Andrzej Kaczmarek Infrastructure & Cloud Architect
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AI Skills Fest 2026: grab a free Microsoft exam voucher (deadline is now)

Microsoft AI Skills Fest 2026 hands out a 100% certification exam voucher for completing one learning playlist — but the claim window closes June 12, 00:00 UTC. Here is exactly what to do, step by step.

· 4 min read

Microsoft certification exams cost around $165 each. Right now — and only for a few more hours — you can get one completely free. Microsoft’s AI Skills Fest 2026 (June 8–12) rewards anyone who completes a single learning playlist with a 100% discount voucher for a Microsoft Certification exam. The catch: the window is closing as you read this.

⏰ The hard deadline: the reward claim form closes at 12:00 AM UTC on June 12, 2026 — that’s the night of June 11th. If you’re reading this on publication day, you still have time. Tomorrow, you don’t.

What you get

  • A voucher for 100% off any Microsoft Certification exam delivered by Pearson VUE — that includes the Azure, Microsoft 365, Security and Power Platform role-based exams, beta exams, and even GitHub certification exams. (Certiport-delivered exams like Microsoft Office Specialist are excluded.)
  • One voucher per person — completing five playlists still earns exactly one.
  • The voucher arrives by email and must be redeemed (exam booked) within roughly 60 days — sources report mid-August 2026; your voucher email states the exact date — with the exam itself to be taken by October 18, 2026.

How to claim it, step by step

  1. Register on the AI Skills Navigator event page: aiskillsnavigator.microsoft.com/events/AISF2026 (free, takes a minute — sign in with your Microsoft account, ideally the same one you use for Microsoft Learn and certifications).
  2. Complete ONE eligible skilling playlist on AI Skills Navigator, in its entirety, during the event window (June 8–12). Playlists are bundles of Microsoft Learn modules — a few focused hours of work, very doable in one evening.
  3. Do not edit or customize the playlist. Modified playlists are disqualified — this is the most common way people lose the reward. Pick one of the official, reward-eligible playlists and finish it exactly as-is.
  4. Fill out the claim form: aka.ms/aiskillsfest/claim — before June 12, 00:00 UTC. This step is mandatory. Finishing the playlist alone gets you nothing; no form, no voucher.
  5. Watch your inbox. Vouchers are delivered by email around June 12. Then book your exam through the regular certification flow and apply the voucher at checkout.

How to spend it wisely

A free voucher is the perfect excuse to schedule the exam you’ve been postponing. My suggestions, depending on where you are:

  • Starting out: AI-900 (Azure AI Fundamentals) or AZ-900 — though if you’re up for a challenge, the voucher covers role-based exams too, and those cost (and teach) more.
  • Working in the Microsoft cloud already: AZ-104 (Azure Administrator), AZ-500 (Security Engineer) or SC-300 (Identity and Access Administrator) — the identity one is, in my obviously biased opinion, the most underrated exam in the lineup.
  • Architects: AZ-305, or go for a beta exam — they’re covered too, and beta exams are normally a gamble people hesitate to pay for.

Since the voucher covers any Pearson VUE exam regardless of price, it’s economically smartest to use it on a role-based exam (~$165) rather than a fundamentals one (~$99) — and pay out of pocket for the cheaper one later if you want both.

The fine print worth knowing

  • The event also raffles $25,000 worth of prizes (including VIP trips to Microsoft Ignite 2026), but the prize draw is limited to legal residents of the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, India and Mexico. The exam voucher, however, is worldwide — Poland very much included.
  • The playlist must be completed during the event window — modules finished before June 8 don’t count toward it.
  • If you already hold every certification you care about: remember that renewals are free anyway (online renewal assessments cost nothing), so don’t burn the voucher there — a beta exam or a GitHub certification is a much better way to spend it.

Free skilling content year-round is nothing new — but Microsoft handing out full exam vouchers for a few hours of structured learning is the best deal in the certification world right now. Clear your evening, pick a playlist, and don’t forget the claim form.

Sources & further reading: AI Skills Fest on AI Skills Navigator, claim form, voucher process guide (vladtalkstech.com), AI Skills Fest voucher details (msfthub.com).