How to renew a Microsoft Dynamics 365 certification

How does renewal work?

Microsoft's associate, expert and specialty certifications are valid for one year from the day you finish all the requirements. That covers MB-310, MB-330, MB-500, MB-800, MB-820, MB-230 and the other Dynamics 365 associate titles. To keep one active, you pass a renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn before the expiration date. Microsoft offers no other route. Passing a beta exam does not renew a certification, and neither does retaking the original exam. Microsoft's FAQ says it makes no exceptions.

Sign in to your Microsoft Learn profile, open Certifications and look for the blue Renew button. If you have never linked your certification profile to your Learn profile, you need to do that first. Each certification's renewal page lists the skills the assessment measures and a set of free learning modules. For example, the Finance Functional Consultant renewal covers cost management, customer and vendor netting, periodic processes, ledgers and journals, and taxes.

When can you take the assessment?

The assessment opens six months before your certification expires. You cannot take it any earlier. Microsoft sets expiration dates and times in UTC. When you pass, Microsoft extends the certification by one year from the old expiration date, not from the day you passed. Renewing early costs you nothing, so do it as soon as the window opens. Microsoft itself recommends leaving time for illness, technical problems or a few retakes.

Microsoft also emails you when a certification becomes eligible for renewal, as long as your Learn profile has an email address and you agreed to its communication terms. On a busy go-live, don't count on that email reaching you. Put your expiry dates in your calendar.

What is the assessment like?

It is shorter than the original exam, open book and unproctored. It covers recent product updates rather than the full exam syllabus. You can retake it as many times as you need before expiry. After a failed attempt you can try again straight away, but after the second attempt you must wait at least 24 hours between tries. Your new expiration date shows on your Learn profile as soon as you pass.

Microsoft updates the assessments on the same schedule as the exams, so the content changes with each release wave. The English version of the Finance Functional Consultant assessment, for instance, was updated on October 19, 2026. Localized versions follow about three weeks after an English update.

What if it lapses or the certification retires?

Once a certification expires, you can no longer renew it. You have to earn it again by passing every required exam. If an expert certification needs an associate certification as a prerequisite, letting the associate lapse does not make the expert expire too. Each one is renewed separately with its own assessment.

When Microsoft retires a certification, the renewal assessment usually retires with it. Power Platform Solution Architect Expert (PL-600) retired on June 30, 2026, and its page says it can no longer be earned or renewed after that date. A retired certification stays in the Active section of your transcript until its expiration date. If a retirement date falls before your expiry, Learn tells you to renew before the retirement. That can shorten your window.

What you need

A valid certificationAssociate, expert and specialty certifications can be renewed once they have been available for more than six months. An expired certification cannot be renewed.
Linked profilesYour Microsoft Learn profile must be linked to your certification profile before the Renew button appears.
Inside the windowThe assessment opens six months before expiry and has to be passed before the expiration time, which Microsoft sets in UTC.
A pass on the assessmentThe free online renewal assessment is the only way to renew. Beta exams and exam retakes do not count.

How to get there

Day 0Earn the certificationPass the required exam or exams. The certification is valid for one year from the day you complete all requirements.
Month 6Window opensThe Renew button appears on your Learn profile and Microsoft sends an eligibility email if you have opted in.
Month 6-7Study the update modulesWork through the free modules on the certification's renewal page. They cover the skills the assessment measures.
Month 6-12Pass the assessmentIt is shorter than the original exam, open book and unproctored, and allows unlimited retakes. After the second attempt you wait 24 hours between tries.
Every 12 monthsRepeat every yearYour expiry moves one year past the old date. The next window opens six months before that.

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Questions people ask

How much does it cost to renew a Dynamics 365 certification?

Nothing. Renewal is free for anyone holding a valid Microsoft associate, specialty or expert certification. You only pay again if the certification expires and you have to retake the exam.

Do Microsoft fundamentals certifications expire?

No. Fundamentals certifications such as PL-900 Power Platform Fundamentals do not expire, so you never renew them. Microsoft Applied Skills credentials do not expire either.

Can I renew more than six months before expiry?

No. The renewal assessment only becomes available six months before your certification expires. Passing at any point in that window adds one year to the existing expiration date, so taking it early costs you no time.

What happens if my certification expires?

You can no longer renew it. To get it back you must pass all the required exams again, the same as a new candidate.

Does my expert certification lapse if its associate prerequisite expires?

No. Microsoft says an expert certification does not automatically expire when its associate prerequisite does. Each certification has its own renewal assessment and expiry date.

I earned the certification through a beta exam. When does it expire?

Microsoft bases your achievement and expiration dates on the day your beta exam was rescored. That happens roughly 10 days after the exam goes live, which gives you enough time to renew.

How do you renew a Microsoft Dynamics 365 certification?