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New accessibility updates for Microsoft Certification exams

LibertyMunson's avatar
LibertyMunson
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Oct 12, 2026

Preparing for a Microsoft Certification exam? Explore upcoming case study updates and new options for scheduling approved accommodations online.

 

If you're preparing for a Microsoft Certification exam, two upcoming changes may make your exam experience easier to navigate and schedule. The case study interface is being redesigned for greater readability and accessibility, and Pearson's accommodations process is becoming more streamlined. 

Certification exams should give every candidate a clear opportunity to demonstrate what they know. By making complex case studies easier to navigate and reducing friction in the accommodations process, these updates are designed to help candidates focus more fully on the skills being assessed.

Here's what is changing, when the updates will be available, and what you need to know before scheduling your exam.

A redesigned case study experience

Case study questions ask you to work through a detailed business scenario while answering related questions. Because that can mean viewing a large amount of information at once, the experience has been redesigned with readability, accessibility, and navigation in mind.

The updated case study format has begun rolling out, with the goal of making it available for all exams and languages by the end of the calendar year. The exam sandbox is expected to fully reflect the new format by the end of October 2026.

New features include:

1. A cleaner full-screen layout. View the question and supporting scenario side by side, then use the splitter bar to adjust how much space each receives.

New full-screen case study layout

 

2. A responsive layout. On smaller displays or when using zoom, magnification, or other assistive setups, the interface shifts to a single-column reading order. The question, answer area, and scenario content appear vertically, reducing the need for horizontal scrolling.

Responsive single-column layout

 

3. Faster navigation. Use the linked Case Study Contents outline to move directly to a section. "Back to top" and "Back to contents" controls in the bottom right corner of the screen help you return without scrolling through the entire scenario.

"Back to top" control in the bottom-right corner of the full-screen experience

 

"Back to contents" control in the bottom right corner of the responsive experience

More options for scheduling approved accommodations

Microsoft has also been working with Pearson to make requesting and scheduling accommodations simpler and faster.

Available now: Online scheduling for approved accommodations

Candidates with some preapproved accommodations can now book their exam online instead of calling the accommodations scheduling team. For example, extra testing time, the most commonly requested accommodation, can now be scheduled on the web. Some accommodations that require additional arrangements, such as a separate room, still require a phone call, but more accommodations are expected to move to online scheduling over time.

Coming in 2027

A modern accommodations request system in early 2027. The current accommodations request system will be replaced with a streamlined experience integrated into registration and scheduling, so candidates can request an accommodation when they register instead of through a separate process.

Expanded online scheduling in mid-2027. Web scheduling is planned to expand to accommodations that require a separate room or advance lead time to set up the delivery, allowing more candidates to schedule online without calling.

What certification candidates should know

  1. Before your exam, use the exam sandbox to become familiar with the updated case study experience.
  2. If you have a preapproved accommodation, check whether it can be scheduled online or still requires assistance by phone.
  3. Review the accommodations documentation before registering so you understand the available options and any advance requirements.

These updates are designed to make Microsoft Certification exams easier to navigate and accommodations easier to schedule. Before your next exam, explore the updated experience in the exam sandbox and review the accommodations guidance to understand which scheduling options are available to you.

Find the right credential for your goals.

Updated Oct 12, 2026
Version 1.0
certification

10 Comments

  • LibertyMunson's avatar
    LibertyMunson
    Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
    Oct 30, 2026

    We fixed the comment problem!!! You should be able to leave comments on case study questions. Thanks for raising the issue so that we could quickly resolve it. I'm also working with the team on the font sizes of the headings so it's clear what is a Heading and what is Subheading visually. (I think that's what the first part of the comment above was referring to.) Keep sharing your feedback. That's the only way we get better!

  • mvpkenlin's avatar
    mvpkenlin
    Learn Expert
    Oct 13, 2026

    Can we have more easy way to apply for the extra time for non-native English test takers? 
    Rather than filling diff forms, applying each time before schedule any exam?

    In other Cloud service provider, it is just one steps for all exams. 

    • LibertyMunson's avatar
      LibertyMunson
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      Oct 13, 2026

      We have considered this, and we decided that in order to ensure that extra time was only in cases where it is truly needed (either a true ESL need or for accommodations) that this is the best approach. I know that other certification providers take different approaches, but fairness is important to me and applying extra time when it's not needed for a legitimate reason is not fair. It should not be automatically applied simply because someone requests it. We'll consider to explore ways to make the experience more accessible and inclusive because that is also important to me, so we may decide to handle this differently in the future; for now, the process will remain as is. FWIW, it's still easy enough to request the extra time. The form is easy to complete and submit.

      • mvpkenlin's avatar
        mvpkenlin
        Learn Expert
        Oct 20, 2026

        However, I still need to wait for approval each time I want to register for an exam. Would it be possible to have a one-time approval that covers all exam registrations within a one-year period?

  • Nepper's avatar
    Nepper
    Copper Contributor
    Oct 12, 2026

    Nice to hear! Great Case Study improvement!

    • GuusJozephvanBerlo's avatar
      GuusJozephvanBerlo
      Brass Contributor
      Oct 29, 2026

      After actually seeing it live in two seperate exams I must retract my statement about it being great changes. It's not easy to read at all because of it lacking proper subheaders, in both exams that had this "improved" version there were questions that were mentioning information that was not in the case study at all and the best part is that you are not able to do reviews for those questions because there is no option to write a comment. Lost a lot of time on both exams searching for information that was just not there. Feels like there was no testing done before adding it to the new beta exams, I don't think beta exams are the place to test out features, they should be about testing the actual exam itself. 

      • LibertyMunson's avatar
        LibertyMunson
        Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
        Oct 29, 2026

         Could you share your registration ID? While I don't understand the first part of your comment, we have heard about the inability to comment from another candidate and we're trying to recreate what's going on (you were able to comment and mark for review in our QA testing). If we can look at your delivery, it might help us figure out what's going on.