AI-103 Exam Format, Scoring, and Retakes

The short version

AI-103 gives you 120 minutes. You need a scaled score of 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000. The exam is proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE, and may include interactive components. Microsoft does not publish the number of questions for this exam. Facts below come from the Microsoft Learn exam page, the study guide, and Microsoft’s pages on exam experience, scoring, and retakes, checked on October 18, 2026.

Time and number of questions

The exam page says you have 120 minutes to complete the assessment. Microsoft’s exam-experience page separates “exam duration” (the time you get for the questions) from “seat duration” (the time you should set aside, which includes instructions, the candidate agreement, and the comment section). For role-based exams that may contain labs, the table lists 120 minutes of exam time and 140 minutes of seat time. The AI-103 page does not say whether labs appear, so treat the 140-minute figure as a planning guide and check the instructions on exam day.

Microsoft does not publish the question count for AI-103. It says most certification exams contain 40 to 60 questions, that the number can vary, and that it changes as exams are updated. Do not plan around a fixed number.

Delivery and languages

  • Proctored. The exam page states that the exam is proctored.
  • Scheduling. You schedule through Pearson VUE. Microsoft recommends using a personal Microsoft account rather than a work or school account, because exam records tied to an organizational account can be lost when you leave the organization.
  • Languages. English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish.
  • Updates. Microsoft updates the English exam first. Other languages follow roughly eight weeks later, though not always on schedule. If your language is not available, you can request an extra 30 minutes.
  • Price. It depends on the country or region where you sit the exam. Check the exam page for your region.

Question types

Microsoft says it does not announce specific question formats before the exam. The exam page does warn that you may have interactive components to complete. Microsoft’s exam sandbox lets you click through the exam interface and try the different question types it uses, so use it once before exam day. Our exam question types guide explains the common formats in general terms.

Breaks

Microsoft built five minutes of break time into the exam time and removed questions to make room. You can take breaks, but the exam clock keeps running while you are away. Once you start a break, you cannot go back to questions you saw before it, even if you left them unanswered or marked for review. Answer and review before you start a break. Breaks are not allowed in the middle of a lab or inside problem-and-solution question sets.

Microsoft Learn during the exam

On associate and expert exams, you can open Microsoft Learn in a split screen. Extra time is not added, and the timer keeps running while you browse. You get most of the learn.microsoft.com domain, but not Q&A, practice assessments, or your profile. Treat it as a way to look up a detail on a hard question, not as a plan for every question. If you try to look up everything, you will run out of time.

Scoring

  • Scores run from 1 to 1,000, and 700 or higher passes.
  • The score is scaled, so it may not equal 70% of the points. Microsoft says easier sets of questions need more points to pass, and harder sets need fewer. Do not turn 700 into a percentage target.
  • On multi-part questions you usually earn one point per correct component, so you can earn all, some, or none of a question’s points. A question worth more than one point says so.
  • There is no penalty for guessing, so answer everything.
  • Some questions are unscored and are used to gather data. You cannot tell which ones, so treat every question as scored.

Your score report shows an overall number, pass or fail, and a bar chart of each skill area. It does not show a score per section, and Microsoft does not tell you which questions you missed. Use the bars to decide where to study if you need a retake.

Retakes

If you do not pass, you wait 24 hours before the second attempt. After that, there is a 14-day wait between attempts. You can take the exam at most five times in 12 months from your first attempt. You cannot retake an exam you have passed unless the certification has expired. You pay for each attempt where a fee applies.

Validity and renewal

Microsoft says associate certifications expire annually. You renew by passing a free, unproctored, open-book online assessment on Microsoft Learn, any time in the six months before the expiry date. A pass extends the certification by one year from the expiration date. There is no limit on renewal attempts as long as you pass before the certification expires.

More guides for AI-103

Next step

Now that you know how the exam runs, look at the study plan to fit it into your calendar. For practice under time pressure, try the AI-103 practice tests. For the day itself, see our exam day guide.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on AI-103?

Microsoft does not publish a number for this exam. It says most exams have 40 to 60 questions, but that can vary.

Do I get my result right away?

For most exams, Microsoft says results arrive within minutes of finishing, and exams with labs can take about 30 minutes to score. Your score also appears in your Learn profile within 24 hours.

Can I see which questions I missed?

No. Microsoft says it does not share which questions were answered incorrectly.

Try the AI-103 practice exams