Is DP-203 still available, or do I need DP-700? +
DP-203 has been retired. DP-700 replaced it as Microsoft's data engineer associate exam and leads to the Fabric Data Engineer Associate certification. It is not a DP-203 update - it is built around Microsoft Fabric. Synapse and Data Factory experience helps, but does not carry over cleanly to lakehouses, eventhouses, OneLake shortcuts and mirroring.
How hard is DP-700? +
DP-700 requires three query languages: SQL, PySpark and KQL. Most candidates are fluent in one or two, and KQL for eventhouses and streaming is the usual blind spot. Tool-choice questions are also hard - pipeline or notebook, dataflow or T-SQL, lakehouse or warehouse, eventstream or Spark structured streaming - because Fabric offers overlapping options.
What does DP-700 cover? +
There are three domains, each weighted 30-35%: implement and manage an analytics solution, ingest and transform data, and monitor and optimize an analytics solution. Because the weights are even, nothing is safe to skip. Candidates who focus on building pipelines often get caught by troubleshooting and optimization questions.
What is the DP-700 format and passing score? +
Expect roughly 40-60 questions in about 100 minutes, proctored online or at a Pearson VUE center, with question types such as multiple choice, drag-and-drop and case studies. You need 700 on a scaled 1 to 1000 scale, which is not the same as 70% correct.
How much does DP-700 cost and how is it renewed? +
The exam costs $165 in the US, and pricing varies by country. The certification is valid for one year. You renew it for free with an online assessment on Microsoft Learn during the six months before it expires. The renewal assessment is unproctored and focuses on recent changes to the skills measured, which is useful given how quickly Fabric evolves.
How long should I prepare for DP-700, and what if I fail? +
With data engineering experience but little Fabric exposure, plan 6-8 weeks, using a Fabric trial capacity to build lakehouses, eventhouses and pipelines. If you fail a Microsoft exam, you can retake it after 24 hours. After that, each further retake requires a 14-day wait, with a maximum of five attempts in any 12-month period.