Certification
Certification Life Cycle
The lifespan of a certification
varies, based on the certification track and certification technology. Some
certifications will have a recertification path to allow you to continuously
hold the certification until the certification has been deemed inactive. Find
out what exams are being retired and what certifications will become legacy. Certification policies vary by
program and may change at any time.
Overview
To maintain the value and
relevance of Microsoft Certifications, they must be kept up-to-date, reflecting
not only the current use and functionality of our technologies but the current
trends and industry expectations of what it means to be “certified.” That’s why
Microsoft continually monitors industry trends and revises certification
requirements and updates our exams to keep pace with increasingly frequent
changes in technology. On a regular basis, new exams are introduced, existing
exams are revised, older exams are retired, and out-of-date certifications are
transitioned to a Legacy status.
Revisions to existing exams
Each exam is reviewed regularly
to determine if the skills tested are still relevant and real-world, and whether
new methods for accomplishing the same skills are now available. Depending on
the scope of changes that are recommended, the existing exam may be revised, or
a new exam may be released. Service packs and revisions of the primary
technology will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, a service
pack or revision may have significant enough changes to trigger development of a
new exam to replace an existing exam. Changes to exam requirements will be
announced before they go into effect to give candidates a chance to either
complete the exam before it is updated or prepare for the updated exam.
Exam retirements
Microsoft regularly evaluates
the relevance, currency, and validity of each exam. Exams that no longer meet
established criteria are scheduled for retirement. Once an exam is retired, you
will no longer be able to take the exam. When all exams required for a
certification have been retired, that certification can no longer be earned.
Exams are typically retired when
one or more of the following scenarios occur:
1. Two newer versions of the Microsoft technology are available (for
example, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 are newer versions of
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server technology).
2. Markets around the world are no longer using the product version on which
the exam is based.
3. The ongoing exam maintenance can no longer be supported.
4. Too few people are taking an exam.