AB-400 Replaces PL-400: What Power Platform Developers Need to Know
Microsoft is transitioning the exam associated with the Power Platform Developer Associate certification from PL-400 to AB-400. The exam is changing; the certification name is not. For candidates, the immediate priorities are to confirm which exam they can take and study against the correct outline.
According to the exam information in the shared knowledge base, AB-400 becomes available on October 16, 2026, when PL-400 registration closes. Candidates who registered for PL-400 by that date may still schedule and take it through October 30. The transition therefore does not require every existing PL-400 candidate to switch exams immediately.
What does AB-400 cover?
AB-400 assesses a developer’s ability to build, extend, integrate, and troubleshoot Microsoft Power Platform solutions. Its outline has four domains:
- Build Microsoft Power Platform solutions (15%–20%): Technical architecture, Dataverse decisions, security, authentication, and application lifecycle management.
- Extend the user experience (25%–30%): Client scripting, Power Apps component framework components, code apps, monitoring, and debugging.
- Extend Microsoft Power Platform (35%–40%): Dataverse plug-ins, custom APIs, Azure Functions, cloud flows, and AI-agent-related extensions.
- Develop integrations (10%–15%): Dataverse events, data synchronization, custom connectors, authentication, and connector policies.
The platform-extension domain carries the most weight, but it is only one part of the exam. Candidates also need to understand how design, user experience, and integrations fit into a working solution.
How should PL-400 candidates adjust?
Start by checking your registration and exam date. If you are moving to AB-400, compare your study plan with the official AB-400 study guide rather than assuming the PL-400 topic list still applies.
Use practice questions to test decisions, not just recall. When reviewing an answer, ask why a scenario calls for a plug-in instead of a flow, or a custom connector instead of another integration method. Pairing that review with hands-on work in Power Platform will expose gaps that memorized answers can hide.
AB-400 gives developers a new exam path to the Power Platform Developer Associate certification. Studying its four domains directly will help you prepare for the exam you actually intend to take.
