Associate DP-203 Retired
Retired Azure cert for data engineers. Covered Azure Synapse, Data Factory, Databricks, and stream processing. Retired March 2025. Replaced by DP-700.
The Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203) was the primary Azure certification for data engineers working with large-scale data integration, transformation, and storage on Azure. It validated expertise in designing and implementing data solutions using Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Databricks, Azure Stream Analytics, and Azure Data Lake Storage.
The exam covered five domains: Design and Implement Data Storage (15–20%), Design and Develop Data Processing (45–50%), Design and Implement Data Security (10–15%), Monitor and Optimize Data Storage and Data Processing (10–15%), and Perform Data Engineering with Azure Synapse Analytics Pipelines (20–25%). Candidates needed proficiency in SQL, Spark, PySpark, and data pipeline design patterns for both batch and streaming workloads.
This certification was retired on March 31, 2025. Microsoft replaced it with the DP-700: Implementing Data Engineering Solutions Using Microsoft Fabric, reflecting the shift toward Microsoft Fabric as the unified analytics platform. Data engineers previously certified as DP-203 should consider transitioning to DP-600 (Fabric Analytics Engineer) or DP-700 to maintain a current Azure data engineering credential.
Data engineers working with Azure data integration and analytics services.
Prerequisites: DP-900 recommended. Experience with SQL, Python/Spark, and data pipeline concepts.