Validates knowledge of designing DevOps solutions, including source control, build and release pipelines, security and compliance, and instrumentation.
DevOps Engineer Expert is Microsoft's certification for building and running delivery pipelines with GitHub and Azure DevOps, tested by the AZ-400 exam. It covers work tracking, source control, build and release pipelines, security in automation and monitoring, with pipelines about half the exam.
People using Azure DevOps or GitHub daily say AZ-400 mostly formalized skills they had, and helped with an internal move. Without hands-on DevOps experience it was much harder.
Some candidates say the exam leans on older tooling and niche scanning tools. Others say its pipeline and infrastructure-as-code content matches the work closely.
Holders describe markets where experience matters far more than certificates, and others where the same certification counts for hiring and promotion.
Microsoft requires Azure Administrator Associate or Azure Developer Associate before DevOps Engineer Expert.
DevOps Engineer Expert is valid for one year.
The assessment opens six months before expiry on Microsoft Learn, and you can retake it as often as you need before then. Your Associate certification renews separately, and the Expert certification does not expire with it.
Microsoft renewal FAQ ↗
The design-focused Azure Expert certification, also built on AZ-104.
An infrastructure-as-code certification that spans clouds.
The professional-level AWS option if your employer runs on AWS.
No. You can take AZ-400 first. Microsoft awards DevOps Engineer Expert once you have passed AZ-400 and hold Azure Administrator Associate or Azure Developer Associate.
Microsoft still lists Azure Developer Associate as a qualifying certification. New candidates can no longer take AZ-204, so they qualify with AZ-104.
$165 in the US. If you need AZ-104 as well, that is another $165.
It can. Microsoft does not say in advance which exams include labs. The overview screens at the start of your exam tell you.
Last updated October 2026
