
The PL-200 certification is designed for professionals who play a key role in identifying business needs and designing modern solutions using Microsoft Power Platform. Candidates for this exam serve as vital connectors between technical teams and business stakeholders, driving digital transformation and automation efforts. As a Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant, candidates are expected to:
- Conduct discovery sessions to understand business challenges and goals
- Gather and document detailed requirements from stakeholders
- Collaborate closely with subject matter experts (SMEs) and key business stakeholders
- Configure and implement business solutions using the suite of Microsoft Power Platform tools
– Solution Development Capabilities
Functional consultants are responsible for delivering tangible solutions that enhance business operations. This includes:
- Developing and customizing applications to meet specific business needs
- Designing user-centric interfaces and optimized user experiences
- Automating business processes to improve efficiency and consistency
– Collaboration and Integration
Candidates work in alignment with solution architects to implement the overall design strategy, ensuring that branding, standards, and user experience artifacts are adhered to. The role also includes:
- Integrating Microsoft Power Platform solutions with third-party applications and services
- Creating and maintaining user training materials
- Leading training sessions and user enablement initiatives
– Communication and Delivery Team Engagement
Effective communication is key. Candidate must:
- Collaborate with project delivery teams, stakeholders, and customer representatives
- Advocate for stakeholder needs and promote successful solution adoption
- Understand and apply best practices for Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) within Microsoft Power Platform
- Ensure solution quality through proper testing and validation processes
– Required Knowledge and Tools
Candidates for this exam should be confident working with the core components of the Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem, including:
- Microsoft Dataverse
- Power Apps
- Power Automate (cloud flows)
- Power Pages
- Microsoft Power Platform environments
– Key Competencies
To be successful in this role, candidates should have proficiency in:
- Data Modeling – Structuring and organizing data effectively for use across Power Platform solutions
- User Experience (UX) Design – Creating intuitive and efficient interfaces
- Requirements Analysis – Identifying, documenting, and validating functional and technical requirements
Exam Details
Exam PL-200: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant is available in multiple languages, including English, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish. To successfully pass the exam, candidates must achieve a minimum score of 700. Individuals who use assistive technologies, require additional time, or need specific modifications to the exam experience may request reasonable accommodations to support their testing needs.
Course Outline
The Microsoft PL-200 exam covers the following topics:
1. Understand how to configure Microsoft Dataverse (25-30%)
1.1 Managing a data model
- Creating or modifying standard, activity, or virtual tables
- Creating new tables or modifying existing tables (Microsoft Documentation: Create a custom table, Editing Table)
- Determining which type of relationship to implement, including one-to-many and many-to-many (Microsoft Documentation: Table relationships, Create N:N (many-to-many) table relationships, Create one-to-many or many-to-one table relationships)
- Configuring table relationship, including behaviors cascading rules (Microsoft Documentation: Configuring entity relationship cascading behavior, Table relationships)
- Creating new columns or modify existing columns (Microsoft Documentation: Create and edit columns)
- Configuring table properties
1.2 Managing Dataverse
- Configuring Dataverse search and manage the search index
- Managing auditing (Microsoft Documentation: Auditing, Configure entities and attributes for auditing)
- Describing options for importing and exporting data
- Configuring duplicate detection settings (Microsoft Documentation: Detect duplicate data, Enable and Disable duplicate detection, Set up duplicate detection)
- Configuring bulk deletion
1.3 Configuring security settings
- Managing business units (Microsoft Documentation: Security concepts in Microsoft Dataverse, Create or edit business units)
- Creating and managing security roles (Microsoft Documentation: Create users and assign security roles, Security roles and privileges)
- Creating and managing users and teams (Microsoft Documentation: Microsoft Dataverse for Teams environment, Create users and assign security roles)
- Creating and managing column security
- Configuring hierarchy security (Microsoft Documentation: Hierarchy security to control access)
- Configuring Microsoft Entra ID group teams
2. Learn about creating apps by using Microsoft Power Apps (25-30%)
2.1 Creating model-driven apps
- Creating and configuring multiple forms types (Microsoft Documentation: Create and design model-driven app forms)
- Using controls in the form designer
- Creating and configuring views (Microsoft Documentation: Create and edit public or system model-driven app views)
- Configuring custom pages
- Configuring modern commanding by using Power Fx
- Embed a canvas app in a model-driven app form
- Adding Microsoft Power BI dashboards and reports in a model-driven app
2.2 Defining Canvas apps
- Describing canvas app structure
- Describing form navigation, formulas, variables and collections, and error handling (Microsoft Documentation: Back and Navigate functions in Power Apps, Understand variables in canvas apps, Errors function in Power Apps)
- Describing how Microsoft Power Automate flows are called from a canvas app
2.3 Building Microsoft Power Pages
- Configuring pages, forms, and navigation (Microsoft Documentation: About basic forms, Manage web pages)
- Describing advanced Power Pages features, including document management, search, multi-step forms, and Power BI
- Configuring website security including web roles and page access (Microsoft Documentation: Create web roles for portals)
- Describing use cases for templates (Microsoft Documentation: Use Word templates to create standardized documents)
- Describing authentication options
3. Understand about creating and managing logic and Process Automation (25-30%)
3.1 Creating and managing cloud flows
- Describing types of flows, use cases and flow components including when to use a classic workflow (Microsoft Documentation: Different types of flows)
- Describing components of a connector
- Implementing logic controls including branches, loops, conditions, error handling, and variables (Microsoft Documentation: Create loops that repeat workflow actions, Handle errors and exceptions in Azure Logic Apps)
- Implementing dynamic content and expressions
- Working with the Dataverse connector
- Testing and troubleshooting flows (Microsoft Documentation: Troubleshooting a cloud flow)
3.2 Creating and managing business process flows
- Configuring a business process flow (Microsoft Documentation: Create a business process flow)
- Adding stages, workflows, and action steps to a business process flow (Microsoft Documentation: Create a business process flow)
- Managing the business process flow table for a business process flow (Microsoft Documentation: Business process flows)
3.3 Creating and managing classic Dataverse workflows
- Configuring a workflow
- Troubleshooting workflows (Microsoft Documentation: Troubleshoot and diagnose workflow failures in Azure Logic Apps)
- Managing workflow logs
3.4 Implementing low-code logic
- Configuring low-code plug-ins
- Writing and using Power Fx functions and formulas
- Creating and configuring business rules
4. Managing environment (15–20%)
4.1 Participating in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
- Describing use cases for App Checker and Solution Checker (Microsoft Documentation: Use the solution checker to validate your model-driven apps in Power Apps)
- Creating and managing Dataverse solutions
- Describing the difference between managed and unmanaged solutions (Microsoft Documentation: Solution concepts)
- Managing Microsoft Power Platform environments for development
- Importing and exporting Dataverse solutions
4.2 Managing interoperability with other services
- Configuring email integration
- Configuring Microsoft SharePoint integration
- Describing options for document management
- Working with Microsoft Word templates
Microsoft PL-200 Exam FAQs
Microsoft Certification Exam Policies Overview
Microsoft enforces consistent policies across all certification exams to ensure fairness and global credibility, regardless of whether exams are taken online or at authorized centers.
- Retake Policy
- Candidates must wait 24 hours before retaking a failed exam. A 14-day waiting period applies for each additional attempt, with a maximum of five attempts allowed within 12 months. Passed exams cannot be retaken unless the certification has expired. Standard exam fees apply for each retake.
- Rescheduling & Cancellation
- Exams can be rescheduled or canceled free of charge if done at least six business days in advance. Changes made within five days may incur a fee. Cancellations within 24 hours or missed appointments will result in forfeiture of the exam fee.
Microsoft PL-200 Exam Study Guide
Step 1: Understand the Exam Objectives Thoroughly
Begin your preparation by carefully reviewing the official PL-200 exam objectives published by Microsoft. These outline the core areas the exam will cover, such as configuring Microsoft Dataverse, building Power Apps, automating business processes with Power Automate, integrating Microsoft Power Virtual Agents, and analyzing data using Power BI. Understanding these domains will give you a roadmap for what to study and help you identify which topics you may need to spend more time on.
Step 2: Follow the Microsoft Self-Paced Learning Paths
Microsoft offers a comprehensive set of free, self-paced learning paths specifically tailored to the PL-200 exam. These modules are available on Microsoft Learn, and they are broken down into digestible lessons that align directly with the exam objectives. Topics range from creating apps with Power Apps to implementing chatbots and using Dataverse effectively. The interactive labs and quizzes provide hands-on experience that mirrors real-world use cases, helping to reinforce what you’ve learned. Be sure to complete each learning path relevant to the PL-200 exam—track your progress and revisit modules for revision. Furthermore, the modules are:
- Describe the business value of the Microsoft Power Platform
- Identifying foundational components of Microsoft Power Platform
- Creating and managing environments in Dataverse
- Creating tables in Dataverse
- Creating and managing columns within a table in Dataverse
- Working with choices in Dataverse
- Creating a relationship between tables in Dataverse
- Creating and defining calculation or rollup columns in Dataverse
- Loading/exporting data and creating data views in Dataverse
- Overview of security roles in Dataverse
- Using administration options for Dataverse
- Building your first model-driven app with Dataverse
- Overview of model-driven apps in Power Apps
- Configuring forms, charts, and dashboards in model-driven apps
- Using specialized components in a model-driven form
- Customizing the command bar
- Basics of Power Apps canvas apps
- Customizing a canvas app in Power Apps
- Navigation in a canvas app in Power Apps
- Creating formulas to change behaviors in a Power Apps canvas app
- Connecting to other data in a Power Apps canvas app
- Overview of Power Apps cards
- Core components of Power Pages
- Access Dataverse in Power Pages websites
- Exploring Power Pages design studio
- Integrating Power Pages websites with Dataverse
- Integrating Power Pages with web-based technologies
- Exploring Power Pages design studio data and security features
- Setting up Power Pages security
- Authentication and user management in Power Pages
- Best practices for error handling in Power Automate flows
- Using Dataverse triggers and actions in Power Automate
- Introduction to expressions in Power Automate
- Defining and creating business rules in Dataverse
- Set up low-code plug-ins
- Using common low-code plug-in scenarios
- Getting started building with Power BI
- Introduction to solutions for Microsoft Power Platform
- Using Microsoft 365 services with model-driven apps and Microsoft Dataverse
- Using Microsoft Word and Excel templates with Dataverse
- Validating your Power Platform Functional Consultant skills
Step 3: Enroll in Instructor-Led Training for Guided Support
If you prefer structured learning with expert guidance, consider enrolling in Microsoft’s instructor-led training course: “PL-200T00: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant.” This course provides a comprehensive overview of all the core functionalities required for the exam, offering opportunities to ask questions and engage with experienced trainers. It’s especially helpful if you’re transitioning from a different Microsoft ecosystem role or are new to Power Platform tools. Instructor-led sessions often include access to guided labs and real-world project examples, which can help solidify your understanding.
Step 4: Join Online Study Groups and Discussion Forums
Participating in online study groups can significantly enhance your learning experience. Platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, and the Microsoft Tech Community host active forums where candidates and professionals discuss key concepts, share study resources, and offer tips for tackling tricky exam topics. These communities are valuable for asking questions, clarifying doubts, and staying motivated. You can also find scheduled group study sessions or exam bootcamps that walk through real-world case studies—these mimic scenarios often seen on the exam.
Step 5: Take Microsoft PL-200 Practice Tests Regularly
Practice exams are one of the most effective tools for exam readiness. They help you assess your current level of preparation, identify weak areas, and get accustomed to the exam format. Look for reputable sources that offer PL-200 practice tests that closely mirror the actual exam structure. Time yourself while taking these mock tests to improve time management. After each test, analyze your results carefully—understand why an answer was correct or incorrect, and revisit the corresponding learning modules for clarification.
Step 6: Reinforce Learning with Hands-On Practice
Theory alone isn’t enough to pass the PL-200. Use a Power Platform environment (such as the free Microsoft 365 developer account or Power Apps Community Plan) to build sample applications, automate workflows, create dashboards, and set up chatbots. The more time you spend using the tools, the more confident you’ll be during the exam. Hands-on experience is particularly important because the PL-200 exam evaluates not just knowledge, but also your ability to apply it in practical scenarios.