Cert News: Microsoft Plans to Retire MCSA, MCSE, MCSD Exams

Editor's Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft on March 26, announced that it's extending the expiration date of its MCSA, MCSD, and MCSE certifications from June 30, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021.

As part of its push toward role-based certifications, Microsoft continues to make major changes to its certification program. The latest? Thursday, it announced that more than a dozen certifications will be retired on June 30, 2020.

The 15 certifications slated for retirement span various levels of the Microsoft certification path: MSCA, MCSE, and MCSD. The exams associated with those certifications also are being retired.

Microsoft's latest certification purge is due to its increased focus on role-based certifications, which are designed to bridge the gap between the knowledge required to pass certification exams and the knowledge needed for on-the-job success. Microsoft's role-based certifications align to specific job roles, many of which are cloud-based roles.

Here's the complete list of certs scheduled to be retired on June 30, 2020:

• MCSA: BI Reporting
• MCSA: Dynamics 365 for Operations
• MCSA: SQL 2016 BI Development
• MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Admin
• MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Dev
• MCSA: SQL Server 2012/2014
• MCSA: Universal Windows Platform
• MCSA: Web Applications
• MCSA: Windows Server 2012
• MCSA: Windows Server 2016
• MCSD: App Builder
• MCSE: Business Applications
• MCSE: Core Infrastructure
• MCSE: Data Management & Analytics
• MCSE: Productivity

If you have any of these certifications, they will remain on your Microsoft transcript after they retire. They will remain "active" for two years after June 30, 2020. After that, they will move to the "inactive" section of your transcript.

If you are currently studying for any of the above certifications, you have until June 30, 2020, to take their associated exams — as long as they haven't been retired. If that's the case, you will no longer be able to earn that certification.

If you hold any of the certifications listed below, Microsoft offers role-based certifications to help you update your skills and transcript.

Source: Microsoft

While these changes effectively signal the end of Microsoft's MCSA, MCSE, and MCSD certifications, MTA and MOS certifications won't be impacted — for now.

Need Microsoft training? Browse our entire collection of Microsoft certification training.

Stay tuned to the CBT Nuggets blog for more Microsoft certification news and related training updates.