DP-700 Renewal and Retakes Explained

The short version

Yes, the credential from DP-700 expires. Microsoft says associate certifications are valid for one year, and you keep yours by passing a free online renewal assessment during the six months before the expiration date. If you fail the exam itself, you wait 24 hours before the second attempt and 14 days between later attempts, with at most five attempts in 12 months.

Does the credential expire?

Passing DP-700 earns the Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate credential. Microsoft’s expiration policy says role-based credentials, which include associate certifications, are valid for one year from the date you complete all requirements. Fundamentals certifications are the exception: they do not expire, but DP-700 is not one of them.

Microsoft gives the reason in its renewal FAQ: the one-year limit pushes people to keep their skills current with changing technology. For Fabric, which gets new features every month, that is not an empty promise.

How renewal works

Renewal is a separate step from the exam. The facts Microsoft publishes:

  • It is free. There is no fee to renew an associate, specialty, or expert certification.
  • The window is six months. The renewal assessment opens six months before your expiration date. You cannot take it earlier, and Microsoft suggests taking it well before the deadline in case something goes wrong.
  • It is online and unproctored. You take it on Microsoft Learn, and it is open book.
  • It is shorter than the exam. The assessment focuses on recent updates. Microsoft’s FAQ says it takes about 45 minutes.
  • The reward is one more year. After you pass, your expiration date moves one year past the old expiration date, not one year from the day you passed. Microsoft says the new date appears on your Learn profile immediately.
  • There is no other route. Retaking the exam or passing a beta exam does not renew the credential. Only the renewal assessment does.

To find the assessment, sign in to your Microsoft Learn profile, open Certifications, and look for the Renew button. If you agreed to Microsoft’s communication terms and have an email address on your profile, Microsoft sends a reminder when you become eligible.

Renewal assessment retakes

The renewal assessment is forgiving. There is no limit on attempts. If you do not pass, you can try again at once. After the second try, you wait at least 24 hours between further attempts. The only hard rule is that you must pass before the expiration date.

Renewal assessments follow the same update schedule as the exam, and they come in the same languages as the exam.

What if the credential lapses?

If the certification expires, Microsoft says you can no longer renew it. You must earn it again by passing the exam. The retake rules allow this, because the “cannot retake a passed exam” rule applies only while your certification is still valid.

Microsoft’s pages do not describe a grace period after expiration, so do not count on one. Treat the expiration date as a deadline.

Retaking the exam after a fail

For the exam itself, Microsoft publishes these rules:

  1. After a first fail, wait 24 hours.
  2. Between all later attempts, wait 14 days, up to five attempts.
  3. You cannot sit the same exam more than five times in 12 months, counted from your first attempt. After five fails, you can try again 12 months after the first attempt.
  4. You cannot retake an exam you have passed unless the certification has expired.
  5. You pay for each retake where a fee applies. The fee depends on your country, so check Microsoft’s page for yours.

A waiver of the waiting period exists only when an internet or equipment problem occurred during the exam and Pearson VUE opened a case. You must include the case number, and Microsoft grants waivers for no other reason.

One practical point: the 14-day gap is a useful study window. Use the score report, which shows a bar chart for each skill area, to pick the domain to rebuild. Our study plan shows how to split that time.

What if the exam changes or retires?

Two different things can happen.

The exam version changes. Microsoft updates its skills outlines. The DP-700 outline changed on October 19, 2026, and Microsoft’s change log marks two areas as minor: workspace settings and performance optimization. Localized exams are updated about eight weeks after English. A version change does not touch your credential. It only changes what you would study for a new attempt or a renewal.

The exam or certification retires. Microsoft can retire exams and certifications at any time. A retired credential stays in the Active section of your transcript until it expires. If a retirement date falls before your expiration date, Microsoft says the “renew by” message takes the retirement into account and tells you to renew before the retirement. A real example from the same family: DP-203, the Azure data engineer exam, retired on March 31, 2025, and Microsoft marks both the certification and its renewal assessment as retired.

A timeline example

Imagine you pass DP-700 on March 15, 2027.

  • September 15, 2027: the six-month renewal window opens.
  • Any time in the window: you pass the free assessment, say in November 2027.
  • March 15, 2028: the old expiration date.
  • Result: the expiration date moves to March 15, 2029, one year past the old date.

Compare that with missing the deadline: on March 16, 2028 you could no longer renew and would need to pass DP-700 again.

More guides for DP-700

Next step

For the full exam rules, see the exam format page, and for the skills you would revisit, the domains explained page. Back at the DP-700 overview, you can find the other guides. When you want to rehearse before an attempt, our DP-700 practice tests are original practice sets.

Frequently asked questions

Does renewing cost anything?

No. Microsoft says renewal is free for associate, specialty, and expert certifications. Retaking the exam after a fail is different: a fee applies where the exam has one.

Can I renew early?

Not more than six months before expiration. The assessment becomes available when the window opens.

Is the renewal assessment the same as the exam?

No. It is shorter, open book, unproctored, and focused on recent updates.

Try the DP-700 practice exams