Azure Certification Roadmap 2026: All 26 Exams & Major Restructure (AI-901/AI-103/SC-500)

Microsoft Azure certifications are the certification family that most often leaves engineers wondering "which one should I take next?" The reason is straightforward: all 26 exams are split across the Fundamentals / Associate / Expert / Specialty tiers and further sliced vertically by role (Administrator / Developer / Architect / DevOps / Security / Data / AI), forcing you to internalize a two-dimensional matrix. This article condenses that landscape into a single overview, including the major 2026 restructure, and shows concrete routes for both beginners and experienced engineers.

This year is particularly notable thanks to the refresh of three exams — AI-901, AI-103, and SC-500 — making it the largest restructure year in the past five. For anyone planning their exam schedule, retirement dates now drive the decision: AI-102 retired on June 30, 2026 and AZ-500 retires on August 31, 2026, so anyone starting on those tracks today goes straight to AI-103 and SC-500. By the end of this article, you should be able to align your career direction with the current timing and confidently pick your next exam.

The Four Tiers of Azure Certification

Microsoft certifications form a four-tier structure: a main line of Fundamentals → Associate → Expert, plus a cross-cutting Specialty tier. One important point: Microsoft certifications generally have no prerequisites. That means a beginner can technically jump straight to AZ-104 or AZ-305. In practice, however, pass rates and study efficiency make it realistic for beginners to build up from Fundamentals.

Fundamentals exams share the same specs across all five: 45 minutes, ~40-60 questions, 700 to pass, no expiration, 99 USD. They are concept-heavy and require no coding (AI-901 is the exception — it requires Python), so business roles can take them.Associate exams are 100-120 minutes, 40-60 questions, 700 to pass, valid for 12 months, 165 USD. They test hands-on implementation experience, so self-study on Microsoft Learn alone is not enough — practical work in the Azure portal is effectively required.Expert exams are for Associate-holders and test architecture decisions and trade-offs via scenario-based questions.Specialty exams focus on a specific domain and sit at difficulty between Associate and Expert.

How to Choose Among the 5 Fundamentals Exams

The 5 Fundamentals exams each frame Azure through a different lens. You do not need to take all of them — picking 1 or 2 that match your career direction is the efficient approach.AZ-900 (Azure Fundamentals) is the most general cloud-overview exam.DP-900 (Data Fundamentals) covers SQL, NoSQL, and analytics services for data-focused roles.SC-900 (Security, Compliance & Identity Fundamentals) introduces Zero Trust, the Defender family, and Entra ID — well regarded in security roles and information systems departments.MS-900 (Microsoft 365 Fundamentals) centered on Microsoft 365 SaaS and was approachable for business roles, but the exam and its certification retired on March 31, 2026, and Microsoft has stated that no new certification is planned to replace it.

AI-901 (Azure AI Fundamentals), which went GA in June 2026, succeeds the old AI-900 but has a very different character. Where AI-900 introduced individual Cognitive Services at a conceptual level, AI-901 pivots to writing Python code on the unified Microsoft Foundry platform. That coding requirement makes AI-901 unusual among Fundamentals — it stands apart from the other four. AI-900, the no-coding option, retired on June 30, 2026 and can no longer be taken, so non-technical and business roles now have to either work through the Python content in AI-901 or look at a different path. Note that only the exam retired — the Azure AI Fundamentals certification itself lives on, now earned via AI-901.

The Associate Tier: A Role-by-Role Map of 9 Exams

The Associate tier is where you most clearly define your role. For infrastructure and operations, AZ-104 (Azure Administrator Associate) is effectively required. It covers a broad range of operations knowledge — VMs, VNet, Storage, Entra ID, Backup — and serves as the foundation for Architect (AZ-305) and DevOps (AZ-400). In Japan, AZ-104 is the most demanded Azure certification on the job market.

For developers, AZ-204 (Azure Developer Associate) was traditionally the standard, but the exam and its certification retired on July 31, 2026. Its successor is the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate certification, earned through Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure. If you want to pursue the developer path, you can go straight for AI-200, or build a foundation with AZ-104 first. If you are strongly interested in containers and serverless, studying for AZ-400 (DevOps Engineer Expert) in parallel is another option.

For networking specialists, there is AZ-700 (Azure Network Engineer Associate). It goes deep on network design — VNet, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, Azure Firewall, Front Door, and more. It is a strong differentiator in the network engineer job market.

The data family includes three exams.DP-203 (Data Engineer Associate) centered on data pipeline design with ADF, Synapse, and Databricks, but the exam and its certification retired on March 31, 2025, and Microsoft now points candidates to DP-700 instead.DP-300 (Database Administrator Associate) specializes in operating Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance.DP-700 (Fabric Data Engineer Associate) is a new 2024 exam centered on Microsoft Fabric — the SaaS that unifies Power BI Premium, Synapse, and Data Factory — for data engineering. Because Microsoft's forward data strategy is shifting heavily toward Fabric, DP-700 is worth considering for new candidates.

On the AI side, AI-103 (Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate) has been available since June 2026. AI-102 retired on June 30, 2026, and AI-103 is its successor, focusing on agent development with the Microsoft Foundry SDK, prompt engineering, and Responsible AI governance. The new AI developer career path is AI-901 (Fundamentals) → AI-103 (Associate).

On security, there are two exams.SC-200 (Security Operations Analyst) covers SOC operations centered on Microsoft Sentinel and Defender XDR.SC-300 (Identity and Access Administrator) targets Entra ID administrators, centered on Conditional Access and Privileged Identity Management.

The 3 Expert Exams

The Expert tier layers "design judgment," "organization-wide governance," and "trade-offs across multiple services" on top of the implementation skills built at the Associate tier.AZ-305 (Solutions Architect Expert) tests Azure solution design starting from business requirements. The exam is dominated by scenario-based questions that span identity, data, infrastructure, and governance, with AZ-104 implementation experience as an effective prerequisite. In Japan, it is widely recognized as the top Architect-role credential and serves as a step into senior roles in the 8-12 million JPY salary band.

AZ-400 (DevOps Engineer Expert) is the capstone of engineering practice centered on CI/CD, IaC, monitoring, and GitOps. Both Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions are tested, and you also need stack-level understanding of Bicep, Terraform, ARM, Helm, and Kubernetes. Either AZ-104 or AZ-204 hands-on experience is recommended.

SC-100 (Cybersecurity Architect Expert) targets roles designing organization-wide security strategy. It tests CISO-team-level perspectives: Zero Trust design, Microsoft Defender suite integration, and compliance. This is the only exam where Microsoft effectively expects you to already hold one of SC-200 or SC-300 as a prerequisite (per Microsoft's recommendation). MS-500 used to count here too, but it retired with its certification on June 30, 2023; there is no single successor, and Microsoft recommends SC-200, SC-300, and SC-401 in its place. AZ-500 used to count here as well, but it retires on August 31, 2026, so new candidates should satisfy the prerequisite with its successor SC-500 (Microsoft Certified: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate) instead.

The 6 Specialty Exams

The Specialty tier proves deep expertise in a specific domain.AZ-120 (SAP on Azure) targets architects on SAP migration projects, AZ-140 (Azure Virtual Desktop) specializes in AVD design and operations, AZ-220 (Azure IoT Developer) targets IoT developers centered on IoT Hub and Edge, and AZ-700-NV (Azure for SAP HANA Specialty) is HANA-specific. Versatility is low, but if you work in the matching domain, these become strong career differentiators. Conversely, if you are at the "keep my career options broad" stage, the industry consensus is that investing in Associate and Expert tiers offers higher ROI.

The Major 2026 Restructure

2026 is the largest certification restructure year in the past five. Three tracks are being revised in parallel. First, on the AI track, the AI-900 exam retired on June 30, 2026, with AI-901 (Microsoft Foundry-centered) taking over as the successor. Only the exam retired — the Azure AI Fundamentals certification itself remains, and AI-901 is now how you earn it. At the same time, AI-102 retired on June 30, 2026 and was replaced by AI-103 (Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate), centered on generative AI agent development with the Microsoft Foundry SDK. This reflects how Microsoft's own AI strategy has shifted from "a collection of individual Cognitive Services" to "a unified Foundry platform."

Next, on the security track, AZ-500 (Azure Security Engineer) retires on August 31, 2026, and its successor is SC-500 (Microsoft Certified: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate). The new exam asks more deeply about integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, shifting from the pure-Azure focus of the AZ-500 era to designs that take the full Defender XDR suite into account. An AZ-500 you already passed stays on your Microsoft transcript, but it is not automatically converted to SC-500, and it can no longer be renewed once the exam retires. To keep a valid security credential going forward, you have to pass SC-500 as a new certification.

On the developer track, AZ-204 retired with its certification on July 31, 2026. Its successor is the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate certification, earned through Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure. Anyone validating a developer career through Azure certification from here on should target AI-200, with AZ-104 and AZ-400 as useful complements.

Standard Routes by Role

Below are the most commonly accepted exam orders for each role. These are general guidelines — adjust them based on your work experience and career goals.

Career Value in the Japanese Market

Recognition of Azure certifications in Japan has risen significantly thanks to Microsoft's aggressive ecosystem investment since 2020. Major SIers — NTT East, SoftBank, JBS, Itochu Techno-Solutions, and Fujitsu — have incorporated AZ-900 into new-hire training and mid-career onboarding criteria, and AZ-104 / AZ-305 holders occupy core mid-tier cloud-engineering positions. On Indeed Japan, postings mentioning "Azure certification" exceeded 3,500 as of May 2026, and Architect roles targeting AZ-305 holders typically sit in the 8-12 million JPY salary band.

Certificates upon passing are issued as Credly open badges, which you can drop into LinkedIn, GitHub profiles, and resumes. The standard listing format is Passed Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), Month YYYY, and using the official English name as-is is the recommended convention. Japanese role names (e.g. "Azure ソリューションアーキテクト") work fine for internal documents, but on the job market the consensus is that the official English names carry higher recognition.

Four Official Routes to Lower Exam Costs

Microsoft certification fees are not cheap — 13,200 JPY even for Fundamentals, and 21,103 JPY for Associate and Expert. For anyone taking multiple exams a year, free and discounted routes matter. The most reliable option is Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: completing both Part 1 and Part 2 earns a Fundamentals-eligible voucher (~165 USD value) within 5 business days. Japanese-language sessions are held regularly.

The second route is Microsoft Reactor's free events. Some hands-on sessions offer Associate / Expert vouchers, announced via the Reactor mailing list. The third is the corporate Microsoft Azure Pass: if your employer holds an enterprise contract, in-house IT often subsidizes exam fees. The fourth is Microsoft Learn's Cloud Skills Challenge. Time-limited events let completers enter a voucher raffle, and past editions have distributed vouchers to all completers.

Where to Start

Finally, here are three concrete action paths to take after reading this article.

For total beginners or engineers with experience on another cloud (AWS / GCP): the highest-ROI route is to complete Virtual Training Day, get a free voucher, and take AZ-900. Expect 25-40 hours of study with no prior experience, or 5-15 hours coming from another cloud.

For engineers already working with Azure: skip AZ-900 and start with AZ-104. Plan on 60-100 hours of hands-on practice, and prep using the Microsoft Learn AZ-104 learning path along with the official Practice Assessment.

For those wanting to ride the 2026 restructure wave: taking AI-901 (GA June), AI-103 (GA June), or SC-500 (successor to AZ-500 — check Microsoft Learn for its GA date) early positions you as a rare early holder with elevated market value.

Frequently Asked Questions

Certification information and exam specs in this article are based on the official Microsoft Learn Credentials page and the MicrosoftDocs GitHub repository (CC BY 4.0). This article is not an official Microsoft Corporation product and has no affiliation or sponsorship relationship. Microsoft, Azure, Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft Defender are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Information reflects official publications as of May 24, 2026. For the latest details, always check the Microsoft Learn certification catalog.