DP-800 Developing AI-Enabled Database Solutions: 500 Qs
T-SQL, security, CI/CD, vector search and RAG: 500 questions with per-answer explanations, updated for October 2026
Are you ready for DP-800, or do you just feel ready? This practice set answers that question with five timed practice tests and 500 original questions for exam DP-800: Developing AI-Enabled Database Solutions, the exam behind the Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate certification.
The questions follow the official study guide, including the skills-measured update of October 19, 2026, and the official domain weighting: design and develop database solutions (35-40%), secure, optimize and deploy database solutions (35-40%), and implement AI capabilities in database solutions (25-30%). The scope covers SQL Server 2025, Azure SQL and SQL database in Microsoft Fabric.
DP-800 has no retired predecessor, and that is exactly why older study material is risky. Much of what circulates was written for the beta or from blog posts: it still teaches the deprecated TOP_N form of VECTOR_SEARCH, uses the older ENN label where the current outline says KNN, treats generally available features as preview, or describes Data API builder and Copilot settings that have since changed. These DP-800 tests use current syntax, name the platform whenever behaviour differs, and stay away from details that Microsoft's own documentation contradicts.
The five tests build up on purpose:
- Test 1, Groundwork: direct knowledge and simple scenarios.
- Test 2, In Practice: short scenarios that separate look-alike features.
- Test 3, Trade-offs: two plausible answers, one requirement decides.
- Test 4, Under the Hood: syntax, settings, permissions and limits.
- Test 5, Exam Day: long multi-requirement scenarios under the tightest clock.
Every question explains itself. Each answer option has its own feedback, so you see why your choice was right or wrong and what the wrong option actually does. An overall explanation then walks through the reasoning and links to the Microsoft Learn page it is based on.
After each attempt PrepKiwi shows your score per exam domain, so you know where to spend your study time. The pass mark is 80% for tests 1 to 4 and 85% for test 5, deliberately higher than exam day requires.
What this practice set is not: it is not a video course, not a lab environment and not a collection of real exam questions. It tests and explains; it does not replace the free Microsoft Learn learning paths for DP-800 or hands-on practice. Use it to find your gaps and to prove to yourself that you are ready.
Groundwork: Core DP-800 Features and Concepts
100 questions · 160 minutes · pass mark 80%
Start here to get a baseline. This test checks the building blocks of DP-800 with direct knowledge questions and simple scenarios: table and index design, JSON and regular-expression functions, programmability objects, GitHub Copilot and MCP basics, encryption, masking and row-level security, SQL Database Projects, Data API builder, embeddings, vector search and RAG with sp_invoke_external_rest_endpoint. It has 100 questions (12 multi-select) spread over the three exam domains in the official weighting, so your score per domain tells you where to study. You get 160 minutes. The pass mark is 80%, higher than you need on exam day on purpose: home practice is easier than a proctored exam, so a margin protects you. Take it cold, before you study, and read every explanation afterwards, including for the questions you got right.
In Practice: Everyday SQL, Security and AI Scenarios
100 questions · 165 minutes · pass mark 80%
This test moves from definitions to short workplace scenarios. Most questions ask you to tell apart features that are easy to confuse: CDC versus Change Tracking, Dynamic Data Masking versus Always Encrypted, JSON_VALUE versus JSON_QUERY, full-text versus vector search, DeployReport versus Publish, REST versus GraphQL in Data API builder. It has 100 questions (14 multi-select) across all three DP-800 domains in the official weighting. You get 165 minutes and need 80% to pass. Use the per-option feedback to learn why each wrong answer is wrong: that is exactly the distinction the real exam probes.
Trade-offs: When Two Answers Look Right
100 questions · 170 minutes · pass mark 80%
In this test two answers usually look defensible, and one stated requirement decides between them: data must stay encrypted from administrators, results must be exact rather than approximate, the workload is write-heavy, the database is on-premises, or cost or latency matters. Read the whole stem before you look at the options and find the constraint that rules out the near miss. The test has 100 questions (14 multi-select) across the three DP-800 domains in the official weighting. You get 170 minutes, because the stems are longer, and the pass mark is 80%.
Under the Hood: Syntax, Settings and Limits
100 questions · 135 minutes · pass mark 80%
This test goes into implementation detail: exact T-SQL syntax and arguments, database scoped configurations, permissions, service limits, Data API builder configuration properties, SqlPackage and pipeline settings, and the order of steps for tasks such as creating an external model or a vector index. The questions are shorter but less forgiving; one wrong keyword makes an option wrong. It has 100 questions (16 multi-select) across the three DP-800 domains in the official weighting. You get 135 minutes and need 80% to pass.
Exam Day: Full-Length DP-800 Simulation
100 questions · 160 minutes · pass mark 85%
Save this test until the end and take it in one uninterrupted sitting. It is the closest to the real exam: the longest stems, two or three requirements per question, and domains mixed together, so every wrong option fails exactly one requirement. It has 100 questions (16 multi-select) in the official DP-800 domain weighting. You get 160 minutes, which leaves the least thinking time per question of all five tests. The pass mark is 85%, deliberately above what the real exam needs: if you clear 85% here under time pressure, you have a safety margin for exam-day nerves and question formats that a practice test cannot reproduce. Below 85%? Go back to your weakest domain, reread the explanations, and retake it after a few days.
What you will practice
- Test your DP-800 readiness with 500 questions across all three domains, weighted like the official skills outline
- Tell apart look-alike features: CDC vs Change Tracking, masking vs Always Encrypted, full-text vs vector search, ANN vs KNN
- Apply T-SQL, security, CI/CD, Data API builder, embeddings, vector search and RAG to realistic database scenarios
- Learn from per-option feedback and an explanation with a Microsoft Learn link for every one of the 500 questions
- Build up from fundamentals to trade-offs and syntax detail, then finish with a timed full-length exam simulation
- Find your weakest domain from the per-domain score report and target your study time where it counts
- Practise the newest SQL Server 2025 and Azure SQL features in scope: json type, REGEXP functions, VECTOR_SEARCH and more
- Get used to multi-select questions and long scenario stems under realistic time pressure before exam day
Exam domains covered
Who is this for
This practice set is for database developers, SQL Server and Azure SQL professionals, and application developers who are preparing for exam DP-800: Developing AI-Enabled Database Solutions (Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate). It also suits data engineers and DBAs who want to add vector search, RAG and Data API builder to their skill set, students and career changers who have learned T-SQL and want a recognised developer certification, and technical leads or architects who need to judge what AI in the database can and cannot do. If you once prepared for the retired 70-761 or 70-762 SQL exams, DP-800 is the closest developer-side successor, but it adds a large AI, vector and CI/CD scope, so older material will not cover it. What this practice set is: five timed practice tests with 500 original questions, per-answer feedback and source links. What it is not: a video course, a lab environment or a copy of real exam questions.
Requirements
- Working knowledge of T-SQL (SELECT, joins, DML, transactions) and basic database concepts. Hands-on time with SQL Server, Azure SQL or SQL database in Fabric helps a lot.
- Familiarity with Git, REST and JSON makes the CI/CD, Data API builder and AI questions easier; you do not need to be an AI specialist.
- These are practice tests, not a video course. Use them alongside the free official Microsoft Learn learning paths for DP-800, not instead of them.
Free exam guide
Not sure what to expect? Read how the exam is built, what it covers and how to prepare.