Microsoft Exam Syllabus

PL-300 syllabus, skills measured, and exam topics

The PL-300 exam measures Prepare the data, Model the data, and Visualize and analyze the data. Use this page to review the current official syllabus, major domains, and source links before exam day.

Skills measured by domain

Use the weighting table to decide where to spend the most study time.

Domain Weight
Prepare the data 25–30%
Model the data 25–30%
Visualize and analyze the data 25–30%
Manage and secure Power BI 15–20%

What to know before you study

These sections explain the role, audience, and exam framing behind the outline.

Purpose of this document

  • This study guide should help you understand what to expect on the exam and includes a summary of the topics the exam might cover and links to additional resources. The information and materials in this document should help you focus your studies as you prepare for the exam.
  • Useful links: Description
  • How to earn the certification: Some certifications only require passing one exam, while others require passing multiple exams.
  • Certification renewal: Microsoft associate, expert, and specialty certifications expire annually. You can renew by passing a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn.
  • Your Microsoft Learn profile: Connecting your certification profile to Microsoft Learn allows you to schedule and renew exams and share and print certificates.
  • Exam scoring and score reports: A score of 700 or greater is required to pass.
  • Exam sandbox: You can explore the exam environment by visiting our exam sandbox.
  • Request accommodations: If you use assistive devices, require extra time, or need modification to any part of the exam experience, you can request an accommodation.
  • Take a free Practice Assessment: Test your skills with practice questions to help you prepare for the exam.

Updates to the exam

  • Our exams are updated periodically to reflect skills that are required to perform a role. We have included two versions of the Skills Measured objectives depending on when you are taking the exam.
  • We always update the English language version of the exam first. Some exams are localized into other languages, and those are updated approximately eight weeks after the English version is updated. Although Microsoft makes every effort to update localized versions as noted, there may be times when the localized versions of an exam are not updated on this schedule. Other available languages are listed in the Schedule Exam section of the Exam Details webpage. If the exam isn't available in your preferred language, you can request an additional 30 minutes to complete the exam.
  • The bullets that follow each of the skills measured are intended to illustrate how we are assessing that skill. Related topics may be covered in the exam.
  • Most questions cover features that are general availability (GA). The exam may contain questions on Preview features if those features are commonly used.

Audience profile

  • As a candidate for this exam, you should deliver actionable insights by working with available data and applying domain expertise. You should:
  • Provide meaningful business value through easy-to-comprehend data visualizations.
  • Enable others to perform self-service analytics.
  • As a Power BI data analyst, you work closely with business stakeholders to identify business requirements. You collaborate with analytics engineers and data engineers to identify and acquire data. You use Power BI to:
  • Prepare the data
  • Model the data
  • Visualize and analyze data
  • Manage and secure Power BI
  • You should be proficient at using Power Query and Data Analysis Expressions (DAX).

Detailed outline

Scan each section as a working study checklist instead of one long wall of text.

Prepare the data (25–30%)

  • Identify and connect to data sources or a shared semantic model
  • Change data source settings, including credentials and privacy levels
  • Choose between DirectLake, DirectQuery, and Import
  • Create and modify parameters
  • Evaluate data, including data statistics and column properties
  • Resolve inconsistencies, unexpected or null values, and data quality issues
  • Resolve data import errors
  • Select appropriate column data types
  • Create and transform columns
  • Group and aggregate rows
  • Pivot, unpivot, and transpose data
  • Convert semi-structured data to a table

Visualize and analyze the data (25–30%)

  • Select an appropriate visual
  • Format and configure visuals
  • Create a narrative visual with Copilot
  • Apply and customize a theme
  • Apply conditional formatting
  • Apply slicing and filtering
  • Use Copilot to create a new report page
  • Use Copilot to suggest content for a new report page
  • Configure the report page
  • Choose when to use a paginated report
  • Create visual calculations by using DAX
  • Configure bookmarks

Manage and secure Power BI (15–20%)

  • Create and configure a workspace
  • Configure and update an app
  • Publish, import, or update items in a workspace
  • Create dashboards
  • Choose a distribution method
  • Configure subscriptions and data alerts
  • Promote or certify Power BI content
  • Identify when a gateway is required
  • Configure a semantic model scheduled refresh
  • Assign workspace roles
  • Configure item-level access
  • Configure access to semantic models