If you are part-way through PL-400 study, you have about a month to decide something. Microsoft has confirmed that PL-400 is transitioning to AB-400 on 16 October 2026, and the replacement exam is not a cosmetic rename. Six domains become four, the user experience section more than doubles in weight, and agentic AI moves from absent to assumed.
The short answer: the certification you earn is identical either way, so book PL-400 before 15 October only if you are ready to sit it now. If you need more than four weeks of preparation, study for AB-400 instead and skip the scramble.
Here is exactly what is changing, taken from Microsoft's own exam pages rather than from the resellers still selling three-year-old PL-400 material.
What Microsoft Has Actually Confirmed
Two notes on Microsoft Learn settle this. The PL-400 exam page carries the line "PL-400 is transitioning to AB-400 to align the exam within Microsoft's certification portfolio." The AB-400 page carries the line "The updated AB-400 exam will be available beginning October 16, 2026, and registration is available today."
The new exam's full name is AB-400: Extending Microsoft Power Platform Solutions with Code and AI. Both pages were updated on 10 September 2026, so this is current rather than a rumour circulating from a partner briefing.
Exam Tip: Registration for AB-400 is open now, before the exam itself goes live on 16 October 2026. If you want the new version, you can book it today.
Two details matter more than most coverage admits.
First, the certification does not change. Both exams lead to Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate. Nobody's badge is being invalidated and nobody needs to re-sit anything.
Second, PL-400's English content was last updated on 19 September 2023. The exam you would be rushing to book tests a version of Power Platform that predates Copilot Studio's current shape entirely.
The Domain Changes, Side by Side
This is the part that decides whether your notes survive. PL-400 assesses six domains. AB-400 assesses four.
| PL-400 domain | Weight | AB-400 domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create a technical design | 10-15% | Build Microsoft Power Platform solutions | 15-20% |
| Configure Microsoft Dataverse | 15-20% | (folded into the above) | - |
| Create and configure Power Apps | 10-15% | (folded into the above) | - |
| Extend the user experience | 10-15% | Extend the user experience | 25-30% |
| Extend the platform | 35-40% | Extend Microsoft Power Platform | 35-40% |
| Develop integrations | 5-10% | Develop integrations | 10-15% |
Three things fall out of that table.
The biggest single shift is the user experience domain. It roughly doubles, from 10-15% to 25-30%. PCF components, client scripting and command bar customisation stop being a side chapter and become a quarter of the exam.
Three PL-400 domains collapse into one. Technical design, Dataverse configuration and Power Apps creation are now a single 15-20% domain called "Build Microsoft Power Platform solutions". Combined, those three were worth 35-50% on PL-400. On AB-400 that whole area is worth at most 20%.
Extending the platform is untouched at 35-40%. Plugins, custom APIs, Dataverse web API work and the rest of the server-side extensibility surface remains the largest domain on the exam. If that is where your preparation is strongest, it transfers cleanly.
The New Skills AB-400 Expects
The candidate profiles diverge sharply. PL-400 expects development experience with JavaScript, JSON, TypeScript, C#, HTML, RESTful web APIs and Azure.
AB-400 keeps all of that, then adds:
- Power Fx, Python and YAML alongside the existing languages
- Microsoft Foundry and Microsoft Copilot Studio
- Agentic AI as part of your solution logic, stated explicitly in the skills measured
- Microsoft Power Platform CLI as part of the development workflow
- AI assisted tools and agents for building and troubleshooting solutions
That last group is the real reason for the rename. AB-400 assumes you build with AI agents in the solution, not just around it. A PL-400 study guide written in 2023 covers none of it.
Should You Sit PL-400 Before 15 October 2026?
Work through this rather than guessing.
Sit PL-400 if:
- You are already exam-ready and could book this week
- Your strength is Dataverse configuration and Power Apps, which carry far more weight on the old exam
- You have a voucher expiring before AB-400's content is properly documented
- You have no working knowledge of Copilot Studio or agent-based solutions
Wait for AB-400 if:
- You need more than four weeks of preparation
- You already build with Copilot Studio, Power Fx or Foundry in your day job
- Your employer wants evidence of AI development skills specifically
- You would rather hold a credential earned against 2026 content than 2023 content
The honest framing is this. Rushing PL-400 buys you an easier exam on material you may already know. It does not buy you a better certification, because the credential name is the same on both sides of 16 October. Anyone reading your transcript sees "Power Platform Developer Associate" either way.
PL-400 Exam Facts Worth Knowing Before You Book
PL-400 costs $165 USD in most regions, with pricing varying by country. The passing score is 700 out of 1000, which Microsoft confirms on the exam page. Microsoft does not publish an official question count or time limit for the exam, so treat any specific figure you see from a third-party site as an estimate rather than a fact.
PL-400 is currently available in German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil) and Simplified Chinese. AB-400 launches in English only, which is a genuine reason to sit PL-400 first if you were planning to test in another language.
Exam Tip: Microsoft historically updates localised exam versions around eight weeks after the English version. If you need a non-English sitting, PL-400 before 15 October is the safer booking.
How This Fits the Wider Power Platform Shake-Up
AB-400 is not an isolated change. Microsoft has spent 2026 moving the PL series into the AB range as part of a broader portfolio realignment around AI.
PL-200 was replaced by AB-410, covered in PL-200 Is Being Replaced by AB-410 in 2026. PL-500 and PL-600 have already gone, and the current path is mapped in PL-500 and PL-600 Are Retired: The Power Platform Certification Path in 2026. Even the fundamentals exam moved, with new Copilot Studio content documented in PL-900 Exam Changes in 2026.
The pattern is consistent across all four. Microsoft is not retiring Power Platform certification. It is rebuilding every exam around agents, Copilot Studio and AI-assisted development, then renumbering it to match.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PL-400 retired?
Not yet. PL-400 remains available until 15 October 2026, and the exam page lists no formal retirement date. From 16 October 2026 the exam is delivered as AB-400 instead.
What is the passing score for the PL-400 exam?
700 out of 1000, as stated on the Microsoft Learn exam page. Microsoft scales scores, so it does not correspond to a fixed percentage of questions answered correctly.
What is PL-400 certification used for?
It validates that you can design, develop, test, secure and troubleshoot Power Platform solutions using code, covering plugins, PCF components, custom connectors, Dataverse web API integrations and custom process automation. It leads to the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate credential.
Will my PL-400 certification still be valid after AB-400 launches?
Yes. The certification is unchanged and remains on your Microsoft Learn transcript. Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate credentials renew annually through the free online renewal assessment, regardless of which exam earned them.
Is the PL-200 certification retired?
PL-200 has been replaced by AB-410, following the same renaming pattern as PL-400 to AB-400. The full timeline is covered in our PL-200 to AB-410 guide.
Ready to Start Practising?
Whichever side of 16 October you land on, the 35-40% extensibility domain is unchanged and it is the largest part of both exams. Time spent on plugins, custom APIs and the Dataverse web API is time that counts either way.
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