MOS Certification (MOUS Certification)

MOS certification (Microsoft Office Specialist certification) is designed to demonstrate a candidate’s proficiency in the use of the Microsoft stable of Office products, namely Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access and Project. Formerly known as the MOUS certification (Microsoft Office User Specialist), Microsoft decided to change the name of the certification to MOS in 2002.




At the time of writing there are the following MOS certification tracks available:

• Microsoft Office 2003 Editions
• Microsoft Office XP
• Microsoft Office 2000

• Microsoft Project

(Holders of the Microsoft Office 97 certifications will not be required (although are encouraged of course) to update their certifications to the 2000+ tracks)

There are essentially three types of MOS certification awarded depending on the exam (or exams) taken, and the level of the exam. The three MOS certifications are: MOS Specialist, MOS Expert and MOS Master.


MOS Specialist certification:

To gain a MOS Specialist credential, a candidate need only pass one of the ‘Specialist’ exams listed: Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, or Excel. This goes for any of the tracks (2000, XP or 2003). A specialist-level certification is also available for Project 2000 or Project 2002

A candidate will gain a MOS Specialist certification for each subject when they pass the respective ‘specialist level’ exam, and a candidate can choose to do as few or as many individual specialist exams as they wish. A MOS specialist certificate will be awarded for the successful completion of each and every exam.





MOS Expert certification:

MOS Expert certification is only available with the successful completion of either the Word Expert exam or the Excel Expert exam (this is the same for all tracks, 2000, XP and 2003). There are no expert-level exams available for Outlook, Access or PowerPoint.

A candidate can choose to take either one, or both, of the exams and an MOS Expert certification credential will be awarded for each exam the candidate passes. Candidates do not need to pass the specialist-level exam first to take the expert exam.


MOS Master certification:

To gain the MOS Master credential (for any of the tracks, 2000, XP, 2003) a candidate needs to pass a total of four exams – three required, and one elective. In all tracks, the three required exams are: Word (Expert), Excel (Expert) and PowerPoint, while the one elective exam is either Outlook or Access. Only when all four exams have been successfully passed will the candidate gain the MOS Master credential (although as a candidate works through the list and each exam is passed the respective MOS Specialist or MOS Expert certificate will be awarded). If a candidate wishes to take the specialist-level exam for either Word or Excel prior to trying the expert-level they may do so, but it is not compulsory.


All questions in the MOS certification exams are simulated, real-world-type questions as opposed to written, multiple choice-type questions. The user is presented with a simulated (and somewhat limited) version of the application in question (e.g. Word) and the candidate will be presented with a task (or multiple tasks) to complete (for example, to format a paragraph with a certain style, apply bullet points, and insert a page footer). The candidate will be marked on the steps taken to complete the task, and any incorrect menu choices, wrong options and the like will go against your final score for that question. Each question is given between one and three points, depending on the number of tasks that are required, and the total number of points at the end of the exam are converted into a relative scale out of 1000. You can expect to have to complete in the region of 40 tasks in total, and you have between 45-50 minutes to complete them, depending on the exam and the track you choose.

The results of the exam are presented to the candidate at the completion of the exam, so there is no waiting around for a pass or fail result. Should a candidate fail the exam, they are required to wait a period of 7 days before retaking the exam. Upon successfully completing the exam, the candidate will be presented with a score sheet and confirmation of the pass, and the official certificate will be mailed to them in a matter of weeks. The exams can be taken at any authorized IQcenter facility, so click here to see where your nearest test center is located.





Is the MOS certification worth it?

From the point of view that most companies use Microsoft’s Office package, the MOS certification is a handy credential to have, and, given the nature of the exam questions (simulation, not written), it can be safely assumed that holders of the MOS certification credential know their way around the various Office products. The MOS certification would be particularly useful for I.T. helpdesk staff, or indeed anyone working with Microsoft Office products in clerical positions. In terms of a lead-in to other computer certifications or as a jump-start to an I.T. career, the MOS doesn’t offer much other than perhaps leading to instructor-related certifications.


MOS study resources: