Certiport MOS

Overview

Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) is a certification in Microsoft Office skills, delivered by Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, and backed by Microsoft. Certiport says it is offered in over 140 countries and 26 languages. The exams are performance-based: they are taken live inside the Office application rather than as a quiz about it.

Who can apply

Certiport says candidates should have about 150 hours of instruction and hands-on experience. The exams are open to everyone but are best suited to ages 16 and up. No bachelor's degree or other prerequisite is needed beyond the objective domains for each exam.

Levels or stages

Certiport lists exams for Microsoft 365 Apps and for Office 2019. For Microsoft 365 Apps, the individual certifications on its page are:

• Excel: Excel Associate, Excel Expert, Excel for Accounting Associate, Excel for Business Finance Associate and Excel for Operational Management Associate.

• Word: Word Associate and Word Expert.

• PowerPoint: PowerPoint Associate.

The Microsoft 365 Apps exams are 50 minutes long and use Certiport's Live-in-the-Application (LITA) testing.

Individual exams can be stacked into combined credentials:

• MOS Associate: pass three exams from Word, Excel, PowerPoint and (for Office 2019) Outlook.

• MOS Expert: hold the Associate certification and pass two Expert exams from Word and Excel.

For both, the exams must be in different programs and at least one must be a Microsoft 365 Apps exam.

Marking and results

This page does not list passing scores. Certiport says certifications are issued once and are valid from the date of passing. Its exam details and exam policies pages cover exam lengths, accommodations, expiration, retakes and proctoring.

How to apply

Certiport sells learning materials, practice tests and exam vouchers through its store, with school and test-centre purchasing routes as well. It also provides a locator for Certiport Authorized Testing Centers. Check Certiport for current prices, which vary by country.

FAQs