What is the AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam?
The AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam is Microsoft's Expert-level certification for people who design and run DevOps pipelines on Azure and GitHub. Passing it earns the Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert credential. The exam checks whether you can plan, build, and secure the path code takes from a developer's commit to a live production system.
This is not an entry-level test. It assumes you already work with Azure day to day and understand how development and operations teams work together. Microsoft built this exam for people who own delivery pipelines, not people who are new to cloud platforms.
People in this role usually carry titles such as DevOps engineer, platform engineer, or release manager. They are often the ones called in when a deployment fails outside office hours, so the exam leans heavily on practical judgment rather than pure theory.
How much does the AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam cost?
Microsoft charges $165 for the official AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam voucher. Cyber VK sells the same official voucher for $44.99, a saving of $120.01, which works out to 73% off the official price.
The voucher is delivered digitally within minutes of purchase. You can redeem it through Pearson VUE, either online or at a test centre, and it stays valid for 12 months from the date you buy it. That gives you time to build a study plan before you lock in a date.
Prices set directly by Microsoft can change without notice, so locking in your rate today protects you from a future increase.
Buy the AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam voucher once you are ready to book.
What is on the AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam?
The exam covers five domains. Together these domains describe the full loop of shipping software safely on Azure, from writing code to running it in production. The table below shows what each one covers.
| Domain | What it covers |
|---|---|
| DevOps Practices | Planning work, aligning teams, and building a culture where development and operations share responsibility for delivery. |
| CI/CD | Designing and running build and release pipelines in Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions, including deployment strategies such as blue and green releases. |
| Source Control | Choosing and applying branching strategies, managing pull requests, and structuring repositories for teams working at scale. |
| Infrastructure as Code | Automating environment setup with tools such as Bicep, Terraform, and ARM templates, so infrastructure changes are tested and repeatable. |
| Security | Building security and compliance checks into the pipeline itself, including secrets management and automated policy enforcement. |
Build and release pipelines carry real weight on this exam, so expect detailed questions on pipeline design, approvals, and rollback plans. Security also shows up throughout the exam rather than as a separate block. Understanding how these domains connect matters more than memorising any single tool.
How hard is the AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam?
AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert sits at Expert level, one step above the Associate exams most Azure certifications use. You get 60 questions and 2 hours 30 minutes to answer them, which leaves limited room to second-guess yourself. You need to reach 700 (on 100 to 1000 scale) to pass.
The difficulty comes less from any single topic and more from breadth. You need working knowledge of pipelines, infrastructure as code, source control strategy, and security controls at the same time. Many questions combine two or more of these areas in a single scenario, so memorising isolated facts will not carry you through.
Because the exam blends multiple-choice questions with case-study style scenarios, you often need to read a long description before you know what is actually being asked. Practicing under a timer helps you get comfortable with that pace before exam day.
How to prepare for the AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert exam
- Week 1: Review the exam domains and map them against your current Azure DevOps or GitHub experience, so you know where the gaps are.
- Week 2: Study CI/CD pipeline design in depth, covering Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions, and build a small pipeline yourself if you can.
- Week 3: Focus on infrastructure as code, working through Bicep or Terraform examples until the syntax feels familiar.
- Week 4: Study source control strategy and security and compliance practices, including how secrets and policies fit into a pipeline.
- Week 5: Try the free AZ-400 practice questions on Cyber VK to see how the real exam phrases its scenarios.
- Week 6: Revisit weak areas from your practice results, then book your exam once you feel steady across all five domains.
Common mistakes people make
Many candidates study CI/CD tools in isolation and skip infrastructure as code, then get caught out by scenario questions that combine both. Others treat security as an afterthought, when the exam expects you to build it into the pipeline from the start.
Some people also underestimate the time pressure. With 60 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, working through unfamiliar Bicep or Terraform syntax on the spot costs time you may not have.
A number of candidates also assume Associate-level Azure knowledge is enough on its own. AZ-400 builds on that foundation and expects you to combine it with delivery and security thinking, not just recall it.
Finally, some candidates skip hands-on practice altogether and rely on reading alone. This exam rewards people who have actually built and broken pipelines, not just people who have read about them.
Is the AZ-400 Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert certification worth it?
For someone already working in DevOps or platform engineering on Azure, this credential signals that you can own a delivery pipeline end to end, not just one piece of it. It sits above the Associate-level Azure certifications, so it tends to matter more once you are already established in the role. It also tends to open doors to senior platform and architecture roles, since it proves you can be trusted with production systems.
If you are earlier in your Azure career, it may be worth building experience first. Cyber VK also sells vouchers for other Microsoft exams, including AZ-204 Microsoft Azure Developer Associate for developers and SC-100 Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Expert for those moving toward security architecture.
Either way, the certification is only useful if the skills behind it are real. Treat the exam as a checkpoint for knowledge you are building anyway, not a shortcut on its own.