Which certifications cover Business Central?

What MB-800 tests

MB-800 is the exam for the person who sets up Business Central for a client. Microsoft's study guide lists the skills measured from June 30, 2026, in four areas: setting up Business Central (20 to 25 percent), configuring financials (30 to 35 percent), configuring sales and purchasing (10 to 15 percent), and running Business Central operations (30 to 35 percent). Finance and day-to-day operations make up most of the exam, so it reads like an accounting system test more than a technical one.

In practice that means creating companies with Assisted Setup and configuration packages, creating journal opening balances, migrating data, and setting up number series, job queues, report layouts, payment terms, currencies, bank accounts and fixed asset depreciation books. The operations section covers sales and purchase documents, payment and cash receipt journals, bank account reconciliation, and inventory transactions such as receipts, transfers and counts. The June 2026 outline includes processing inventory transactions and enabling Copilot and agent capabilities.

What MB-820 tests

MB-820 is for developers who extend Business Central in AL, the application language. The current skills outline is dated June 10, 2025. The biggest area is developing with AL objects (35 to 40 percent): tables, pages, enums, reports, XMLports, codeunits, queries and permission set objects. Writing AL code itself counts for 15 to 20 percent. Describing Business Central, setting up the development environment, development tools, and integration each count for 10 to 15 percent.

You need to know how to debug and deploy extensions in Visual Studio Code, write install and upgrade codeunits, use events and interfaces, and run the Test Toolkit. You also need to configure telemetry, call external REST services with the HTTP classes, and build APIs with OData actions. The certification page gives 100 minutes for the exam. It lists English, Chinese (Simplified), German, Spanish, French, Japanese and Portuguese (Brazil) as exam languages.

Which one should you take?

Take the exam that matches the work you do or want to do. If you configure finance, sales, purchasing and inventory, run workshops, and migrate data, take MB-800. If you write extensions, reports and integrations, take MB-820. A Business Central developer who knows the functional setup is easier to staff on small projects, so many developers end up taking both. Most take MB-800 first because MB-820 assumes you already know how the application works.

If you come from accounting, MB-800 is the natural first step because a third of it is financial configuration. If you come from NAV development in C/AL, MB-820 checks that you have moved to AL extensions, Visual Studio Code and modern deployment. No other Microsoft certification is built around Business Central. The Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Expert (exam AB-100) requires at least one listed associate certification, and both MB-800 and MB-820 are on that list.

Cost, renewal and how to study

Microsoft's exam FAQ says associate exams typically cost US$165, with prices set by the country or region where you sit the exam. Microsoft's exam page shows the price for your country. Students can get academic pricing if they verify their status before they pay. If you fail, you can retake the exam 24 hours after your first attempt. Later retakes have longer waits.

Associate certifications expire after one year. You renew by passing a free, unproctored, open-book assessment on Microsoft Learn. It opens six months before your expiry date, and passing it adds a year from that date. To prepare, work through the free Microsoft Learn learning paths, take the free practice assessment, and get hands-on time in a Business Central environment. Instructor-led courses MB-800T00 and MB-820T00 each run five days.

Pay

USD a year, before tax. D365 Market advertised pay from US adverts on this site that state pay, snapshot 2026-11-05: a small sample of 9 adverts from 8 employers. These are advertised figures, not earnings or an official rate, and they lean toward US states with pay transparency laws. Refer to the Business Central salary guide for figures from live adverts.

What you need

• No prerequisite examNeither Microsoft page lists another certification you must hold before you sit MB-800 or MB-820.
• Pass markYou need a scaled score of 700 or greater to pass either exam.
• Proctored examMB-820 is proctored and is booked through Pearson VUE. It may include interactive components.
• Personal accountMicrosoft advises you to register with a personal Microsoft account. If you use a work account and then leave the employer, your exam records can be lost.
• Annual renewalPass the free renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn within six months before your certification expires, or it lapses.

How to get there

1. Months 1-3Learn the applicationUse a Business Central trial or sandbox and work through the free Microsoft Learn paths for MB-800.
2. Months 3-4Pass MB-800Take the free practice assessment, then sit the exam once you score well on financials and operations.
3. Months 4-9Learn AL if you want to developSet up Visual Studio Code with the AL extension and build tables, pages, reports and codeunits.
4. Months 9-12Pass MB-820Focus on AL objects, since they are 35 to 40 percent of the exam, plus APIs and testing.
5. Every 12 monthsRenew each yearTake the free open-book renewal assessment within six months before each expiry date.

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Sources

1. Microsoft Learn: Study guide for Exam MB-800
2. Microsoft Learn: Study guide for Exam MB-820
3. Microsoft Learn: Business Central Developer Associate certification
4. Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Certification renewal
5. Microsoft Learn: Renewal FAQ
6. Microsoft Learn: Exam frequently asked questions
7. Microsoft Learn: Course MB-800T00-A
8. Microsoft Learn: Course MB-820T00-A
9. Microsoft Learn: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Expert
10. D365 Market: salaries