Can I still take the PL-400 exam?

Only if you registered on or before 16 October 2026. Those candidates can schedule and take PL-400 until 30 October 2026. Everyone else now books AB-400, Extending Microsoft Power Platform Solutions with Code and AI, which earns the same Power Platform Developer Associate certification and measures the same four skill areas.

Does AB-400 give a different certification from PL-400?

No. Microsoft lists AB-400 as part of the requirements for Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate, the same certification PL-400 earned. The exam number and title changed, along with the emphasis on code apps and agents, but the credential on your profile keeps the same name.

I already hold Power Platform Developer Associate. Do I need to pass AB-400?

No. Keep your certification active by passing the free renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn before it expires. You only need AB-400 if your certification lapses, because an expired certification has to be earned again by passing the current exam, which is now AB-400.

Is AB-400 harder than PL-400?

Compared with the final PL-400 outline from 16 October 2026, the four areas and weights are the same. Compared with older PL-400 material, AB-400 adds Power Apps code apps and Microsoft Foundry agents, drops advanced canvas app topics, and expects Python and YAML alongside C# and TypeScript. It is also English only.

Can I use the Power Apps Developer Plan with a Gmail address?

No. The Developer Plan needs a work or school account backed by Microsoft Entra ID. Note also that from 15 November 2026 signing up no longer creates an unmanaged developer environment. After that, ask your admin for a managed developer environment, or use a 30-day trial environment, and export your solutions regularly.

PL-400 Exam Is Now AB-400: Power Platform Developer Guide for India

You can no longer book the PL-400 exam. Microsoft closed registration on 16 October 2026, and only candidates who registered by then can sit it, until 30 October 2026. Its replacement, AB-400, Extending Microsoft Power Platform Solutions with Code and AI, earns the same Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate. The skill areas match the final PL-400 outline, but AB-400 is offered in English only.

At a glance

Old exam: PL-400; registration closed 16 October 2026, and booked candidates can test until 30 October 2026
New exam: AB-400, available from 16 October 2026, with no retirement date listed
Certification: unchanged, Power Platform Developer Associate, renewed free every year
Biggest area: extend Microsoft Power Platform, 35 to 40%
Pass mark: 700
Languages: AB-400 in English only; PL-400 was offered in eight languages
Official course: Microsoft's PL-400T00 course retires on 30 October 2026, replaced by AB-400T00

What the switch means for you

The PL-400 study guide and the AB-400 exam page give the same dates, and the Power Platform Developer Associate page now lists both exams. Your next step depends on where you stand.

You booked PL-400 before 16 October. You can still sit it until 30 October 2026. If you are not ready, look at your options in your Pearson VUE appointment rather than rushing, because AB-400 measures the same four areas.
You already hold Power Platform Developer Associate. Nothing changes. Renew it with the free online assessment before it expires.
You are starting now. Prepare for AB-400. Be careful with older PL-400 notes and videos: anything written before 16 October 2026 misses code apps and agents, and spends time on canvas app topics that have been removed.

AB-400 skills measured

Skill area	Weight	Highlights
Build Microsoft Power Platform solutions	15 to 20%	Architecture choices, security model, ALM, Power Platform Pipelines, Build Tools
Extend the user experience	25 to 30%	Client API scripting, PCF components, Power Apps code apps
Extend Microsoft Power Platform	35 to 40%	Plug-ins, custom APIs, Web API and SDKs, Azure Functions, flows, Foundry agents
Develop integrations	10 to 15%	Dataverse events, webhooks, Service Bus, change tracking, custom connectors

The change log against the older PL-400 outline tells you where to spend time:

Removed: configuring and troubleshooting Power Platform, Power Apps improvements, advanced canvas app features, and optimising and troubleshooting apps.
New: building, deploying and managing Power Apps code apps, and building Microsoft Foundry agents in code that integrate with Power Platform.
Major changes: ALM, platform APIs, and cloud flows, which now include Copilot Studio workflows.

The audience profile also widens the languages you are expected to use: JavaScript, JSON, TypeScript and Power Fx as before, plus C#, Python, HTML and YAML, with REST APIs, Azure, Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio. Dataverse SDKs for both .NET and Python now appear by name.

The pro-code toolkit

Set these up in the first week, because every later lab depends on them.

Power Platform CLI (pac) for authentication, solutions, PCF projects and launching the Plug-in Registration Tool.
The Power Apps CLI from npm for code apps. Microsoft notes that from Power Apps SDK 1.0.4 the SDK includes this npm-based CLI, which will replace the older pac code commands.
Visual Studio for C# plug-ins and custom APIs, and Visual Studio Code for TypeScript PCF components and code apps.
Azure Functions and Application Insights for long-running work and for monitoring code apps.

A first PCF session from the terminal looks like this:

pac auth create --environment https://yourorg.crm8.dynamics.com
pac pcf init --namespace Contoso --name StarRating --template field --run-npm-install
npm run build
pac tool prt

The crm8.dynamics.com address is the India region URL for Dataverse, which brings us to some local details.

India region details developers should know

Microsoft's page on choosing an environment region has three points that affect solution design in India:

Tenant location decides India hosting. Tax laws prevent you from creating an environment database in India if your Microsoft Entra tenant is not in India. A tenant based in India can create databases in any region except Australia.
No on-premises data gateway in the India region. If a design depends on a gateway to reach an on-premises SQL Server or file share, plan another route, such as an Azure-hosted integration, and confirm the current position in the documentation before you commit.
Region URLs. Environments in the India region use crm8.dynamics.com, as listed on Microsoft's datacenter regions page. Knowing this saves time when you script authentication or read connection strings.

Your practice environment: act before 15 November 2026

The Power Apps Developer Plan gives a free environment with Power Apps, Power Automate and Dataverse for development and testing. It needs a work or school account; a personal Gmail or Outlook address will not work. Microsoft has deprecated unmanaged developer environments, and from 15 November 2026 signing up for the Developer Plan no longer creates one. After that date you ask your admin for a managed developer environment, and each user can create only one. Users then need a premium licence to run assets there, because Managed Environments use rights are not included in the Developer Plan. The alternative is a 30-day trial environment.

Two habits protect your work whichever route you take. Keep every customisation inside a solution, and export it to source control after each lab. That is also good ALM practice, which the exam tests. Second, code apps must be switched on by an admin for each environment, and people who run them need Power Apps Premium or one of the other options Microsoft lists in the code apps overview.

An eight-week plan

Week	Focus
1	Solutions, publishers, environment variables and solution layers; pac authentication
2	Client scripting: form events, Client API, Web API calls, commands in Power Fx and JavaScript
3	PCF field and dataset components: manifest, lifecycle, packaging
4	Code apps: build from the template, connect Dataverse, deploy, Content Security Policy, Application Insights
5	Plug-ins: pipeline stages, images, custom APIs, managed identity
6	Web API and SDKs, API limit retry policies, Azure Functions
7	Flow expressions and error handling, custom connectors, Dataverse events to Service Bus
8	Foundry agents through MCP and Copilot Studio, Pipelines and Build Tools, then the practice assessment

A common mistake is spending weeks on plug-ins and skipping integrations. The integrations area carries the smallest weight, but its objectives are narrow and concrete, such as registering Service Bus endpoints, using alternate keys and sending UpsertRequest messages, so a few focused evenings cover them well.

Exam day notes

Language. AB-400 is English only. If you are not proficient in English, Microsoft's accommodations page explains how to request extra time through the English as a Second Language form, with a letter from an instructor or employer.
Microsoft Learn. You can open Learn during role-based exams, but the clock keeps running.
Account and price. Register with a personal Microsoft account. The price depends on where the exam is proctored; see our Microsoft exam cost guide for India.

New to Power Platform? Start with our PL-900 guide, and read what a Copilot Studio agent really is before week 8.

How CertTulen Academy can help

CertTulen Academy teaches the Power Platform Developer course as live, MCT-led online classes with hands-on labs in plug-ins, PCF, code apps and integrations. Because the exam changed this month, ask us how the current batch maps to the AB-400 objectives before you enrol. If you are newer to the platform, the PL-900 course builds the base first. Course pages show prices in INR with UPI, card and netbanking checkout. Contact us or WhatsApp +91 93618 83583 for a batch that suits your time zone.