What the PL-400 exam is actually like, step by step

The PL-400 is booked and paid for through Pearson VUE, Microsoft's official exam delivery partner. You can take it at a physical testing center or in proctored online mode from home, provided you meet Pearson VUE's technical and workspace requirements.

For the online option, identity and environment verification — clear desk, no second monitor, no phone within reach — usually takes 15 to 30 minutes before the exam timer itself starts. Budget that extra time on top of the exam duration.

The exam mixes single-answer, multiple-choice, hotspot (selecting the right area of an image or code snippet), and drag-and-drop questions, plus possible case studies with several related questions about the same scenario.

There's no explicit penalty for guessing, so it's worth marking an answer on every question before finishing, even if you're not sure.

Standard duration is around 100-120 minutes, depending on the exact number of questions in your version of the exam. Scoring is on a 1000-point scale, with 700 as the typical passing score for Microsoft certification exams (worth confirming the exact figure on the official exam page before you sit it).

After a first failed attempt you can retake it after 24 hours. If you fail again, Microsoft applies longer waiting periods for subsequent attempts, so it's worth reviewing the areas you struggled with before trying again — the results report breaks down your score by domain.