AI-300 Requirements 2026: Who Can Sit the Exam and What It Costs
Before you can book a seat you have to clear Microsoft’s eligibility gates. Here is exactly what they check, in the order they check it.
- 2hTime limit
Table of Contents
What the AI-300 credential is
Microsoft Certified: Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate (AI-300) is awarded by Microsoft. It is not a course certificate you can buy your way into — Microsoft decides whether you are allowed to sit the exam at all, and that decision is made before you ever see a question. Candidates who treat the application as a formality are the ones who lose a testing window to a paperwork problem.
The eligibility gates, in order
Microsoft checks these in sequence, and failing any one of them stops the application. Work through them top to bottom before you pay a fee.
Gate 1
No formal prerequisite
Gate 2
Microsoft expects experience training, deploying and maintaining models with Azure Machine Learning, plus deploying and monitoring generative AI applications with Microsoft Foundry
Gate 3
A data science background, Python programming and an entry-level understanding of DevOps practice are assumed
Proctored, 120 minutes, and it may include interactive components rather than multiple choice alone. The weights above are the midpoints of the published ranges.
What it costs
Microsoft sets fees per application cycle and changes them often enough that a figure quoted here would age badly. Check the official page linked in the sidebar before you budget — and budget for a retake as well, which is charged separately.
What the exam itself looks like
| Time limit | 120 minutes |
| Passing standard | 700 or greater on a scale of 1 to 1,000 passes |
The blueprint splits like this, which is also the ratio your study hours should follow:
| Implement machine learning model lifecycle and operations | 27% |
| Design and implement a GenAIOps infrastructure | 22% |
| Design and implement an MLOps infrastructure | 17% |
| Implement generative AI quality assurance and observability | 12% |
| Optimize generative AI systems and model performance | 12% |
How long the process takes
Three clocks run at once and candidates usually notice only two. The first is the experience clock: the hours or years in the gates above have to be accrued, and in most programmes accrued recently, so time spent in the wrong role does not count no matter how long you spent there. The second is the approval clock: transcripts, licence verification and reference checks are done by people rather than scripts, and they run in weeks rather than days. The third is the eligibility window: once approved you have a fixed period to sit the exam, and letting it lapse means reapplying and paying again.
Plan backwards from the date you want the credential in hand, not forwards from the day you decide to start. The paperwork is the part that is outside your control, so it should go first.
Why applications get sent back
The failure modes are boring and they repeat. Hours logged in a role that does not match the definition in the handbook. A transcript sent by the candidate instead of by the school. A licence that is current but carries a restriction. Experience that is genuine but falls outside the lookback window. None of these are judgement calls you can argue your way past — they are checkboxes. Read the eligibility page as though it were a contract, because for the purposes of your application it is one.
Once you are approved, the work is question volume. Practise AI-300 questions free and find out where you actually stand before you book a date.
FAQ
Who is eligible to sit the AI-300 exam?
No formal prerequisite Microsoft expects experience training, deploying and maintaining models with Azure Machine Learning, plus deploying and monitoring generative AI applications with Microsoft Foundry A data science background, Python programming and an entry-level understanding of DevOps practice are assumed
How much does the AI-300 exam cost?
Microsoft sets the fee per cycle. Check the official certification page for the current figure, and budget separately for a retake.
How many questions are on the AI-300 exam?
Microsoft publishes the current item count in the candidate handbook.
How long does AI-300 approval take?
Verification is manual, so allow weeks rather than days between submitting an application and being cleared to schedule. Once you are approved a fixed eligibility window starts running, and letting it expire means paying to apply again.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the certifying body, not from a third-party summary:
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/resources/study-guides/ai-300
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/operationalizing-machine-learning-and-generative-ai-solutions/
Checked September 2, 2026. Fees and eligibility rules change; confirm against Microsoft before you pay anything.