with Application Insights, and troubleshooting and tuning them.
The heaviest domain. Dataverse plug-ins (pipeline stages, execution context, images, the Organization service, custom APIs, business events and Power Platform managed identity), the Dataverse Web API and SDKs for .NET and Python, API limit retry policies, OAuth and background operations, Azure Functions for long-running and event-driven work, cloud flows and Copilot Studio workflows, and Microsoft Foundry agents that integrate through Power Platform MCP servers, Work IQ and the Copilot Studio client library.
Publishing and consuming Dataverse events through IServiceEndpointNotificationService, the Plug-in Registration Tool, webhooks, Azure Service Bus and Azure Event Hubs, synchronizing data with change tracking, alternate keys and UpsertRequest, and building custom connectors with authentication, policy templates, imported OpenAPI definitions, Azure Functions behind them and code that transforms data.
Domains and weights reflect the Microsoft AB-400 study guide as checked on October 21, 2026. Microsoft says most questions cover generally available features but Preview features can appear when they're commonly used, so confirm the current outline on Microsoft Learn before scheduling.
The questions candidates ask most often about the Power Platform Developer certification and the move from PL-400 to AB-400.
The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate is Microsoft's certification for developers who extend Power Platform with code. It covers plug-ins, PCF components, Power Apps code apps, the Dataverse APIs, Azure Functions, custom connectors and, since the 2026 update, agent integration. You earn it by passing exam AB-400, which replaced PL-400 for new registrations on October 16, 2026.
PL-400 is in its last days. Registration closed on October 16, 2026, the same day AB-400: Extending Microsoft Power Platform Solutions with Code and AI opened. If you registered for PL-400 on or before October 16, you can still schedule and sit it through October 30, 2026, and Microsoft retires it that night at 11:59 PM Central Standard Time. After that, AB-400 is the only exam that earns the certification.
No. Passing PL-400 earned you the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate, and that certification hasn't changed. Microsoft says the credential, its value and the renewal process all stay the same. Keep renewing it each year through the free online assessment on Microsoft Learn.
No. Microsoft lists no prerequisite certification, so anyone can register. It does expect development experience with JavaScript, JSON, TypeScript, Power Fx, C#, Python, HTML, YAML, RESTful web APIs, Azure, Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio. If Power Platform itself is new to you, PL-900 Power Platform Fundamentals covers the basics first, though it isn't required.
The four domains are Build Microsoft Power Platform solutions (15 to 20 percent), Extend the user experience (25 to 30 percent), Extend Microsoft Power Platform (35 to 40 percent), and Develop integrations (10 to 15 percent). Extend Microsoft Power Platform, which covers plug-ins, platform APIs, Azure Functions, flows and Foundry agents, carries the most weight.
The outline went from six skill areas to four. Create a technical design and Implement Power Apps improvements are gone as standalone areas, and the design objectives moved into Build Microsoft Power Platform solutions. The new objectives cover Power Apps code apps and Microsoft Foundry agents that reach Dataverse through Power Platform MCP servers. Plug-ins, PCF components, the Dataverse Web API, Azure Functions, custom connectors and ALM all carry over.
Microsoft hasn't posted a question count or a time limit on the AB-400 exam page. Its general guidance says most Microsoft exams have 40 to 60 questions, and associate exams run 100 minutes, or 120 minutes when they may contain labs. You see the exact time when you register. AB-400 is offered in English only, and if that isn't your first language you can request 30 extra minutes.
You need 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000. Microsoft uses scaled scoring, so 700 doesn't mean 70 percent correct. The passing line is set from the knowledge needed to show competence and the difficulty of the questions.
AB-400 costs $165 USD in the United States as of October 2026, the same as PL-400 did. Microsoft sets the price by the country where you test, and local taxes can apply. Training Camp's Power Platform Developer boot camp includes the exam voucher, which covers whichever exam code applies when you sit, along with an exam retake.
Microsoft claims no DoD 8140 mapping for the Power Platform Developer Associate, so don't count on it to satisfy a cyber-coded position requirement on its own. It's a developer credential, and its value comes from the work itself, building plug-ins, components, code apps and integrations on Dataverse. See the full DoD 8140 work role paths.
It's an associate certification and is valid for one year. You renew it free by passing a short, unproctored, open-book assessment on Microsoft Learn during the six months before it expires, and you can retake that assessment as many times as you need before the expiry date. Passing extends the certification one year from its expiration date.
It maps to roles such as Power Platform Developer, Dynamics 365 Developer, Integration Developer, Power Platform ALM Engineer, agent developer and solution developer at a Microsoft partner. What these jobs share is code on top of Dataverse, whether that's a plug-in, a PCF component, an Azure Function or a custom connector.
Pick by how you build. AB-410 (Building Intelligent Applications) is the low-code route, with Dataverse models, canvas and model-driven apps, cloud flows and Copilot features. AB-400 is the code route, with C# plug-ins, PCF components, code apps, Azure Functions and custom connectors. Both are $165 associate exams that renew free each year, and either one counts toward the AB-100 architect expert. If you'd rather not write C#, start with AB-410.
It's a developer exam, and the weights show it. Extend Microsoft Power Platform alone is 35 to 40 percent, and it expects you to write and register plug-ins, call the Dataverse Web API and SDKs, and connect Foundry agents through MCP servers. Microsoft also notes the exam can include Preview features when they're commonly used, so study from the current product documentation rather than older PL-400 material.
If you write code on Power Platform or Dynamics 365, yes. It's Microsoft's developer certification for the platform, it costs one $165 exam, it renews free each year, and it meets the associate requirement for the AB-100 expert now that the PL-600 architect credential has retired. It's less useful if you build only with low-code tools, where AB-410 is the better fit.
Tell us whether you're booked on PL-400, planning for AB-400, or training a team of Power Platform developers, and we'll help you plan the next step.