AssociateVendor-specificMicrosoft· issued from US

SC-400

Microsoft Certified Information Protection Administrator Associate

Official page at Microsoft ↔ Compare with another cert

Exam fee

$165

Ongoing

—

Study time

60–120 hrs

Delivery

Hybrid

Validity

1 yr (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

29.0 / 40

Four-axis SecProve rubric, each 0–10. SecProve editorial assessment — each axis carries a written justification so you can push back on any single call without dismissing the whole score.

Blueprint rigor

How well-defined and rigorous the exam blueprint is.

MS Information Protection Administrator ECO covers Purview, DLP, IRM.

7.5/10

Practical evidence

Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.

Case studies + scenario items.

5.5/10

Currency & upkeep

How aggressively content is kept current with the field.

Refreshed alongside Purview platform changes.

9.0/10

Market recognition

How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.

Common on Microsoft-stack data-protection roles.

7.0/10

› Exam format

40–60 questions (multiple-choice + case studies), 120 minutes. Proctored via Pearson VUE. Passing score: 700/1000.

Retake policy

Fee: $165 per attempt

Wait: 1d between attempts

24-hour wait after first fail; 14 days between attempts 2-4. Max 5 attempts per 12-month window.

› Recertification

Valid for 1 year. Free online renewal exam on Microsoft Learn.

› NICE Framework work roles

The NIST NICE work-role IDs this cert maps to. NICCS lookup.

PD-WRL-003OG-WRL-008PD-WRL-001IO-WRL-006

Recognition

Global

Exam languages

› Core domains covered

The 2 domains this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

A12Data Security, Privacy & Protection

Data classification, encryption-at-rest/in-transit, DLP, tokenization, privacy-by-design, plus the regulatory stack (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA) that sets the bar.

A6Identity & Access Management

AuthN/AuthZ, SSO, MFA, PAM, RBAC/ABAC, identity governance, FIDO2/passkeys, plus non-human identity: service accounts, workload identity, agent / plugin identities.

› Prerequisites

Experience

No formal prerequisites. Recommended: Experience with Microsoft Purview, DLP, Information Protection.

› Progression

requiredrecommended

Where this cert fits in the typical learning path. Required edges are vendor-gated; recommended edges reflect de facto industry progression.

Required prereqs (0)

No vendor-gated prereqs.

Recommended priors (1)

SC-900Microsoft

SC-400

Microsoft

Required by (0)

No certs require this one.

Recommended next (0)

No follow-on certs reference this one yet.

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