2026 AI Certifications · last checked 2026-10-14
Cost, length, pass mark, validity and renewal for the certifications worth knowing about in 2026 — read from each vendor’s own page, with the date it was checked. Where a vendor publishes nothing, this says so rather than guessing.
Read from each vendor’s own certification page, with the date it was checked. Where a vendor publishes nothing, the cell says so instead of guessing — which is most of what makes this table different from the rest of the internet. Nobody publishes pass rates, so no pass rate appears here.
Prices are the vendor’s home-market figure in USD; both Microsoft and CompTIA price by region and add tax, so check your own market before budgeting.
| NVIDIA NCP-AAINVIDIA | Microsoft AI-103Microsoft | CompTIA SecAI+CompTIA | Microsoft AI-901Microsoft | GitHub GH-600GitHub | CompTIA Security+CompTIA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam code | NCP-AAI | AI-103 | CY0-001 | AI-901 | GH-600 | SY0-801 |
| Level | Professional | Associate | Intermediate | Fundamentals | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Price (US) | $200 | $165 | not published | not published | not published | not published |
| Questions | 60–70 | not published | Maximum of 60 | not published | not published | Maximum of 90 |
| Time | 120 min | 120 min | 60 min | not published | 120 min | 90 min |
| To pass | not published | 700 on a 1000-point scale (not a percentage) | 600 on a 100–900 scale (not a percentage) | 700 on a 1000-point scale (not a percentage) | 700 on a 1000-point scale (not a percentage) | 750 on a 100–900 scale (not a percentage) |
| Valid for | Two years from issuance | One year | not published | Does not expire | Two years | not published |
| To renew | Retake the exam ($200) | Free unproctored online assessment on Microsoft Learn | not published | Not required | Moving to Microsoft's renewal process | not published |
| Domains | 10 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Languages | 1 | 10 | not published | 13 | 1 | not published |
| Assumes | 1–2 years in AI/ML roles plus production agentic work | Python app development plus familiarity with Azure and generative AI | 3–4 years in IT with 2+ hands-on in security; Security+, CySA+ or PenTest+ recommended | Python syntax and familiarity with Azure resources | SDLC and GitHub workflow experience, plus coding agents, MCP servers and agent customisation | not published |
| Status | Current | Replaced AI-102, which retired 2026-06-30. Available from 2026-06-19. | Launched 2026-02-17. Retirement estimated three years after launch. | Replaced AI-900, which retired 2026-06-30. | Study guide dated 2026-05-04. No Microsoft Learn access during the exam — it is a GitHub exam. | Launches 2026-11-17. The current version is V7 / SY0-701, which retires 2027-06-11 (English). |
| Readiness test | Free test → | Free test → | Free test → | Free test → | Free test → | none yet |
The table says what they cost. This says what they are for — and the answer is mostly decided by the platform you already build on, not by which exam is hardest.
One of two here whose entire blueprint is agents (GH-600 is the other), and the broader of the two: ten domains, more than 40% of them about what happens after the demo works — evaluation, deployment, monitoring, safety and human oversight.
Score yourself against its blueprint →The cheapest to keep, by a wide margin: $165 once and then free annual renewals, against NVIDIA’s $200 retake every two years. Agents are its largest domain at 30–35%, but a third of it is vision, text and extraction work the others do not test.
Score yourself against its blueprint →The only vendor-neutral one, and the only one pointed at defending AI rather than building it: securing AI systems is 40% of it on its own, with AI governance and risk a further 19%.
Score yourself against its blueprint →The entry point, and no longer the non-technical one it was: AI-900 asked for no coding, AI-901 asks for Python syntax and restructures the whole exam around Microsoft Foundry in two domains instead of five.
Score yourself against its blueprint →The agentic exam for working inside the software lifecycle: every domain is about agents, with GitHub as the control plane — tool use and MCP the heaviest at 20-25%, then planning, evaluation and multi-agent coordination.
Score yourself against its blueprint →Not an AI certification, and included because it is the baseline SecAI+ assumes. V8 adds AI-related risk to the objectives, which is the closest a general security exam gets to this list.
Figures last checked 2026-10-14. Found something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it — an exam-facts page that drifts is worse than none.
Two questions. The answer comes from the published blueprints above, not from who pays us.
What do you spend most of your week on?
Which platform do you work on?
Figures that circulate across prep sites and study posts, next to what the vendor actually publishes.
Often said: NCP-AAI has a passing score of 70%, or 720 out of 1000.
Published: NVIDIA does not publish a passing score for NCP-AAI. Any specific figure is invented. Source
Often said: NCP-AAI is 65 questions in 130 minutes — or a 90-minute exam.
Published: 60-70 questions in 120 minutes. Source
Often said: AI-103 is a 100-minute exam.
Published: Microsoft gives 120 minutes for AI-103. The 100-minute figure belongs to AI-102, the exam it replaced. Source
Often said: A Microsoft score of 700 means you got 70% of the questions right.
Published: In Microsoft's words, 700 is a scaled score that "may not equal 70% of the points" — the pass mark reflects how hard the questions you were given are. Source
Often said: AI-901 is AI-900 renamed, and needs no coding.
Published: AI-901 expects knowledge of Python syntax and programming techniques, and its larger domain is implementing solutions in Microsoft Foundry. Source
Often said: Microsoft role-based exams are closed book.
Published: Associate and expert role-based exams let you open Microsoft Learn during the exam, with no extra time. Fundamentals and GitHub exams do not. Source
Launches, retirements and revisions that change what you should study. Each links to the vendor page it came from.
CompTIA SecAI+ (CY0-001)
Launched — the first vendor-neutral certification for securing AI systems. Source
Microsoft AI-901
English version updated. AI-901 now asks for Python syntax and puts implementation in Microsoft Foundry at 55-60% of the exam. Source
Microsoft AI-103
Became available as the exam for Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate. Source
Microsoft AI-102
Retired, with its renewal assessment. AI-103 is the replacement. Source
Microsoft AI-900
Retired and replaced by AI-901, which now leads to the same Azure AI Fundamentals certification. Source
Microsoft AB-100
English version updated. AB-100 leads to the Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Expert credential and accepts AI-103 as a prerequisite associate certification. Source
CompTIA Security+ V8 (SY0-801)
Launches, with expanded coverage of AI-related risk. Source
CompTIA Security+ V7 (SY0-701)
English version retires. Source
NVIDIA Certified Professional: Agentic AI — a proctored $200 exam on architecting, building, deploying, and governing production agentic AI systems. Our readiness test samples across all 10 exam domains, weighted by the official blueprint, with a per-domain weak-area breakdown.
Agentic AI / LLM app experience
Take the NCP-AAI readiness test →Developing AI Apps and Agents on Azure — the exam that replaced AI-102 in June 2026 and rebuilt the role around agents. Its heaviest domain is generative AI and agentic solutions at 30-35%. Our readiness test samples across all five skills-measured domains, weighted by the published blueprint.
Python + Azure AI familiarity
Take the AI-103 readiness test →Developing in Agentic AI Systems — the exam for GitHub Certified: Agentic AI Developer. All six domains are about agents working inside the software lifecycle, with tool use and MCP the heaviest at 20-25%. 120 minutes, English only, and no Microsoft Learn access during the exam. Our readiness test is weighted to its six published domains.
GitHub workflows + coding agents and MCP
Take the GH-600 readiness test →The first vendor-neutral certification focused on securing AI systems. Securing AI systems alone is 40% of the exam, with AI-assisted security, AI governance and risk, and AI concepts for security making up the rest.
3-4 yrs IT, 2+ yrs security
Take the SecAI+ readiness test →Microsoft's entry point, rebuilt. AI-900 retired on 30 June 2026 and AI-901 replaced it — and it is not the same exam for the same person: AI-900 required no coding, AI-901 asks for Python syntax and restructures the content around Microsoft Foundry into two domains instead of five. Our readiness test is weighted to AI-901's two published domains and scores each one.
Python syntax + Azure familiarity (new in AI-901)
Take the AI-901 readiness test →The baseline SecAI+ assumes rather than an AI certification itself. V7 (SY0-701) is current and retires 11 June 2027; V8 (SY0-801) launches 17 November 2026 with 90 questions in 90 minutes, a 750 pass mark on a 100-900 scale, and expanded coverage of AI-related risk.
2+ years IT experience recommended
Take the Security+ readiness test →We add a certification only when its vendor publishes a weighted blueprint we can score you against. Missing one you need? Use the feedback button.