Retired exam
MS-900 was retired on March 31, 2026
Microsoft retired MS-900 on 2026-03-31. The exam is no longer schedulable. The reviewed official retirement list and exam guide do not name a direct replacement, so Cert Atlas does not infer one.
No direct replacement is named in the reviewed official sources.
Historical MS-900 Scope
MS-900, Microsoft 365 Fundamentals, retired on 2026-03-31. Its published domains cover Describe cloud concepts, Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services, Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365, Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support. The historical MS-900 outline remains a useful vocabulary and architecture map for Microsoft 365. It separates service models from workload capabilities, then connects apps and administration to identity, threat protection, privacy, compliance, pricing, licensing, deployment assistance, and support. Microsoft does not name a direct replacement in the reviewed official sources. This page keeps the dated blueprint useful while separating verified lifecycle facts from recommendations.
Who MS-900 Was For
The original audience was learners who used Microsoft 365 Fundamentals to connect cloud concepts with productivity, collaboration, endpoint, security, compliance, licensing, and support. This historical page is for prior learners, credential holders, training teams cleaning up old material, and practitioners mapping durable knowledge into a current role-based plan.
Skills You Should Be Ready to Demonstrate
- Distinguish cloud service and deployment models in Microsoft 365 scenarios
- Map productivity, collaboration, endpoint, analytics, and administration capabilities to needs
- Explain identity, threat protection, privacy, trust, and compliance at a foundational level
- Recognize how licensing, billing, deployment help, and support affect solution choices
How to Reuse Your Preparation
Use the old domains to locate knowledge gaps, not to simulate a retired test. For a business scenario, identify the Microsoft 365 service, administrative surface, data and identity boundary, security and compliance controls, and licensing dependency. Then move to a current fundamentals or role-based guide that matches the goal. Start with the dated Microsoft guide, map each objective to a task, decision, observable result, and failure mode, and use domain ranges to balance coverage rather than predict question counts. Keep notes labeled with the guide date so future product or blueprint changes do not silently contaminate the plan.
Migration checklist
- Remove MS-900 from current registration and practice calls to action because it retired on 2026-03-31.
- Use Microsoft's active credential catalog to choose a current path by job role and required skills.
- Do not treat a similarly named course, product, or credential as a replacement unless Microsoft explicitly says so.
- Map reusable knowledge to the selected current guide, then rebuild labs and review around that guide's dated objectives.
Historical Domain Guide
Describe cloud concepts: Historical Scope
Domain 1, Describe cloud concepts, organizes related decisions rather than isolated product facts. The historical outline includes Describe the different types of cloud services available; Describe Microsoft software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS) concepts and use cases; Describe differences between Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Practice by connecting the configuration or recommendation to prerequisites, downstream effects, evidence of success, and a safe correction when the expected result is not observed.
- Turn every Describe cloud concepts objective into a concrete task or decision you can explain
- Record the prerequisite, implementation choice, verification signal, and failure mode
- Mix this domain with adjacent domains so dependencies remain visible
Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services: Historical Scope
Domain 2, Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services, organizes related decisions rather than isolated product facts. The historical outline includes Describe productivity solutions of Microsoft 365; Describe project management capabilities of Microsoft 365 including Microsoft Project, Planner, Bookings, Forms, Lists, To Do, and Loop; Describe collaboration solutions of Microsoft 365. Practice by connecting the configuration or recommendation to prerequisites, downstream effects, evidence of success, and a safe correction when the expected result is not observed.
- Turn every Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services objective into a concrete task or decision you can explain
- Record the prerequisite, implementation choice, verification signal, and failure mode
- Mix this domain with adjacent domains so dependencies remain visible
Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365: Historical Scope
Domain 3, Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365, organizes related decisions rather than isolated product facts. The historical outline includes Describe identity and access management solutions of Microsoft 365; Describe threat protection solutions of Microsoft 365; Describe trust, privacy, risk, and compliance solutions of Microsoft 365. Practice by connecting the configuration or recommendation to prerequisites, downstream effects, evidence of success, and a safe correction when the expected result is not observed.
- Turn every Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365 objective into a concrete task or decision you can explain
- Record the prerequisite, implementation choice, verification signal, and failure mode
- Mix this domain with adjacent domains so dependencies remain visible
Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support: Historical Scope
Domain 4, Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support, organizes related decisions rather than isolated product facts. The historical outline includes Identify Microsoft 365 pricing and billing management options; Identify licensing options available in Microsoft 365; Identify support options for Microsoft 365 services. Practice by connecting the configuration or recommendation to prerequisites, downstream effects, evidence of success, and a safe correction when the expected result is not observed.
- Turn every Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support objective into a concrete task or decision you can explain
- Record the prerequisite, implementation choice, verification signal, and failure mode
- Mix this domain with adjacent domains so dependencies remain visible
Sources and Verification
Verified 2026-08-26
How this page was made
Cert Atlas reviewed Microsoft's dated MS-900 study guide and official retirement list and checked those sources for an explicitly named replacement. The lifecycle, weights, and editorial claims were checked against the linked official pages; no exam questions, answers, choices, or explanations were used.
Historical MS-900 Domains
1.0 Describe cloud concepts
5-10%
- 1.1Describe the different types of cloud services available
- 1.2Describe Microsoft software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS) concepts and use cases
- 1.3Describe differences between Office 365 and Microsoft 365
- 1.4Describe the benefits of and considerations for using cloud, hybrid, or on-premises services
- 1.5Describe public, private, and hybrid cloud models
- 1.6Compare costs and advantages of cloud, hybrid, and on-premises services
- 1.7Describe the concept of hybrid work and flexible work
2.0 Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services
45-50%
- 2.1Describe productivity solutions of Microsoft 365
Describe the productivity and content creation capabilities of the core Microsoft 365 Apps including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote; Describe the productivity benefits and capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
- 2.2Describe project management capabilities of Microsoft 365 including Microsoft Project, Planner, Bookings, Forms, Lists, To Do, and Loop
- 2.3Describe collaboration solutions of Microsoft 365
Describe the collaboration and content sharing capabilities of Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive, and Stream; Describe the email and calendaring capabilities of Microsoft Exchange and Outlook; Describe the collaboration and communication capabilities of Microsoft Teams and Teams Phone; Describe the collaboration benefits and capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
- 2.4Describe the employee experience capabilities of the Microsoft Viva apps
- 2.5Describe the ways that you can extend Microsoft Teams by using collaborative apps such as Whiteboard, Microsoft Planner, Microsoft Power Apps, and Power Automate
- 2.6Describe device and cloud endpoint management concepts and deployment options in Microsoft 365
Describe the endpoint management capabilities of Microsoft 365 including Microsoft Intune, co-management with Configuration Manager, Endpoint Analytics, Windows Autopilot, and Windows Autopatch; Compare the differences between Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop; Identify deployment and update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps
- 2.7Describe Microsoft 365 administration capabilities
Describe the capabilities of the Microsoft 365 Admin center and the reports available; Describe the capabilities of the Microsoft 365 user portal; Describe the reports available in other admin centers such as SharePoint, Teams, and Exchange; Describe the capabilities of the Microsoft Copilot dashboard
3.0 Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365
25-30%
- 3.1Describe identity and access management solutions of Microsoft 365
Describe the identity and access management capabilities of Microsoft Entra ID; Describe cloud identity, on-premises identity, and hybrid identity concepts; Describe how Microsoft uses methods such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), self-service password reset (SSPR), and conditional access, to keep identities, access, and data secure
- 3.2Describe threat protection solutions of Microsoft 365
Describe Microsoft Defender XDR, Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Office 365, Defender for Identity, Defender for Cloud Apps, and the Microsoft Defender Portal; Describe Microsoft Secure Score benefits and capabilities; Describe how Microsoft 365 addresses the most common types of threats against endpoints, applications, and identities
- 3.3Describe trust, privacy, risk, and compliance solutions of Microsoft 365
Describe the Zero Trust Model; Describe Microsoft Purview compliance solutions such as insider risk, auditing, and eDiscovery; Describe Microsoft Purview Information Protection features such as sensitivity labels and data loss prevention; Describe how Microsoft supports data residency to ensure regulatory compliance; Describe the capabilities and benefits of Microsoft Priva
4.0 Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support
10-15%
- 4.1Identify Microsoft 365 pricing and billing management options
Describe the pricing model for Microsoft cloud services including enterprise agreements, cloud solution providers, and direct billing; Describe available billing and bill management options including billing frequency and methods of payment
- 4.2Identify licensing options available in Microsoft 365
Describe license management; Describe the differences between base licensing and add-on licensing
- 4.3Identify support options for Microsoft 365 services
Describe how to create a support request for Microsoft 365 services; Describe support options for Microsoft 365 services; Describe service-level agreements (SLAs) including service credits; Determine service health status by using the Microsoft 365 admin center or the Microsoft Entra admin center