PL-400 Closes Friday. AB-400 Takes Over

Microsoft is swapping the exam behind the Power Platform Developer Associate this week. On October 16, registration for PL-400 closes and registration opens only for AB-400, according to the exam page on Microsoft Learn.

The certification itself stays the same. It's still Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate. Only the exam code changes.

If you register for PL-400 on or before October 16, you can still schedule and sit it through October 30. After that, AB-400 is the only way in.

AB-400 is available in English only for now. PL-400 comes in 8 languages, so that matters if you test in German, Japanese, Portuguese or one of the others.

Microsoft describes the new exam as validating your ability to build AI-powered business solutions with generative AI, custom development, automation and integrations.

PL-400 listed 6 areas. AB-400 lists 4, with these weights:

Extending the platform is the biggest slice by a wide margin. And agentic AI now sits inside the job description. The exam page says you implement agentic AI "as part of your solution logic."

The experience list grew too. It now names Python, YAML, Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio next to the JavaScript, TypeScript, C# and Power Fx you'd expect. If your Power Platform work has been mostly Power Fx and connectors, I'd budget extra time for the AI and Foundry material.

One more catch. The Learn page for AB-400 says learning paths and modules aren't available yet. There's a study guide and an exam sandbox, but the guided training hasn't caught up with the exam.

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Extending the platform at 35-40% means more than a third of your score comes from one area. Add the 25-30% for the user experience and 2 areas carry over half the exam.

I haven't seen the full skills outline for either one yet, so check the study guide for the specifics. The weights still say a lot. This exam leans toward people who write code against Power Platform, so build something in a real environment before exam day.

Already studying for PL-400 and nearly ready? Book it before Friday and take it by October 30. Your prep stays useful and you skip the new material.

Just starting out? Go straight to AB-400. Studying for an exam that's about to disappear isn't worth the effort.

Already hold the certification? The certification name is the same, so there's nothing to do today. Check your expiration date on your Learn profile and plan around it.

I'd read the AB-400 study guide before deciding either way. The weights tell you more about where Microsoft thinks Power Platform developers spend their time than the announcement does.

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