Microsoft announced a new expert certification on October 15, 2026: Microsoft Certified: Agentic DevOps Engineer Expert, earned with Exam AZ-401, which is in beta now. AZ-400 and the DevOps Engineer Expert certification retire on February 1, 2027. The exam is not a light refresh. The domain weights moved a lot.
The verdict
AZ-401 (Designing and Implementing Microsoft Agentic DevOps Solutions) replaces AZ-400 (Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions). It keeps the same five-domain shape, but the weight shifts away from pipelines and toward security and instrumentation. It also adds AI assistance tools to the skills Microsoft expects, with experience in both Azure DevOps and GitHub.
The certification path changed too. DevOps Engineer Expert needs AZ-400 plus one qualifying associate exam. Agentic DevOps Engineer Expert needs AZ-401 plus either GH-300 (GitHub Copilot) or AZ-104 (Azure Administrator).
If you are preparing for AZ-400 now, check your timeline against February 1, 2027. You can practice AZ-400 questions here while it is still available.
Quick changelog
- New exam: AZ-401 is in beta. Microsoft says general availability is planned for December 2026.
- Retiring: AZ-400 and Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert retire on February 1, 2027.
- Reweighted: Pipelines drop from 50-55% to 35-40%. Instrumentation rises from 5-10% to 15-20%. Security and compliance rises from 10-15% to 15-20%.
- Added: AI assistance tools across the DevOps work, with Azure DevOps and GitHub both in scope.
- Unchanged: Passing score is 700. Source control stays at 10-15%.
AZ-400 and AZ-401 side by side
| Item | AZ-400 | AZ-401 (beta) |
|---|---|---|
| Certification | Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert | Microsoft Certified: Agentic DevOps Engineer Expert (beta) |
| Status | Retires February 1, 2027 | Beta, general availability planned for December 2026 |
| Passing score | 700 | 700 |
| Other exam needed for the certification | One qualifying associate exam | GH-300 or AZ-104 |
| Price | Typically US$165, varies by country or region | $165 USD in the United States |
| Languages | English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Traditional), Italian | English |
| Practice Assessment | Available | Not available yet |
Beta exams are not scored right away. Microsoft uses beta results to check question quality, rescores when the exam goes live, and releases final results about 10 days later.
Domain weights: what moved
| Domain | AZ-400 | AZ-401 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design and implement processes and communications | 10-15% | 15-20% | Up |
| Design and implement a source control strategy | 10-15% | 10-15% | Same |
| Design and implement build and release pipelines | 50-55% | 35-40% | Down 15 points |
| Security and compliance plan | 10-15% | 15-20% | Up |
| Implement an instrumentation strategy | 5-10% | 15-20% | Up 10 points |
Pipelines is still the largest domain on AZ-401, but it no longer carries more than half the exam. Instrumentation was the lightest AZ-400 domain at 5-10%. On AZ-401 it is as heavy as processes and security.
What this means for study time: if your AZ-400 plan put most hours into YAML pipelines and deployments, rebalance. Monitoring, KQL, alerts and security scanning now each carry as much weight as processes and communications. Microsoft lists YAML, KQL and Bicep as the code languages candidates should have practical experience with.
Who the exam is for
Microsoft describes the agentic DevOps engineer as a developer or infrastructure administrator who works with people, processes and products to enable continuous delivery of value, and who improves DevOps processes by integrating AI assistance tools. You collaborate with developers, site reliability engineers, platform engineers, Azure administrators and security engineers.
You should have strong skills in either administering or developing solutions with Microsoft technologies, and experience implementing both Azure DevOps and GitHub solutions using Microsoft and GitHub AI tools.
The certification path
To earn Microsoft Certified: Agentic DevOps Engineer Expert, you pass AZ-401 and one of these two exams:
If you already hold AZ-104 or are close to it, AZ-401 is the only new exam you need to add.
Beta discount and timing
Microsoft is offering 80% off AZ-401 beta for the first 300 candidates who take it on or before November 2, 2026. Seats are first come, first served, and the offer is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India or China. The discount code is listed in Microsoft's announcement.
Microsoft also lists a self-paced Learn Plan, Optimize DevOps with AI agents on Azure, and an exam sandbox that demos the exam experience. Learning paths and the Practice Assessment for AZ-401 are not available yet. Microsoft says Practice Assessments usually appear within 8 weeks of an exam leaving beta.
Should you take AZ-400 or wait for AZ-401?
- Already studying for AZ-400: you have until February 1, 2027, and the exam covers the same five domain areas. Reweight your plan toward the domains above before you test.
- Starting from scratch: AZ-401 is the exam that stays. The beta runs now and general availability is planned for December 2026, so your window overlaps with both.
- Need the DevOps Engineer Expert credential specifically: complete AZ-400 before February 1, 2027.
For other Microsoft expert and associate exams, see the Microsoft exam hub.