Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
Microsoft
Complete guide to passing the Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) exam on your first attempt.
$99
Not published
Does not expire
Global
Microsoft
$60k-$97k
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Complete Overview
Exam AZ-900 is the single exam behind the Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals certification, and Microsoft lists it at $99 USD in the United States with prices set by the country or region where the exam is proctored. It is written for technology professionals, sales and finance staff, students, and career changers who want to prove foundational knowledge of cloud computing and of Microsoft Azure without holding a hands-on Azure role. Microsoft gives you 45 minutes of exam time and asks you to allow 65 minutes of seat time, which covers the instructions, the Microsoft Certification Exam Candidate Agreement, the questions, and the optional comment screen at the end.
The exam is scored on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and the passing score is 700. Microsoft states that 700 is a scaled score and does not equal 70 percent of the available points, because the cut score reflects the difficulty of the specific questions a candidate sees. There is no penalty for guessing, and some questions on every form are unscored pretest items that candidates cannot identify.
Microsoft organises the skills measured into three areas: describe cloud concepts at 25 to 30 percent, describe Azure architecture and services at 35 to 40 percent, and describe Azure management and governance at 30 to 35 percent. The current skills list took effect on July 20, 2026, and the changes from the previous version were limited to the compute and networking, resource management, and monitoring sub-areas. Nothing in the audience profile changed.
AZ-900 is delivered by Pearson VUE at test centres and online through OnVUE, and students and educators can schedule it through Certiport instead. Microsoft offers the exam in 13 languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Spanish, German, French, Indonesian (Indonesia), Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Chinese (Traditional), Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), and Russian. If the exam is not offered in your preferred language, the study guide says you can request an additional 30 minutes, applied for through Pearson VUE's English as a Second Language form.
Fundamentals certifications do not expire, so passing AZ-900 once puts a permanent entry on your Microsoft Learn transcript with no renewal assessment and no maintenance fee. That is different from Azure role-based certifications such as AZ-104, which expire and are renewed by passing a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn.
Two Microsoft preparation tools are free and specific to this exam. The Practice Assessment on the certification page gives you questions in the style and wording of the real exam with explanations. The exam sandbox at aka.ms/examdemo reproduces the exam user interface, the introductory screens, the candidate agreement, and the interactive question types so nothing on the interface is new on the day. Microsoft also publishes the full AZ-900 study guide, which lists every bullet the exam can assess.
One rule catches candidates out. Microsoft allows access to learn.microsoft.com during associate and expert role-based exams, but that resource is not available on Fundamentals exams. Five minutes of break time are built into the 45 minutes, and once you start a break you cannot return to any question you have already seen.
Why Get Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) Certified?
The exam fee is $99 USD in the United States, against $165 USD for Microsoft associate-level Azure exams such as AZ-104 and AZ-500
The certification does not expire, so there is no annual renewal assessment to pass, unlike every Azure role-based certification
Exam time is 45 minutes, the shortest exam duration in Microsoft's published table, against 100 minutes for associate and expert role-based exams without labs and 120 minutes for those that may contain labs
Microsoft offers AZ-900 in 13 languages, against 10 for the AZ-104 associate exam
Microsoft publishes a free Practice Assessment and a free exam sandbox for AZ-900, so preparation can cost nothing beyond the exam fee
Passing gives 700 or more on a 1,000-point scale, and the score report breaks performance down by skill area so a retake can be targeted
Microsoft states you may be eligible for ACE college credit for passing this certification exam
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
45 minutes
Questions
40-60 questions
Passing Score
700 out of 1,000 (scaled)
Question Types
- Multiple choice, single answer
- Multiple choice, multiple answers
- Drag and drop
- Build list
- Hot area
- Active screen
- Yes/no statement sets
Delivery Method
Proctored at a Pearson VUE test centre or online through OnVUE; students and educators can schedule through Certiport
- Microsoft publishes 45 minutes of exam time and 65 minutes of seat time for all Fundamentals exams.
- Microsoft does not publish a question count for AZ-900 specifically. It states that most Microsoft Certification exams contain between 40 and 60 questions.
- Microsoft does not confirm which question types appear on any given exam. The types listed here are the ones demonstrated in the official exam sandbox.
- Five minutes of break time are built into the 45 minutes. The clock keeps running during a break and you cannot return to questions seen before it.
- Access to learn.microsoft.com during the exam is available on role-based exams only, not on Fundamentals exams.
- The AZ-900 study guide states that if the exam is not available in your preferred language you can request an additional 30 minutes to complete it. Microsoft routes that request through Pearson VUE's English as a Second Language form and asks for a letter from an instructor or employer. If the exam is available in your native language and you choose another, no extra time is given.
How scoring works
Score scale
1 to 1,000
Score needed to pass
700
Roughly what that means raw
Microsoft does not publish a raw-to-scaled conversion and states that a percent-correct figure will not tell you whether you passed.
When results arrive
Within minutes of finishing for exams without labs; available in your Microsoft Learn profile within 24 hours.
How the scale is built
Microsoft awards one point for each correctly answered component, so a multi-part question can earn all, some, or none of its points. There is no penalty for guessing. Every form contains unscored pretest items that candidates cannot identify. The reported number is a scaled score, and Microsoft states it does not equal 70 percent of the raw points because the passing standard adjusts to the difficulty of the questions delivered.
- The score report gives one overall numeric score, a pass or fail status, and a bar chart of performance by skill area.
- Microsoft does not provide a numerical score per section, only the relative bar chart.
- Scoring zero in one skill area is possible because some areas carry only a few questions.
- Identical scores across multiple attempts are common and do not indicate an error.
- Microsoft does not disclose which individual questions were answered incorrectly.
Pacing and time budget
40-60 questions in 45 minutes gives you About 45 to 65 seconds per question, before the five minutes of built-in break time per question.
11 min
About a quarter of the questions you have been given
22 min
About half of the questions
33 min
About three quarters of the questions
40 min
Every question, leaving the last five minutes for the ones you marked for review
| At this point | You should have answered |
|---|---|
| 11 min | About a quarter of the questions you have been given |
| 22 min | About half of the questions |
| 33 min | About three quarters of the questions |
| 40 min | Every question, leaving the last five minutes for the ones you marked for review |
- The exam header shows time remaining and questions remaining, so convert them into a per-question budget in the first minute.
- Drag-and-drop, build list, and hot area questions take longer than single-answer multiple choice, so bank time on the short ones.
- Five minutes of break time are inside the 45, and the clock does not stop, so a break spends answering time.
- Once you start a break you cannot return to any question already seen, answered or not.
- Never leave a question blank at the end. Wrong answers cost nothing, so a guess is strictly better than an empty response.
Where the marks are
Azure architecture and services as a whole
35-40%
The largest skill area on the exam, covering the resource hierarchy, compute, networking, storage, identity, and security. Microsoft revised the compute and networking sub-area on July 20, 2026, so recent material matters here more than anywhere else.
Azure management and governance as a whole
30-35%
Cost management, Azure Policy, resource locks, Microsoft Purview, deployment tooling, and the monitoring stack. Two of its four sub-areas were revised in July 2026, and the tools are easy to confuse with one another, which is precisely why they are tested.
Cloud concepts as a whole
25-30%
The smallest area but the easiest to score fully, because the content is definitions rather than product behaviour. Shared responsibility, service models, deployment models, and the benefit vocabulary can all be learned from the study guide alone.
The resource hierarchy
Within 35-40%
Management group, subscription, resource group, resource appears in architecture questions, governance questions, and cost questions. Getting the order and the inheritance right earns points across three different sub-areas.
Storage redundancy and access tiers
Within 35-40%
LRS, ZRS, GRS, and GZRS plus the hot, cool, cold, and archive tiers are crisp, factual answers that a 45-minute exam can test cleanly. They reward memorisation more reliably than any other topic.
Azure Policy against RBAC against resource locks
Within 30-35%
Governance questions are usually scenarios that describe a goal and ask which tool meets it. Knowing that RBAC controls who, policy controls what configuration, and locks prevent deletion resolves most of them in one step.
Microsoft Entra ID and access management
Within 35-40%
Single sign-on, multifactor authentication, passwordless, Conditional Access, and external identities all appear, and the naming changed from Azure Active Directory, so candidates relying on older courses answer with retired terms.
The Azure Monitor family
Within 30-35%
Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Advisor, and Azure Service Health are five tools with overlapping names and distinct jobs. Microsoft revised this sub-area in July 2026, and each tool tends to appear as a single clean question.
| Topic | Weight | Why it scores |
|---|---|---|
| Azure architecture and services as a whole | 35-40% | The largest skill area on the exam, covering the resource hierarchy, compute, networking, storage, identity, and security. Microsoft revised the compute and networking sub-area on July 20, 2026, so recent material matters here more than anywhere else. |
| Azure management and governance as a whole | 30-35% | Cost management, Azure Policy, resource locks, Microsoft Purview, deployment tooling, and the monitoring stack. Two of its four sub-areas were revised in July 2026, and the tools are easy to confuse with one another, which is precisely why they are tested. |
| Cloud concepts as a whole | 25-30% | The smallest area but the easiest to score fully, because the content is definitions rather than product behaviour. Shared responsibility, service models, deployment models, and the benefit vocabulary can all be learned from the study guide alone. |
| The resource hierarchy | Within 35-40% | Management group, subscription, resource group, resource appears in architecture questions, governance questions, and cost questions. Getting the order and the inheritance right earns points across three different sub-areas. |
| Storage redundancy and access tiers | Within 35-40% | LRS, ZRS, GRS, and GZRS plus the hot, cool, cold, and archive tiers are crisp, factual answers that a 45-minute exam can test cleanly. They reward memorisation more reliably than any other topic. |
| Azure Policy against RBAC against resource locks | Within 30-35% | Governance questions are usually scenarios that describe a goal and ask which tool meets it. Knowing that RBAC controls who, policy controls what configuration, and locks prevent deletion resolves most of them in one step. |
| Microsoft Entra ID and access management | Within 35-40% | Single sign-on, multifactor authentication, passwordless, Conditional Access, and external identities all appear, and the naming changed from Azure Active Directory, so candidates relying on older courses answer with retired terms. |
| The Azure Monitor family | Within 30-35% | Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Azure Advisor, and Azure Service Health are five tools with overlapping names and distinct jobs. Microsoft revised this sub-area in July 2026, and each tool tends to appear as a single clean question. |
The numbers
$99 USD
Exam fee, United States
Source: Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals certification page
700 out of 1,000
Passing score
Source: Microsoft Learn, Exam scoring and score reports
45 minutes exam time, 65 minutes seat time
Exam duration and seat time
Source: Microsoft Learn, Exam duration and exam experience
13
Languages offered
Source: Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals certification page
5 attempts per 12 months from the first attempt
Attempt limit
Source: Microsoft Learn, Exam and Applied Skills assessment lab retake policies
Does not expire
Certification validity
Source: Microsoft Learn, Credential expiration policies
If you fail
Wait before retaking
24 hours after the first failed attempt, then 14 days between all subsequent attempts
Attempt limit
5 attempts in a 12-month period counted from the date of the first attempt; after five failures you are eligible again 12 months from that first attempt
Retake fee
Full exam fee for each attempt, $99 USD in the United States, unless you bought the Exam Replay bundle which includes one retake
Microsoft will waive the waiting period only where internet connectivity problems or equipment failure occurred during the exam and Pearson VUE created a case; the request must include the Pearson VUE case number. You cannot retake an exam you have passed unless the certification has expired, which does not apply to Fundamentals certifications because they never expire.
Exam Domains & Topics
Microsoft weights the whole Describe cloud concepts area at 25 to 30 percent of the exam but does not publish a weight for each sub-area inside it. This sub-area covers the definition of cloud computing, the shared responsibility model, the public, private, and hybrid deployment models, and how consumption-based pricing differs from capital spending on hardware.
Key Topics to Master:
- Definition of cloud computing
- Shared responsibility model across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
- Public, private, and hybrid cloud models and their use cases
- Consumption-based model and capital versus operating expenditure
- Comparison of cloud pricing models
- Serverless computing
This sub-area sits inside the Describe cloud concepts group, which Microsoft weights at 25 to 30 percent overall. Questions ask you to match a business problem to the cloud benefit that solves it, so the distinction between availability, scalability, elasticity, reliability, predictability, security, governance, and manageability has to be precise rather than approximate.
Key Topics to Master:
- High availability and service level agreements
- Scalability, vertical versus horizontal scaling, and elasticity
- Reliability and geographic distribution
- Predictability of cost and performance
- Security and governance benefits
- Manageability in the cloud and management of the cloud
The third sub-area of Describe cloud concepts, weighted at 25 to 30 percent as a group. It asks you to describe infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, and software as a service, and to pick the right one for a scenario. Expect questions that give a customer requirement and ask which service type puts the least management burden on the customer.
Key Topics to Master:
- Infrastructure as a service and what the customer still manages
- Platform as a service and the developer responsibility boundary
- Software as a service and vendor-managed applications
- Matching a described workload to IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS
- Azure examples of each service type
Part of Describe Azure architecture and services, which Microsoft weights at 35 to 40 percent of the exam. This sub-area is the physical and logical map of Azure: datacentres, availability zones, regions, region pairs, and sovereign regions on the physical side, and resources, resource groups, subscriptions, and management groups on the logical side.
Key Topics to Master:
- Azure regions, region pairs, and sovereign regions
- Availability zones and what they protect against
- Azure datacentres
- Resources and resource groups
- Subscriptions and billing boundaries
- Management groups and inherited policy
- The hierarchy from management group down to resource
Another sub-area of the 35 to 40 percent Describe Azure architecture and services group, and the one Microsoft revised in the July 20, 2026 update. It compares virtual machines, containers, and functions, then moves to virtual networks, subnets, peering, Azure DNS, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, and the difference between public and private endpoints.
Key Topics to Master:
- Virtual machines, containers, and Azure Functions compared
- Virtual Machine Scale Sets, availability sets, and Azure Virtual Desktop
- Resources a virtual machine requires
- Application hosting options including web apps and containers
- Virtual networks, subnets, and peering
- Azure DNS, VPN Gateway, and ExpressRoute
- Public and private endpoints
Part of the 35 to 40 percent architecture and services group. Questions here compare blob, file, queue, table, and disk storage, then test the access tiers and redundancy options. The redundancy acronyms are a reliable source of exam points because each one names a specific number of copies and a specific failure it survives.
Key Topics to Master:
- Comparison of Azure Storage services
- Hot, cool, cold, and archive access tiers
- LRS, ZRS, GRS, and GZRS redundancy options
- Storage account options and storage types
- AzCopy, Azure Storage Explorer, and Azure File Sync
- Azure Migrate and Azure Data Box for migration
The security sub-area of the 35 to 40 percent architecture and services group, and the one that uses the most renamed products. Microsoft Entra ID is the current name for what candidates may still call Azure Active Directory, and the exam uses the current names. Zero Trust, defence in depth, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud all appear as described concepts rather than configuration tasks.
Key Topics to Master:
- Microsoft Entra ID and Microsoft Entra Domain Services
- Single sign-on, multifactor authentication, and passwordless sign-in
- External identities and business-to-business collaboration
- Microsoft Entra Conditional Access
- Azure role-based access control
- Zero Trust and the defence-in-depth model
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Part of Describe Azure management and governance, which Microsoft weights at 30 to 35 percent. This sub-area covers the factors that change an Azure bill, the pricing calculator against the total cost of ownership calculator, Microsoft Cost Management, and tags. Candidates who confuse the two calculators lose easy points, so learn which one estimates a future workload and which one compares on-premises with cloud.
Key Topics to Master:
- Factors that affect Azure cost including region, resource type, and egress
- The Azure pricing calculator
- Microsoft Cost Management budgets and alerts
- Total cost of ownership calculator
- Tags for cost allocation and reporting
A sub-area of the 30 to 35 percent management and governance group. Three tools are examined: Microsoft Purview for data governance and compliance, Azure Policy for enforcing rules on resource configuration, and resource locks for preventing accidental deletion or modification. Questions usually present a governance goal and ask which tool achieves it.
Key Topics to Master:
- Microsoft Purview in Azure
- Azure Policy definitions, assignments, and effects
- Resource locks: CanNotDelete and ReadOnly
- The difference between policy, RBAC, and locks
- Compliance scope in the Azure hierarchy
The remaining sub-areas of the 30 to 35 percent management and governance group, both revised on July 20, 2026. It covers the Azure portal, Cloud Shell, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, Azure Arc, infrastructure as code, and ARM templates, then the monitoring stack of Azure Advisor, Azure Service Health, and Azure Monitor with Log Analytics, alerts, and Application Insights.
Key Topics to Master:
- Azure portal, Cloud Shell, Azure CLI, and Azure PowerShell
- Azure Arc for managing resources outside Azure
- Infrastructure as code and ARM templates
- Azure Advisor recommendation categories
- Azure Service Health for outages and planned maintenance
- Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, and Application Insights
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Read the AZ-900 study guide in full and note every bullet you cannot explain out loud
- 2Complete the Microsoft Learn module on describing cloud computing
- 3Write your own one-line definition of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS and who patches the operating system in each
- 4Draw the shared responsibility model as a table with three columns and mark each row
- 5Create a free Azure account so the portal is available from week 2
- 1Complete the Microsoft Learn module on the benefits of using cloud services
- 2Write down the difference between high availability, scalability, elasticity, and reliability in one sentence each
- 3Compare capital expenditure and operating expenditure with a worked example of a server purchase
- 4Read the Azure Functions overview page and note what makes a service serverless
- 5Take the free Practice Assessment once for a baseline score and record which areas failed
- 1Learn regions, region pairs, sovereign regions, and availability zones and what each protects against
- 2Create two resource groups in the portal and move a resource between them
- 3Draw the hierarchy from management group to subscription to resource group to resource
- 4Read the Azure geographies page and find which regions pair with each other
- 5Answer ten practice questions on architecture only and review every wrong answer
- 1Deploy a small Linux virtual machine, then delete it and check the leftover disk and network interface
- 2Compare virtual machines, containers, and Azure Functions on cost, control, and scaling
- 3Read the documentation for Virtual Machine Scale Sets and availability sets
- 4Note when Azure Virtual Desktop is the right answer and when App Service is
- 5List the resources a virtual machine requires before it can start
- 1Create a virtual network with two subnets and peer it with a second virtual network
- 2Learn the difference between VPN Gateway and ExpressRoute and when each is chosen
- 3Read the Azure DNS overview and note what it does and does not resolve
- 4Explain a public endpoint against a private endpoint in two sentences
- 5Answer fifteen networking practice questions and review the explanations
- 1Create a storage account and upload a blob, then change its access tier
- 2Memorise LRS, ZRS, GRS, and GZRS by number of copies and failure survived
- 3Read the Microsoft Entra ID overview and list three authentication methods
- 4Learn Conditional Access, RBAC, Zero Trust, and defence in depth as four separate ideas
- 5Note what Microsoft Defender for Cloud reports and what it does not do
- 1Price a two-virtual-machine workload in the Azure pricing calculator
- 2Create a budget and a cost alert in Microsoft Cost Management
- 3Apply a CanNotDelete lock to a resource group and try to delete a resource inside it
- 4Assign a built-in Azure Policy that restricts allowed regions and read the compliance result
- 5Open Cloud Shell and run one Azure CLI and one Azure PowerShell command
- 1Open Azure Advisor and read one recommendation from each of its categories
- 2Compare Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, and Service Health in a single table
- 3Run the exam sandbox at aka.ms/examdemo and practise every interactive question type
- 4Take the Practice Assessment twice more and aim for 85 percent or higher on both
- 5Re-read the study guide and confirm you can speak to every bullet, then book the exam
Ready to pass Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)?
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Best Study Resources
Microsoft Learn AZ-900 study guide
Official study guideMicrosoft's own list of every skill the exam can assess, with the three weighted skill areas and a change log showing what moved in the July 20, 2026 update. Treat it as the checklist you tick off.
Free
Microsoft Learn Azure Fundamentals learning paths
Official trainingSelf-paced modules mapped to the three skill areas, with sandbox exercises that let you run commands against Azure resources without a subscription.
Free
AZ-900 Practice Assessment on Microsoft Learn
Official practice testMicrosoft's own practice questions, written to match the style, wording, and difficulty of the exam, with explanations and links to the relevant documentation. Attempt history is stored in your Learn profile.
Free
Microsoft exam sandbox
Official demoA working copy of the exam interface with the same introductory screens, instructions, help information, candidate agreement, and interactive question types that Microsoft says you will see on the exam. The secure browser is not enabled in the sandbox, so assistive devices behave differently there than on the day.
Free
Azure free account
Hands-on lab environmentGives you a real subscription so you can build resource groups, virtual machines, virtual networks, and storage accounts. Building the hierarchy by hand fixes it in memory faster than reading about it.
Free tier with credit
Azure pricing calculator
Official toolThe tool AZ-900 asks about by name. Price a workload in it once so you can answer questions about which calculator estimates future spend and which compares on-premises with cloud.
Free
Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure
Official documentationMicrosoft lists this among the AZ-900 study resources. It gives the governance and landing zone vocabulary that management groups, subscriptions, and policy questions draw on.
Free
Exam Readiness Zone on Microsoft Learn
Official video seriesMicrosoft-produced videos that walk through each skill area and explain how questions are framed. Useful in the final week when you are checking coverage rather than learning new material.
Free
Exam Replay from Pearson VUE
Exam bundleA Microsoft offer that bundles one exam voucher with one retake of the same exam. Both the first attempt and the retake must be scheduled and taken within 12 months of purchase.
Paid bundle price varies by region
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Studying AZ-104 material because it looks more thorough
AZ-900 asks you to describe services, not configure them. Every verb in the study guide is describe, define, compare, or identify. Configuring a network security group is out of scope and studying it wastes time you need for cost management and governance.
Using the old product names for identity services
The exam uses Microsoft Entra ID, not Azure Active Directory, and Microsoft Entra Domain Services, not Azure AD DS. Older courses and videos still use the retired names. Read the identity section of the study guide directly so the names in your head match the names on the screen.
Treating scalability and elasticity as the same word
Scalability is the ability to add capacity. Elasticity is adding and removing capacity automatically as demand changes. Availability is the proportion of time a service is reachable. Write one sentence for each and test yourself, because questions hinge on which one the scenario describes.
Skipping the redundancy acronyms because they look like memorisation
LRS, ZRS, GRS, and GZRS are exactly the kind of fact a 45-minute exam can test cleanly. Learn each one by the number of copies it keeps and whether those copies cross availability zones or regions. Three minutes of memorisation is worth several marks.
Confusing Azure Policy, RBAC, and resource locks
RBAC decides who can act on a resource. Azure Policy decides what configuration is allowed regardless of who asks. A resource lock blocks deletion or modification even for owners. Answer every governance question by asking which of those three sentences the scenario matches.
Expecting access to Microsoft Learn during the exam
Microsoft allows learn.microsoft.com during associate and expert role-based exams only. Fundamentals exams have no such access. Plan to answer from memory and do not leave lookups for the exam room.
Taking an unscheduled break to think about a hard question
The exam clock keeps running during a break and you cannot return to any question you have already seen, answered or not. Answer everything you have seen before you start a break, and take the break only if you genuinely need it.
Registering with a name that does not match your ID
For online exams the name on your Microsoft Certification profile must exactly match the government-issued ID you present. Legal name-change forms and ID renewal forms are not accepted for online proctored exams. Check the profile name the week you book, not the morning you sit.
Leaving questions blank to come back to them
There is no penalty for guessing and no points are deducted for a wrong answer. Mark a question for review if you are unsure, but put an answer in first so an unexpected time squeeze does not leave it empty.
Assuming a bar chart above 70 percent on the score report means a pass
Microsoft states that the bars show relative strength per skill area and cannot be combined to calculate a result, because each area contains a different number of questions. Use the chart to target a retake, not to argue about the outcome.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
For an online exam, check in from 30 minutes before your appointment; you can still check in up to 15 minutes after the start time but not later.
- 2
Run the Pearson VUE system test on the same computer, in the same room, and on the same network you will use for the exam.
- 3
Clear the desk of books, notepads, sticky notes, printed material, and every pen or pencil, because the greeter reviews photographs of the area before launching the exam.
- 4
Unplug extra monitors and turn off other computers in the room; the room must be walled with a closed door and nobody else may enter.
- 5
Have your government-issued photo ID ready and confirm the name on it matches your Microsoft Certification profile exactly.
- 6
Put your phone outside arm's reach but close enough to hear, and make sure your profile phone number includes the country code, because that is how the proctor reaches you if the connection drops.
- 7
A drink is allowed without an accommodation as long as it is in a transparent, spill-proof container; eating, smoking, and chewing gum are not.
- 8
Allow 65 minutes of seat time even though the clock shows 45 minutes, and add roughly 15 minutes on top for check-in.
- 9
Answer every question, including ones you are unsure about, because unanswered questions score nothing and wrong answers cost nothing.
- 10
Expect your result within minutes of finishing, with a score report showing a bar chart of performance in each of the three skill areas.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
IT support specialist or service desk analyst
The most common role for a first Azure Fundamentals holder. BLS reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $60,340 for computer user support specialists, with the lowest 10 percent under $38,780 and the highest 10 percent above $98,010. AZ-900 marks you as ready to handle cloud tickets rather than only desktop ones.
$60,340 median
Cloud support or network support specialist
BLS reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $73,340 for computer network support specialists. This is the usual next step from a service desk, and AZ-900 covers the vocabulary such roles use daily: subscriptions, resource groups, virtual networks, and storage tiers.
$73,340 median
Junior cloud or systems administrator
BLS reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $96,800 for network and computer systems administrators. AZ-900 is the entry point, and employers hiring for these roles generally expect AZ-104 within the first year, since administration questions move from describing services to configuring them.
$96,800 median
Cloud solution or technical sales specialist
AZ-900 was designed to include non-technical staff who sell, buy, or budget for cloud services. BLS reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $105,990 across computer occupations as a whole. The cost management and pricing model content maps directly to what a solution specialist is asked in a customer meeting.
Comparable to the $105,990 median for computer occupations
Security analyst after further certification
BLS reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $124,910 for information security analysts, with employment projected to grow 29 percent from 2024 to 2034. AZ-900 does not qualify you for this work on its own; the identity and security sub-area is the on-ramp to SC-900 and then AZ-500.
$124,910 median
Prerequisites & Requirements
- No formal prerequisites. Microsoft does not require any other certification, degree, or work experience to sit AZ-900.
- Microsoft's audience profile suggests skills and experience in an area of IT such as infrastructure management, database management, or software development, but states this as a recommendation and not a requirement.
- A Microsoft account linked to a Microsoft Learn certification profile, with the name entered exactly as it appears on your government-issued photo ID.
- For an online exam, a computer with local administrative permissions that passes the Pearson VUE system test, plus a private walled room with a door.
- A current government-issued photo ID that matches your certification profile name and is not expired.
- Accommodations must be requested and confirmed before scheduling, and Microsoft advises allowing up to 20 days for processing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the AZ-900 exam cost?
Microsoft lists AZ-900 at $99 USD in the United States. The price depends on the country or region where the exam is proctored, and Pearson VUE shows the local amount plus any tax at registration. Students and educators who book through Certiport may see different pricing.
What is the passing score for AZ-900?
700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000. Microsoft states that this is a scaled score and does not equal 70 percent of the available points, because the cut score reflects the difficulty of the questions on the form you receive.
How long is the AZ-900 exam?
45 minutes of exam time, with 65 minutes of seat time to allow for the instructions, the candidate agreement, and the comment screen. Five minutes of break time are built into the 45 minutes; Microsoft removed questions to make room for it.
How many questions are on AZ-900?
Microsoft does not publish a question count for AZ-900. It states that most Microsoft Certification exams contain between 40 and 60 questions and that the number can vary by exam and change as the exam is updated.
What happens if I fail AZ-900?
You can retake the exam 24 hours after a first failed attempt. A 14-day waiting period applies between all subsequent attempts, and you may not take the same exam more than five times in a 12-month period counted from your first attempt. You must pay again for each attempt.
Can I get the retake waiting period waived?
Only if you had internet connectivity problems or equipment failure during the exam and Pearson VUE opened a case. The waiver request must include the Pearson VUE case number, and Microsoft states waivers are not granted for any other reason.
Does the Azure Fundamentals certification expire?
No. Microsoft states that Fundamentals certifications do not expire and do not require renewal. There is no renewal assessment and no maintenance fee, which is different from Azure role-based certifications such as AZ-104 that must be renewed.
Can I take AZ-900 online at home?
Yes, through Pearson VUE OnVUE in most but not all countries and regions. Your room must be walled with a closed door, nobody else may enter, and you photograph your ID and work area with a phone before the greeter launches the exam. Greeter and proctor support is in English, with limited Japanese availability.
What ID do I need for the exam?
A current, unexpired government-issued photo ID whose first and last name match your Microsoft Certification profile exactly. Microsoft states that legal name-change forms, including ID renewal forms, are not accepted for online proctored exams.
What materials may I have during the exam?
None. Books, notepads, sticky notes, printed or typed papers, pens, pencils, whiteboards, phones, watches, wallets, bags, and hats must all be out of arm's reach. A beverage is permitted without an accommodation if it is in a transparent, spill-proof container.
Can I use Microsoft Learn during the exam like on associate exams?
No. Microsoft allows access to learn.microsoft.com only on role-based associate and expert exams. It is not available on Fundamentals exams such as AZ-900 or on Microsoft Office Specialist exams.
How do I request accommodations?
Submit a request through Pearson VUE's Reasonable Adjustments Request System before you schedule the exam. Microsoft says disability experts may take up to 10 business days to review, and advises allowing up to 20 days overall to process and schedule an accommodated appointment.
When do I get my result?
For most exams you receive results within minutes of finishing, along with a score report showing your numeric score, pass or fail status, and a bar chart of performance in each skill area. The result appears in your Microsoft Learn profile within 24 hours.
Does the score report tell me which questions I got wrong?
No. Microsoft states that it does not share information about specific questions answered incorrectly. The score report gives one overall number plus a bar chart by skill area, and Microsoft notes the chart cannot be used to calculate how many questions you answered correctly.
What is the AZ-900 pass rate?
Microsoft does not publish pass rates for any of its certification exams. Any percentage quoted elsewhere comes from third-party surveys or training providers, not from Microsoft.
How does AZ-900 compare to AZ-104?
AZ-900 costs $99 USD in the United States, runs 45 minutes, asks you to describe Azure services, and never expires. AZ-104, the Azure Administrator Associate exam, costs $165 USD, runs 100 minutes, asks you to configure and manage Azure, and must be renewed. AZ-900 is not a prerequisite for AZ-104.
How does AZ-900 compare to AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner?
Both are vendor-run entry certifications for their own cloud platform. AZ-900 costs $99 USD in the United States, runs 45 minutes, and does not expire. Choose the one that matches the platform your employer or target employer runs, since the service names do not transfer.
How long does it take to prepare for AZ-900?
The eight-week plan on this page totals roughly 50 hours and suits someone new to cloud computing. Candidates already working with Azure daily often prepare in two to three weeks. Use the free Practice Assessment as the gate: two scores of 85 percent or higher is a reasonable readiness signal.
Does AZ-900 count for college credit?
Microsoft states that you may be eligible for ACE college credit for passing this certification exam and links to its page on ACE college credit for certification exams. Whether a specific institution grants the credit is decided by that institution.
Are there discounts on the exam fee?
Microsoft runs a student discount programme and links to it from its offers page. It also sells Exam Replay through Pearson VUE, which bundles one exam voucher with one retake of the same exam; both must be scheduled and taken within 12 months of purchase, and the retake cannot be scheduled until you have failed the first attempt.
Is this the right exam for your situation?
Short enough to finish inside a 60 day notice period, which most credentials are not.
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