AI-901 renewal and retake rules

Azure AI Fundamentals does not expire, so AI-901 has no renewal assessment and no renewal deadline. What does have rules is failing: Microsoft requires a 24-hour wait after a first failed attempt, then 14 days between each later attempt, with no more than five attempts in 12 months. Those numbers come from Microsoft’s retake policy page as of October 2026, and a retake is paid again where a fee applies.

Fundamentals credentials sit outside the annual cycle

Microsoft’s renewal page says renewals are free, but only for associate, expert and specialty certifications, and adds: “Fundamentals certifications do not expire.” The credential expiration policy repeats it in one line: “Microsoft fundamentals Certifications do not expire.”

In practice that means:

• There is no six-month renewal window to track, no reminder email to wait for and no open-book assessment on Microsoft Learn.
• Passing AI-901 once is enough. You cannot retake a passed exam unless the certification has expired, and this one cannot.
• The associate rules (12-month validity, free renewal) apply to exams like AI-103. They do not apply here.

Microsoft does not publish a “valid until” date for a fundamentals credential, because there is none. A change in policy is always possible, so the two Microsoft pages linked above are the ones to recheck rather than a third-party summary.

The AI-900 retirement and what it means for holders

The old AI-900 page now carries a warning that the exam “was retired on June 30, 2026, and has been replaced by AI-901. To earn this certification, candidates must now pass AI-901.” Two practical consequences:

1. If you passed AI-900 earlier, the certification you earned is the same one, Azure AI Fundamentals. Microsoft’s pages describe the exam being replaced, not holders being revoked, and fundamentals do not expire. Check your transcript at your certifications rather than relying on this guide for your individual record.
2. If you never took AI-900, AI-901 is the only route to the credential. It cannot be earned with the old exam any more.

One wrinkle is worth knowing. Microsoft’s expiration policy says a retired credential without an expiry date stays in the Active section of your transcript for two years after retirement. That sentence concerns retired credentials. Microsoft’s pages show the AI-901 exam page with a retirement date of “none” and the Azure AI Fundamentals certification still being awarded, so this rule is not described as applying to the credential itself. Microsoft does not state what happens to the display of the AI-900 exam entry on a transcript beyond that general policy.

Retake rules for a failed AI-901 attempt

From Microsoft’s retake policy, for role-based, specialty and fundamentals exams:

Other statements on that page:

• You may not sit a given exam more than five times in a 12-month period from the first attempt.
• You must pay to retake the exam where a fee applies. Microsoft sets the price per country or region and does not publish a single AI-901 fee.
• The waiting period can be waived only for internet or equipment failure during the exam, and only with the Pearson VUE case number from that incident. No other reason qualifies.

A wait of 14 days is a different planning problem from 24 hours. After a second failure, the useful move is to use the score report: with only two skill areas, Identify AI concepts and capabilities versus Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry, the weaker bar is obvious. Book the third attempt for just after the 14 days end, not on the day.

When the exam outline changes

AI-901’s English version was updated on April 15, 2026, and localised versions follow roughly eight weeks later, according to the exam page. Outline updates do not reach back to change a credential you already hold. They matter if you are mid-study: material from before April may describe the AI-900 structure. See AI-901 vs AI-900 and the site-wide exam changes page.

Registering AI-901 under the right Microsoft account

• Microsoft recommends registering for an exam with a personal Microsoft account. If you register with a work or school account and later leave the organisation, your exam records can be lost and are unrecoverable.
• Accommodations are requested through Microsoft’s accommodations page before booking.
• Exam price depends on where it is proctored; see certification costs for how that adds up.

AI-901 versus the associate exams on the Azure AI path

Retake rules are the same for every Microsoft role-based and fundamentals exam. The validity rule is the unusual part: it is what separates this credential from the associate exams on the Azure AI path, which need yearly renewal. If your next step is an associate exam, the career page covers the options.