eDiscovery Certification Council
Professional Certification • Vendor-Neutral • Online Examination
Microsoft 365 & Cloud Data eDiscovery Specialist (MCDES)
Validate practical Microsoft 365, Purview and cloud-evidence eDiscovery knowledge.
Certification Exam Details
The certification examination is delivered online. The exam-voucher fee shown below is the certification fee only; training is not included.
| Number of Questions | 50 |
|---|---|
| Pass Score | 70% |
| Time Allotted | 90 minutes |
| Exam Language | English |
| Exam Format | Online |
| Exam Expiration | 1 Year from Purchase |
| Study Guide | eCourseware / Self-paced online |
Detailed Certification Outline
The examination validates knowledge across the subject areas below, based on the detailed programme coverage published for this certification.
Module 1 – Introduction to Cloud eDiscovery
- Core eDiscovery processes
- EDRM stages
- On-premises versus cloud eDiscovery
- Cloud volume, velocity and variety
- Legal and regulatory drivers
Module 2 – Microsoft 365 eDiscovery Fundamentals
- Microsoft Purview / compliance portal navigation
- Content Search, eDiscovery Standard and eDiscovery Premium
- Creating and managing cases
- Legal holds and preservation notices
- KQL and search syntax
Module 3 – Identification & Collection in Microsoft 365
- Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and other Microsoft 365 sources
- Custodian identification
- Data mapping and locations
- In-place preservation and litigation holds
- Collection and export options
Module 4 – Review, Tagging & Export Workflows
- Review sets
- Near-duplicates, email threading, themes and relevance analytics
- Tagging and issue coding
- Redactions and privilege
- PST, native and report exports
Module 5 – Compliance, Security & Data Privacy
- Purview compliance features
- GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA and LGPD considerations
- PII and sensitive data
- Audit logging
- Access permissions and case security
Module 6 – Cross-Platform eDiscovery & Multi-Cloud
- Hybrid and multi-cloud discovery
- Google Workspace, AWS S3, Box and other non-Microsoft sources
- Third-party connectors
- Unified searching
- Migration and normalization issues
Module 7 – Capstone Simulation & Assessment
- End-to-end workflow from identification to production
- Case-scenario decision making
- Prioritising custodians and sources
- Privilege and clawback
- Defensible collection and production documentation
Ready to take the MCDES certification exam?
Exam voucher: $295 • Online • 50 questions • 90 minutes • 70% pass score