Certifications
Microsoft certification renewals: what the free assessment actually asks
Role-based certifications expire annually and renew free online. What the assessment is like, when to take it, and what happens if you miss it.
How renewal works now
Role-based and specialty certifications are valid for one year. Renewal is a free, unproctored, open-book assessment taken on Microsoft Learn, available from six months before expiry. There is no fee and no test centre.
It is materially easier than the original exam and it is not a formality. It covers what has changed in the product over the year, which is precisely the material somebody who has not touched the product will not know.
Practical points people get wrong
The window opens six months out, not one
Take it early. Renewing early does not shorten your certification, the new expiry runs from the old one.
Unlimited attempts, with a cooling period
Failing is recoverable. There is a wait between attempts, which is why leaving it to the final week is the actual risk.
Open book is not open ended
It is timed. Looking up every question is not viable, and candidates who plan to do that run out of time rather than fail on knowledge.
Expired means retaking the full exam
There is no grace period and no renewal path once it lapses. You sit the proctored exam again and pay for it.
What to do about a retiring certification
Do not assume a retired certification stays renewable. Microsoft sometimes closes the renewal assessment on the same day as the exam. AZ-500 is the recent example: exam and renewal both retired on 31 August 2026. MS-102 follows on 30 November 2026, and Microsoft says the Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert certification cannot be earned or renewed after that date.
If your credential is on a retiring path, the sensible move is to earn the replacement rather than to keep renewing something nobody will be able to obtain in two years.
The verdict
Renew in the first month the window opens
It is free, it is quick, and doing it early removes the risk of a lapse that costs you a full proctored exam fee.
Do not renew a credential on a retiring path indefinitely. Move to the replacement while the study overlap is still high.
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