AI Developer Certificate

Directory / GitHub (delivered through Microsoft Learn / Pearson VUE)

GitHub Copilot

Certifies proficient and responsible use of GitHub Copilot, including agent mode, MCP and organisation policies. It is about using an AI coding assistant, not building AI systems.

What it signals

Practical assessment: Scenario-based multiple choice (2 of 4) Practical assessment
Scenario-based multiple choice. Proctored knowledge exam with no documentation access and no labs documented.
Identity assurance: Proctored with identity verification (4 of 4) Identity assurance
Proctored with identity verification. Proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE (official). Microsoft Learn is NOT accessible during GitHub exams (official). Online or test-centre per third-party sources.
Depth: Associate (2 of 4) Depth
Associate. Associate level.
Experience expected: Under 6 months (1 of 4) Experience expected
Under 6 months. Expects basic GitHub and programming experience only.
Portability: Mostly vendor-specific (1 of 4) Portability
Mostly vendor-specific. Prompting and responsible-use ideas transfer to other assistants; most content is Copilot product knowledge.
Verifiability: Public badge or registry (4 of 4) Verifiability
Public badge or registry. Verifiable through a Microsoft Learn share link (or Credly for pre-July-2025 passes).

For hiring managers

  • Certifies proficient, responsible USE of an AI coding assistant, not the ability to build AI systems.
  • Blueprint is kept current: August 2026 revision covers agent mode, Copilot CLI, MCP, sub-agents, Spaces, Spark and code review policies.
  • Includes admin topics (organisation policies, content exclusions, audit logs) relevant for engineering leads rolling out Copilot.
  • Verification location depends on when it was earned (GitHub Learn/Credly before July 2025, Microsoft Learn after).

Verifying it

Certifications earned on or after 2025-07-01 appear in the candidate's Microsoft Learn profile/transcript and are shared via Learn verification links; no Credly badge is issued for these. Certifications earned before that date (PSI era) remain in the GitHub Learn profile and had Credly badges.

What it covers

Published exam outline

  • Use GitHub Copilot responsibly 15-20%
  • Use GitHub Copilot features 25-30%
  • Understand GitHub Copilot data and architecture 10-15%
  • Apply prompt engineering and context crafting 10-15%
  • Improve developer productivity with GitHub Copilot 10-15%
  • Configure privacy, content exclusions, and safeguards 10-15%

By topic

GenAI apps: Some (10 to 20%) (2 of 4) GenAI apps
Some (10 to 20%). Prompt engineering (10-15%) and how prompts are built/processed by the LLM (10-15%) are covered from a tool-user perspective.
Agents: Touched on (under 10%) (1 of 4) Agents
Touched on (under 10%). Agent mode, MCP and sub-agents are a few bullets inside the features domain.
Classical ML: Not covered (0 of 4) Classical ML
Not covered. None.
Operations: Not covered (0 of 4) Operations
Not covered. None.
Data: Not covered (0 of 4) Data
Not covered. None.
Responsible AI: Substantial (20 to 35%) (3 of 4) Responsible AI
Substantial (20 to 35%). Responsible use (15-20%) plus privacy, exclusions and safeguards (10-15%) total roughly 25-35%.

Exam details

Who the provider says it is for. Developers, DevOps engineers, app makers and technology managers who use GitHub Copilot to improve productivity, quality and security.

Format
Microsoft does not publish per-exam formats. Official question types across the programme: multiple choice, drag and drop, build list, hot area, active screen, case studies, and (on some role-based exams) labs. Exam page states: 'This exam will be proctored. You may have interactive components to complete as part of this exam.' GitHub has its own exam sandbox (GHCertDemo.starttest.com).
Delivery
Proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE (official). Microsoft Learn is NOT accessible during GitHub exams (official). Online or test-centre per third-party sources.
Code or hands-on work
Questions are about using the tool; candidates should be able to read code snippets and prompts. No labs or code-writing tasks documented.
Prerequisites
None
Recommended experience
Familiarity with GitHub fundamentals and experience with one or more programming languages.
Renewal
In transition: GitHub is moving to Microsoft's recertification process so holders can renew without retaking the full exam; not yet in place at time of research. Until then, retake the exam.
Price notes
USD figure is from third-party sources; Microsoft prices vary by country.

Preparing

Not confirmed

These details were not available from an official source at the time of research.

  • priceUsd (third-party: USD 99)
  • questionCount
  • online vs test-centre options
  • date the new recertification process becomes available
  • GitHub's own certification page was not checked separately
Sources (5)