This post is a part of the DP-700: Implementing Data Engineering Solutions Using Microsoft Fabric Exam Prep Hub.
This topic falls under these sections:
Implement and manage an analytics solution (30–35%)
   --> Configure security and governance
      --> Endorse items

Note that there are 10 practice questions (with answers) at the end of each section to help you solidify your knowledge of the material. Also, there are 2 practice tests with 60 questions each available from the hub's main page below the exam topics section.

Introduction

As organizations adopt Microsoft Fabric, the number of available data assets can grow rapidly. Data engineers, analysts, business users, and executives may encounter hundreds or even thousands of reports, semantic models, dashboards, warehouses, lakehouses, notebooks, and other data assets.

A common challenge is determining:

• Which data assets are trustworthy?
• Which reports should be used for executive reporting?
• Which semantic models represent official business definitions?
• Which datasets have been reviewed and approved?

To address these governance challenges, Microsoft Fabric supports endorsements.

Endorsements help organizations identify trusted and authoritative data assets, making it easier for users to discover and use approved content.

For the DP-700 exam, it is important to understand endorsement types, governance benefits, use cases, and how endorsements differ from security and sensitivity labels.

What Are Endorsements?

An endorsement is a governance feature that allows organizations to identify and promote trusted data assets.

Endorsements help users answer the question:

“Can I trust this data asset?”

Instead of searching through numerous reports and datasets, users can quickly identify endorsed items that have been reviewed and approved.

Purpose of Endorsements

Organizations use endorsements to:

• Improve data discoverability
• Promote trusted assets
• Reduce duplicate reports
• Encourage consistent reporting
• Improve governance
• Increase user confidence
• Establish authoritative data sources

Endorsement Types

Microsoft Fabric supports two primary endorsement levels:

Promoted

Certified

These endorsement levels indicate different degrees of trust and governance.

Promoted Items

A Promoted item indicates:

• The content creator believes the item is valuable.
• The item is recommended for broader use.
• The item may not have gone through formal governance review.

Think of Promoted as:

Recommended Content

Examples:

• Frequently used reports
• Department dashboards
• Common semantic models
• Team-approved datasets

Characteristics of Promoted Items

Promoted items:

• Are easier to discover
• Indicate useful content
• Can be designated by authorized users
• Do not necessarily represent official organizational standards

Example

A Sales team creates a dashboard used by dozens of users.

The dashboard is reliable and widely used.

The owner marks it as:

Promoted

This helps users identify it as recommended content.

Certified Items

Certified is a higher endorsement level.

Certified items have typically undergone formal review and approval processes.

Think of Certified as:

Official Trusted Content

Examples:

• Executive reporting datasets
• Enterprise semantic models
• Corporate KPI reports
• Official financial dashboards

Characteristics of Certified Items

Certified items:

• Represent authoritative data
• Follow governance standards
• Have undergone validation
• Are approved by designated governance teams
• Should be used whenever possible

Example

A Finance semantic model contains:

• Revenue
• Expenses
• Profit
• Corporate KPIs

The governance team validates the model and certifies it.

The model becomes:

Certified

Users now know it represents official business definitions.

Comparing Promoted and Certified

Why Endorsements Matter

Without endorsements:

Sales Report V1
Sales Report V2
Sales Report Final
Sales Report Final2
Sales Dashboard New

Users may not know which asset to trust.

With endorsements:

Sales Dashboard
(Certified)

The preferred asset becomes obvious.

Supported Fabric Items

Endorsements can be applied to many Fabric assets, including:

• Semantic Models
• Reports
• Dashboards
• Data Warehouses
• Lakehouses
• Dataflows
• Other supported Fabric artifacts

Supported item types may evolve as Microsoft Fabric continues to expand.

Endorsements and Data Discovery

One major benefit of endorsements is improved discoverability.

Users searching for assets can identify:

• Promoted content
• Certified content

This reduces confusion and encourages reuse of trusted assets.

Governance Benefits

Endorsements support governance initiatives by helping organizations:

• Establish trusted data sources
• Reduce shadow analytics
• Minimize duplicate content
• Improve reporting consistency
• Promote enterprise standards

Endorsements vs Security Permissions

A common DP-700 exam topic is distinguishing endorsements from security.

Example:

A report may be:

Certified

But users still require permissions to access it.

Certification does not grant access.

Endorsements vs Sensitivity Labels

Another frequently tested distinction.

Example:

Certified Report
Highly Confidential

Both labels may exist simultaneously.

The report is:

• Trusted (Certified)
• Sensitive (Highly Confidential)

Endorsements vs Data Lineage

Data lineage answers:

Where did this data come from?

Endorsements answer:

Can I trust this asset?

Common DP-700 Exam Scenarios

Scenario 1

Requirement:

Users need to identify official KPI definitions.

Solution:

Use Certified semantic models.

Scenario 2

Requirement:

A department wants to recommend a dashboard without formal review.

Solution:

Use Promoted endorsement.

Scenario 3

Requirement:

An executive dashboard has been validated by the governance team.

Solution:

Apply Certified endorsement.

Scenario 4

Requirement:

A report contains highly sensitive financial information.

Solution:

Apply a sensitivity label.

Not an endorsement.

Endorsement Workflow

A common governance workflow:

Create Asset
      ↓
Validate Asset
      ↓
Promote Asset
      ↓
Governance Review
      ↓
Certify Asset

This process improves trust and consistency.

Best Practices

Certify Enterprise Assets

Certify:

• Corporate KPI datasets
• Financial reports
• Enterprise semantic models

Promote Useful Content

Promote:

• Department dashboards
• Frequently used reports
• Shared analytics assets

Establish Governance Processes

Define:

• Who can certify content
• Review procedures
• Approval standards

Avoid Certifying Everything

Certification should remain meaningful and reserved for truly authoritative assets.

Combine Governance Features

Use endorsements alongside:

• Sensitivity labels
• Lineage tracking
• Security permissions
• Data cataloging

DP-700 Exam Focus Areas

You should understand:

✓ Purpose of endorsements

✓ Promoted endorsements

✓ Certified endorsements

✓ Governance benefits

✓ Data discovery improvements

✓ Trusted data sources

✓ Promoted versus Certified

✓ Endorsements versus permissions

✓ Endorsements versus sensitivity labels

✓ Endorsements versus lineage

✓ Common governance scenarios

Practice Exam Questions

Question 1

What is the primary purpose of endorsements in Microsoft Fabric?

A. Encrypt sensitive data

B. Identify trusted and recommended data assets

C. Filter rows of data

D. Control workspace permissions

Answer: B

Explanation

Endorsements help users identify trusted, recommended, and authoritative data assets within Fabric.

Question 2

Which endorsement level represents the highest level of organizational trust?

A. Endorsed

B. Promoted

C. Confidential

D. Certified

Answer: D

Explanation

Certified is the highest endorsement level and indicates formal governance review and approval.

Question 3

A department wants to highlight a useful dashboard without requiring formal governance approval.

Which endorsement should be used?

A. Certified

B. Promoted

C. Confidential

D. Restricted

Answer: B

Explanation

Promoted endorsements indicate recommended content without requiring formal certification processes.

Question 4

What is a key characteristic of a Certified item?

A. It automatically grants workspace access.

B. It is encrypted.

C. It automatically receives a sensitivity label.

D. It has undergone formal validation and approval.

Answer: D

Explanation

Certified items have been reviewed and approved according to organizational governance standards.

Question 5

How do endorsements differ from security permissions?

A. Endorsements classify sensitivity levels.

B. Endorsements indicate trustworthiness, while permissions control access.

C. Endorsements encrypt content.

D. Endorsements implement Row-Level Security.

Answer: B

Explanation

Permissions determine who can access an asset, while endorsements indicate whether the asset is trusted.

Question 6

Which statement about Promoted items is correct?

A. They require formal governance certification.

B. They cannot be used by business users.

C. They indicate content that is recommended for broader use.

D. They automatically become Certified after publication.

Answer: C

Explanation

Promoted items highlight useful and recommended content without formal certification requirements.

Question 7

A governance team reviews and approves an enterprise semantic model that contains official KPI definitions.

Which endorsement should be applied?

A. Public

B. Promoted

C. Internal

D. Certified

Answer: D

Explanation

Certified endorsement is appropriate for formally reviewed and approved enterprise assets.

Question 8

What problem do endorsements primarily help solve?

A. Unauthorized access

B. Data encryption

C. User identification

D. Difficulty identifying trusted content

Answer: D

Explanation

Endorsements help users distinguish trusted assets from numerous available reports and datasets.

Question 9

A report is marked as Certified.

What does this indicate?

A. It is an authoritative and approved data asset.

B. It is automatically encrypted.

C. It is accessible to all users.

D. It contains confidential information.

Answer: A

Explanation

Certification indicates that the asset has been validated and approved as a trusted source.

Question 10

Which statement best describes the relationship between endorsements and sensitivity labels?

A. They are identical governance features.

B. Sensitivity labels replace endorsements.

C. Endorsements indicate trustworthiness, while sensitivity labels indicate data sensitivity.

D. Certified items cannot have sensitivity labels.

Answer: C

Explanation

Endorsements focus on trust and quality, while sensitivity labels focus on classification and protection requirements.

Exam Tip

One of the most common DP-700 exam traps is confusing endorsements, sensitivity labels, and security permissions.

Remember:

A useful memory aid is:

• Promoted = Recommended
• Certified = Official
• Sensitivity Label = Sensitive
• Permission = Access

If the exam question focuses on helping users identify the most trustworthy or authoritative asset, the correct answer is often Promoted or Certified endorsement, not a security control.

Go to the DP-700 Exam Prep Hub main page.