I’ve received many questions regarding the entire process of Microsoft certifications over the years. Some of the most common questions I’ve gotten are around the topic of whether Microsoft certifications expire and how you renew them when they do. The short answer is, yes, most Microsoft certifications do expire, and will require a renewal to keep the certification current. However, there are some older Microsoft certifications that don’t expire. This article will go through and answer these questions in more detail.
Table of Contents
When do Role-based Microsoft Certifications expire?
The role-based Microsoft certifications that are currently offered will expire after 1 year from the date they are earned. This applied to the Associate, Expert, and Specialty certifications.
If you earned role-based Microsoft certifications prior to June 30, 2021, then your certification had a 2 years expiration from the date earned. As the 2 year expiration elapses for those that still remain, they will be required to renew to stay current, and the renewal will be set to the newer 1 year certification expiration period after renewal.
How do you renew Role-based Microsoft Certifications?
Before the Microsoft certification expires, it can be renewed. When your Microsoft certification reached the period of 6 months prior to the expiration date, you will be eligible to take an online, unproctored assessement for free to renew the certification. This makes it extremely easy to keep your Microsoft certifications current.
If not renewed before the expiration date, Microsoft certifications can no longer be easily renewed with a simple assessment. If you do not renew the Microsoft certification before the expiration date, then you will be required to pay for and take the current version of the proctored certification exam.
These are the key items to know about when looking at renewing your Microsoft certifications:
- Renewing Microsoft certifications is completely free.
- You have a 6-month renewal window before the Microsoft certification expiration in which you can take the necessary steps to renew.
- Microsoft certification renewals are short assessments that only cover recently changed technology questions on the current version of the exam, are unproctored, and easy to take on your own.
Tip: Be sure to renew Microsoft certifications before the expiration date. Once Microsoft certifications expire, you will no longer be eligible to take the free renewal assessment. You will need to take the full exam again.
To check if your Microsoft certifications are eligible for the renewal process, go to the “Certification Renewals” page on Microsoft Learn, and login with your MS account associated with your certifications.
What about Microsoft “Beta” Certification Exam expiration?
When taking Microsoft certification exams during their “Beta” period, you are taking an unreleased version of the exam. The exam results take longer to analyze by Microsoft to determine if you pass the exam and earn the subsequent certification. As a result, the expiration of certifications earned by taking “Beta” exams is set to expire 1 year after the date the certification exam goes live (or is generally available), instead of the date you passed / took the “Beta” exam.
Which Microsoft Certifications do not expire?
There were many older Microsoft certifications that are no longer offered, that do not expire. These are all older, outdated certifications that just didn’t have an expiration date back when they were offered. These certifications wont expire, but the many of them validate skills that are outdated and likely not in demand much anymore either.
These are the categories of Microsoft certifications that do not expire: MOS, MTA, MCSA, MCSD, MCSE, and MCE certifications.
Happy studying and maintaining your Microsoft certifications!
About the Author
Chris Pietschmann
Chris Pietschmann is a Microsoft MVP, HashiCorp Ambassador, and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) with 20+ years of experience designing and building Cloud & Enterprise systems. He has worked with companies of all sizes from startups to large enterprises. He has a passion for technology and sharing what he learns with others to help enable them to learn faster and be more productive.
Azure Functions: Extend Execution Timeout Past 5 Minutes
Azure Regions: Interactive Map of Global Datacenters
Azure Resource Naming Conventions and Best Practices
Terraform: Deploy to Multiple Azure Subscriptions in Single Project
Terraform: Azure Resource Tags Tips
How to Perform Simple String Concatenation in Terraform
In my case I got MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure back in September 2017. Does that mean that the certification will be current until September 2018, or the Current status expired Jan 1st 2018?
The MCSE doesn’t really expire, but will be “marked” as 2017. Since it doesn’t expire, it will still who as “Active” on your official MCP transcript. Unless you’re planning on taking / passing additional certification exams as they relate to your job / role this year, personally I would recommend waiting until 2019 to renew. Unless of course you feel you want to retake one of the exams to stay current with recently changed objectives. It’s really up to you, and not a requirement for some time yet. 🙂
Great explanation. For the newer MCSE certifications though the terminology is that you don’t have to renew, but you have the ability to re-earn the MCSE each year to show that you are up to date with the current requirements. Thanks again for an excellent post.
Sure, no problem. I’m glad you found the article useful!
Can you please comment on how these expirations and/or status changes in individual certifications impact a companies Silver and Gold status once the individual’s certs are associated with a company? Can a company loose its Silver status, for example, if an individual’s certification status changes (they haven’t retaken an exam since 2016, say)?
As far as I know they’ll still count as the exams and certs are not retired. However, I would contact the MS Partner program to find out a definitive answer just in case.
Respected sir
I am appearing in MCSA windows server 2016 next month. But I want to confirm something regarding names policy, I have my Primary/Secondary ID(s), but in the ID(s) last name is not shown, as in my country last name has no priority(Pakistan). But in Microsoft Exam registration Last name is required.I have my last name but not declared in ID(s) unintentionally.
I am also Microsoft certified from certiport Panel in MOS(Word, Excel, Power point) using last name, even in my University degree last name is shown.
So Can I appear in MCSA using last name, will Microsoft let me appear in Exam?
Awaiting your positive response.
Thanks
I would recommend you contact either Microsoft Learning or the testing center you plan to take the exam at. They will have all the information you need for this.
Hi Mr. Chris I want to ask one question that what is Charter Member and does it expire or not.
“Charter Member” just means that you passed the exams before Microsoft designated the specific MCSA or MCSE certification, and you were basically “grandfathered in” and automatically granted the certification because of the previous exams you’ve passed. Expiration and Retirement still applies just the same.
Thank for your informative article. You mentioned that MCSA’s don’t expire, but am I correct Microsoft has now retired the MCSA in general and thus you can’t get a new MCSA?
Sorry, meant to say “MCSA for SharePoint” everywhere I wrote MCSA.
You are correct, the MCSA: Sharepoint certification has retired. As a result, of retiring the certification, it has essentially been retired and is no longer current. When exams and certifications are retired, that’s the only way that Microsoft certifications really expire. However, if you have earned the MCSA: SharePoint certification then you still are certified in SharePoint, but it’s getting dated and may not be relevant anymore as a result.
Peguei o transcript atual, mas não encontrei/não é exibido a informação de “ACTIVE MICROSOFT CERTIFICATIONS” ou “LEGACY MICROSOFT CERTIFICATIONS”
sabem onde encontro esta informação?
I passed the 7 exams for MCSE NT in year 2000. I kept that on my resume..even when i did not take any new exams. I heard mcse Nt for life..even when it is a legacy and the cert long retired. Am I right to keep in in resume..?? I have worked with 2008, 2012 and 2016 servers.but never took exams. In a recent onterview..they asked me.about it. I told them that itt was NT. They made me feel like ai should not have had it there. But I understand MS allows to keep the cert for life..even if itntagged with the technology or year when taken. Please advise.
As long it’s relevant to your career it makes sense to have it listed, but MCSE NT is really not something that adds to your credentials at this point. If you want to keep it on there I’d suggest labeling at NT to make it clear it’s not current Windows Server. If you have it labeled appropriately then I don’t know why anyone would really have a problem with it there.
Here is my transcript:
———————————————————————————————
Microsoft® Certified Solutions Associate: Web Applications (Charter)*
September 26, 2016
Microsoft Specialist: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
December 29, 2014
Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer: Web Applications (Inactive)
May 28, 2014
Microsoft Specialist: Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3
May 28, 2014
Microsoft Certified Professional: Microsoft Certified Professional
April 29, 2014
———————————————————————————————
Can you suggest me how to renew my MSCD certificate?
Need to give 70-494-Recertification for MCSD: Web Applications?
OR
I need to give all 3 three exam to renew my MSCD certificate?
The 70-494 exam has already been retired, so you can’t take it anymore. I don’t know what exams you’ve already passed, but if you most recent certification is from 2014, then you’ll likely need to take all the current exams necessary for the newer certifications.
Thanks for reply.
I already passed out following exams:
– 70-480, 70-487, 70-486, 70-533
I want to earn MCSD App Builder certificate.
Now this certificate need is MCSA + 1 Exam. I already have MCSA So I just need to pass one exam right?
But Now Problem is When I selected 70-487 exam from step 2 list of exam. But that is I already passed out at that time of MCSD web application certificate.
And When I tried to schedule this exam then I getting following error.
“our records indicate that you have already passed this exam and are ineligible to take the exam again if your record so otherwise, please contact customer support.”
So Can you suggest me when I will do?
Other exams(In step 2) are not that much helpful as per my current job, so selecting that exam which is not helpful to me.
Ref: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/learning/mcsd-app-builder-certification.aspx
Once you earn an MCSA certification, then you need to pass 1 additional exam to earn the MCSD.
Hi! Great article, but I want to ask one thing about expiry date of Microsoft certifications. Does MCE (Microsoft Certified Educator) expire? Thanks
Sorry, I’m not familiar with the specifics of the Microsoft Certified Educator. Please contact Microsoft directly with any questions about this. Thanks!
Hi Chris,great article answered all my questions! However to keep my MCSE “Current” I was looking at exam 70-465 however this was released in June 2012, do you know if they plan to retire it in the near future?
I do not believe the 70-465 exam is retiring. However, I’m not sure which MCSE you have. If it is the MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure then you wont be able to renew it as that MCSE has been retired as of December 31, 2018.
What is the cost and yearly cost to re-new the MSCE?
This depends on the exams you need to take to earn the MCSE certification. Most exams are $165 USD to take, and it’s possible you’ll need to take them multiple times in order to get a passing score. Generally, the MCSE would require 3 certification exams to be passed to earn. Also, Microsoft does have exam retake vouchers available where you can purchase an exam voucher to take an exam for a little more than the normal price, and if you fail you can retake it for free 1 more time. Overall, the cost can vary additionally due to what ever study / training materials and services you subscribe to and use for study.
Thank you for reply.
Can you please help me, I am too much confused about which exam I need to give. Even I contacted to microsoft support but still I am struggling for my answer.
Currently Active certificate is: Microsoft® Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)
And I want to achieve MCSD: App Builder.
I already passed following exams: 70-533, 70-480, 70-487, 70-486
Now my question is I already passed 70-487 exam and If I will give this exam again then I will get MCSD: App Builder certificate?
OR
I need to select another exam from list of step 2.
Note: In MCSD: App Builder certificate path needed MCSA + 1 Exam from list (70-487 exam is one of exam)
So please help me.
MCSD: App Builder link which I am following.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/learning/mcsd-app-builder-certification.aspx
If you pass an exam (so long as it’s current) it will count towards any certifications it count for. You do not need to take an exam multiple times. Unless the exam was updated and you took it over a year ago, then you may need to take it again or choose another that qualifies for the certification you’re after.
HI,
I passed MCP 2003 Exam on 2007, Now i am looking MCSE certification, Can you Advice me,If i take other two server papers, can i get the MCSA certificate..
Your existing certifications from 2007 will be out dated and not able to be upgraded. As a result, you’ll need to start from the beginning with the current MCSA certification you are looking at. This is as expected since your old certifications are no longer relevant with current technologies, I’m sure. The MCSA certifications require 2 exam to pass in order to earn the certification.
Do the new Role Based certificates expire ?
There’s no specific expiration announced for them. As with the past Microsoft Certifications, I’ll imagine they’ll eventually be labeled with the year you earned it, and you’ll be able to upgrade it annually to be the latest, current certification if desired. But, this is a guess, as Microsoft hasn’t announced how this will work yet with the new role based certifications.
Hello, I have a question about MTA. I’m trying to take MTA 98-349 – Windows Operating System Fundamentals. This seems like used to consider as part of MCP.
Exam is still active on the Microsoft. Can I still take this exam and earn MCP?
Thank you.
If the exam is still active, then yes you can still take it.
Hello, I have completed my MCSD in Visual studio 6.0 which includes SQL 2000. I earned the MCSD credentials. So, it’s under legacy. So, is it expire ? If I post it in my linkedin profile, is there a expiration date ? I hope that once I gor the credentails in any ols technology, it will not expire. Please comment.
Hello, I have completed my MCSD in Visual studio 6.0 which includes SQL 2000. I earned the MCSD credentials. So, it’s under legacy. So, is it expire ? If I post it in my linkedin profile, there should be an expire date or not ? I hope that once I got the credentials in any old technology, it will not expire. Please comment.
It’s not really expired as much as it’s outdated. You still earned it! I have the same certification myself. I don’t see much value promoting it at this time anymore. Best to get a new, current certification to show your current expertise if certification provides value for you.