PL-500 Study Guide

Exam Quick Facts

Study Resources

Skills at a Glance

Who is this exam for?

This Power Platform certification covers Microsoft’s low-code/no-code platform. It tests your ability to build business applications, automate processes, and create solutions using Power Apps, Power Automate, and related services. This is an associate-level exam that expects hands-on experience. You should have practical knowledge of the technologies covered.

This exam is retiring on 2026-06-30. The replacement exam is New Power Platform AI/Copilot certs. If you’re planning to take this exam, schedule it before the retirement date.

Skills Measured

Design automations (25–30%)

This domain covers the skills needed to work with the topics described below. Study each objective carefully and use the linked resources to deepen your understanding.

Design automations using Power Automate features and capabilities

• Leverage the Power Automate ecosystem
• Differentiate between cloud flows and desktop flows
• Design automations using desktop flows and cloud flows
• Differentiate trigger types for cloud flows
• Differentiate options for interacting with target applications and browsers
• Differentiate the different methods for running a desktop flow
• Assess the ability to run cloud and desktop flows concurrently
• Recommend running desktop flows attended versus unattended
• Differentiate HTTP actions in cloud and desktop flows
• Assess if work queues are applicable for the automation
• Design custom actions

Design automations using other Microsoft Power Platform features and capabilities

• Design automations that include canvas and model-driven apps
• Design automations using connectors, custom connectors, connection references, and connections for cloud flows
• Design automations that include Microsoft Dataverse

Design automations that analyze and enhance data and documents

• Differentiate Microsoft AI options for processing documents in desktop and cloud flows
• Differentiate Microsoft AI options for processing data in desktop and cloud flows
• Recommend optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities in desktop flows
• Recommend Document Automation Toolkit for use in automation design

Design automations using scripting languages in desktop flows

• Design automations using scripting languages including PowerShell and Visual Basic Script (VBScript)
• Recommend automation use cases that use JavaScript
• Design an automation that uses the document object model (DOM)

Develop automations (45–50%)

This domain covers the skills needed to work with the topics described below. Study each objective carefully and use the linked resources to deepen your understanding.

Develop cloud flows

• Develop a cloud flow that calls a desktop flow
• Develop and use child cloud flows including passing and returning data
• Perform actions in cloud flows by calling external APIs
• Implement trigger conditions and concurrency in cloud flows
• Implement timeout and retry policies in cloud flows
• Implement data objects and data operations in cloud flows
• Perform text parsing including JSON, XML, and CSV in cloud flows

Develop desktop flows

• Implement UI options
• Implement datatables, lists, and custom objects in desktop flows
• Implement subflows in desktop flows
• Perform actions in desktop flows by calling external APIs
• Implement timeout and retry in desktop flows
• Implement data objects and data operations in desktop flows
• Perform text parsing including JSON, XML, and CSV in desktop flows
• Implement custom actions in desktop flows

Implement logic in cloud and desktop flows

• Implement flow control in cloud and desktop flows including loops
• Implement expressions in cloud flows
• Implement variable actions for cloud and desktop flows
• Implement secure input and output data in actions in cloud flows
• Implement secure variables in desktop flows
• Implement priority for desktop flows in a queue
• Implement exception handling blocks in cloud and desktop flows to handle system exceptions
• Implement error handling routines in cloud and desktop flows to handle business exceptions
• Implement work queues in cloud and desktop flows

Build custom connectors and implement connector configurations

• Build a custom connector
• Implement authentication for custom connectors
• Implement custom connector policy templates
• Develop code in a custom connector

Perform automation infrastructure management

• Recommend credential management practices
• Utilize on-premises data gateway to connect resources from cloud flows
• Build components in Microsoft Dataverse solutions

Test automations and finalize development efforts

• Test a cloud flow
• Test a desktop flow
• Utilize environment variables and configuration files to manage configurations
• Utilize debugging features in cloud and desktop flows

Deploy and manage automations (20–25%)

This domain covers deployment and management. You need to know how to set up, configure, and maintain the environment for day-to-day operations.

Perform target environment preparation

• Implement Microsoft Power Platform application lifecycle management (ALM)
• Differentiate credentials used for different environments
• Recommend how to deploy solution components to other environments
• Build virtual desktop environments for unattended desktop flow execution

Assess data loss prevention (DLP) policies for RPA execution

• Assess Microsoft Power Platform DLP policies
• Assess how DLP policies impact actions in cloud and desktop flows
• Assess how DLP policies apply to custom connectors

Implement access to RPA components

• Perform sharing of cloud and desktop flows
• Perform sharing of machines and machine groups
• Recommend security roles required to run and monitor cloud and desktop flows
• Implement service accounts and service principals

Implement machine groups and queues required for desktop flow automations

• Assess machine and machine group requirements
• Perform machine registration management
• Perform machine group management
• Implement load balancing of desktop flows by using machine groups and queues
• Perform operations on the run queue to manage desktop flows
• Analyze cloud and desktop flow run history from the Power Automate portal

Audience profile

• Design automations (30–35%)
• Develop automations (40–45%)
• Deploy and manage automations (20–25%)

Prepare target environments

• Implement Microsoft Power Platform application lifecycle management (ALM)
• Differentiate credentials used for different environments
• Deploy RPA solutions to other environments
• Prepare virtual desktop environments for unattended desktop flow execution

Evaluate data loss prevention (DLP) policies for RPA execution

• Identify Microsoft Power Platform data loss prevention (DLP) policies
• Identify how DLP policies impact actions in cloud and desktop flows
• Identify how DLP policies apply to custom connectors

Manage access to RPA components

• Share a cloud flow
• Share a desktop flow
• Share machines and machine groups
• Identify security roles required to run and monitor cloud and desktop flows
• Create service accounts and service principals

Configure machine groups and queues required for desktop flow automations

• Identify use cases for and capabilities of machines and machine groups
• Manage machine registrations
• Create and manage machine groups
• Implement load balancing of desktop flows by using machine groups and queues
• Work with queues and queue operations for desktop flows
• Evaluate cloud and desktop flow run history from the Power Automate portal

Design automations (30–35%)

This domain covers the skills needed to work with the topics described below. Study each objective carefully and use the linked resources to deepen your understanding.

Describe Power Automate features and capabilities

• Identify the Power Automate ecosystem and offerings
• Identify the differences among cloud flows, and desktop flows, and business process flows
• Identify when to use a desktop flow or a cloud flow, and when to use them together
• Identify the different trigger types for cloud flows
• Identify options for interacting with target applications and browsers
• Identify the different methods for running a desktop flow
• Identify considerations for running cloud and desktop flows concurrently
• Identify considerations for running desktop flows attended versus unattended
• Differentiate HTTP actions in cloud and desktop flows

Work with other Microsoft Power Platform offerings

• Identify how canvas apps and model-driven apps work with automation
• Identify use cases for connectors, custom connectors, connection references, and connections for cloud flows
• Identify use cases for Microsoft Dataverse

Record and analyze processes

• Create processes in Process Advisor
• Identify the steps for Process mining
• Identify the steps for Task mining
• Identify the use cases for Process Advisor

Identify how to analyze and enhance data and documents

• Identify Microsoft AI options for processing documents in desktop and cloud flows
• Identify Microsoft AI options for processing data in desktop and cloud flows
• Identify optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities in desktop flows
• Identify use cases for the Document Automation Toolkit

Identify use cases for scripting languages in desktop flows

• Identify use cases for scripting languages including PowerShell and VBScript
• Identify use cases for application-specific macro languages including VBA in Microsoft Excel and Office Scripts
• Identify use cases for using JavaScript
• Identify how to use the document object model (DOM) in automation

Develop automations (40–45%)

This domain covers the skills needed to work with the topics described below. Study each objective carefully and use the linked resources to deepen your understanding.

Create and manage cloud flows

• Create a cloud flow
• Create a cloud flow that calls a desktop flow
• Create and use child cloud flows including how to pass data to a child cloud flow and return data back
• Perform actions in cloud flows by calling external APIs
• Configure filter conditions and concurrency in cloud flows
• Configure timeout and retry policies in cloud flows
• Implement data objects in cloud flows
• Identify common processes for parsing text including JSON, XML, and CSV in cloud flows
• Configure cloud flow action to run Microsoft Office Scripts

Create and manage desktop flows

• Create desktop flows to launch, connect to, and authenticate target application
• Configure user interface (UI) options
• Configure datatables, lists, and custom objects in desktop flows
• Implement subflows in desktop flows
• Add desktop actions to exit from target applications
• Perform actions in desktop flows by calling external APIs
• Configure timeout and retry in desktop flows
• Implement data objects in desktop flows
• Identify common processes for parsing text including JSON, XML, and CSV in desktop flows

Implement logic in cloud and desktop flows

• Configure flow control in cloud and desktop flows including loops
• Configure expressions in cloud flows
• Configure variable actions for cloud and desktop flows
• Configure secure input and output data in actions in cloud flows
• Configure secure variables in desktop flows
• Configure priority for desktop flows in a queue
• Create exception handling blocks in cloud and desktop flows to handle system exceptions
• Create error handling routines in cloud and desktop flows to handle business exceptions
• Configure document processing by using AI Builder

Create and configure custom connectors

• Create a custom connector
• Implement authentication for custom connectors
• Identify custom connector policy templates
• Write code in a custom connector

Manage automation infrastructure

• Configure credential management
• Connect cloud flows to on-premises data by using the on-premises data gateway
• Create and manage components in Microsoft Dataverse solutions

Test automations and finalize development efforts

• Run and test a cloud flow
• Run and test a desktop flow
• Manage configurations by using environment variables and configuration files
• Debug solutions by using Power Automate cloud and desktop flows debugging features

What to Study Next

Based on this exam, here are related certifications to consider:

• PL-400: Microsoft Power Platform Developer — Associate
• PL-200: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant — Associate
• PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals — Fundamentals

Quick Links

• Official Exam Page
• Microsoft Study Guide
• Practice Assessment