How many questions are on the AZ-900, and how long do I get?

Microsoft does not publish an exact per-exam count, but states that most certification exams contain 40-60 questions. You have 45 minutes of exam time (about 65 minutes of total seat time once you include instructions and the candidate agreement). The exam is proctored and may include interactive (e.g., drag-and-drop, build-list) questions, not just multiple choice. Fundamentals exams do not include hands-on labs.

What score do I need to pass?

700 out of 1,000. This is a scaled score, so per Microsoft it 'may not equal 70%' of the points - it accounts for question difficulty. There is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question.

Does the AZ-900 certification expire?

No. Microsoft's policy states 'Microsoft fundamentals Certifications do not expire.' There is no annual fee and no continuing education. Once you pass, the credential is yours indefinitely (the only exception is if Microsoft retires the credential as technology changes).

How much does it cost and where do I book?

Commonly about USD $99 in the US, but Microsoft does not publish a fixed price - the exact amount is set by the country/region where you test and shown at checkout. Schedule through Pearson VUE from the Microsoft Learn certification page; students and educators can also book through Certiport. You can take it online (proctored at home) or at a test center.

Was the exam updated recently?

Yes - the skills measured were last updated January 14, 2026. The three domains and their weight ranges stayed the same; the only changes were 'Minor' tweaks to the 'Describe Azure identity, access, and security' and 'Describe features and tools for managing and deploying Azure resources' sub-areas. Most questions cover generally available (GA) features, with occasional Preview features that are commonly used.

How to Pass Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

A practical, no-fluff guide to passing Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) — the current exam format and domain weights, scoring and cost, a realistic study plan, and the highest-leverage strategy to pass.

By David Bright · Founder & Editor Reviewed June 7, 2026 How we review

Exam logistics change — always confirm current details on the official certification site before you book.

Take a timed mock exam →

The exam at a glance

AZ-900 is Microsoft’s entry-level Azure credential and one of the friendliest certification exams out there. Here’s what you’re walking into:

Questions: typically 40-60 items (Microsoft says most of its certification exams contain 40-60 questions but doesn’t publish an exact count per exam). Most are multiple choice, but expect a few interactive questions like drag-and-drop, build-a-list, or hot area. Fundamentals exams do not include hands-on labs.
Time: 45 minutes of exam time. Budget about 65 minutes of total seat time once you add the instructions and candidate agreement. That’s generous - it works out to well over a minute per question.
Passing score: 700 out of 1000. It’s a scaled score, not a raw percentage.
Fee: commonly about USD $99 in the US, but Microsoft doesn’t print a fixed price - it’s set by the country/region where you test and shown at checkout.
Format: proctored, at a test center or online from home. Not open book. (Unlike role-based exams, Fundamentals exams give you no access to Microsoft Learn during the test.)
Validity: it never expires. No renewal, ever.

This is a knowledge exam, not a hands-on lab. You won’t be deploying real resources - you’ll be describing concepts, services, and tools.

How it is scored

Your score is reported on a 1-1000 scale, and you need 700 or higher to pass. The single most important thing to understand: 700 does not mean “70% correct.” In Microsoft’s own words, “as this is a scaled score, it may not equal 70% of the points” - the passing bar accounts for how difficult your particular set of questions is, so every version of the exam is equally fair.

Two practical takeaways:

Never leave a question blank. Microsoft states plainly that “no points are deducted for incorrect answers,” so a guess can only help you.
Interactive questions count. Some items are interactive (matching, ordering, hot area, scenario picks), and multi-part questions can award partial credit. Read them carefully - they often reward genuine understanding over memorization.

You’ll get your pass/fail result and numeric score within minutes of finishing, followed by a score report with a bar chart showing your relative strength by skill area. (The bars can’t be converted into “how many questions I got right.”)

Are you eligible - and what does it cost?

There are no prerequisites. Anyone can register and sit AZ-900 - no prior certification, no minimum experience. Microsoft calls it “a common starting point in a journey towards a career in Azure.”

Microsoft recommends (but does not require) skills and experience in an area of IT - infrastructure, databases, or software development. If you’ve never touched tech before, you can still pass; you’ll just lean harder on the study materials.

Exam fee: commonly about USD $99 in the US, but Microsoft only says “price based on the country or region in which the exam is proctored.” You’ll see the exact price when you schedule through Pearson VUE (students/educators can book via Certiport). Watch for discount vouchers from Microsoft’s free Azure Virtual Training Day events.
Study materials: the official Microsoft Learn training, the free Practice Assessment, and the exam sandbox are all $0. You can realistically pass for the price of the exam alone.

Build a realistic study plan

Most people pass AZ-900 with 2-4 weeks of casual study (an hour a day). Map your plan to the domain weights so you spend the most time where the most points are.

Week 1 - Cloud concepts (25-30%). Nail the fundamentals: cloud computing, the shared responsibility model, public/private/hybrid, consumption-based pricing, serverless, and IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS. These ideas underpin everything else.
Week 2 - Azure architecture & core services (35-40%). This is the biggest domain - give it the most hours. Regions, availability zones, the resource hierarchy, compute (VMs, containers, functions), networking, storage, and identity/security.
Week 3 - Management & governance (30-35%). Cost management, Azure Policy, locks, Microsoft Purview, the portal, Cloud Shell, ARM templates, and monitoring tools (Advisor, Service Health, Azure Monitor).
Week 4 - Review and test-drive. Take the official Practice Assessment repeatedly until you’re scoring comfortably above passing, then re-study only your weak spots.

Create a free Azure account and click through the portal as you study. Seeing a resource group or the pricing calculator for real cements it far better than reading.

The exam mindset / highest-leverage strategy

The whole exam rewards breadth over depth. You need to know what each Azure service is for - not how to configure it. For every service, be able to finish the sentence “You’d use this when you want to ___.”

Drill the practice assessment. It mirrors the real exam’s style and wording. This is the single highest-return activity.
Learn to distinguish look-alikes. Azure Policy vs. resource locks vs. RBAC. Advisor vs. Service Health vs. Monitor. NSGs vs. firewalls. Exam questions love to test whether you can pick the right tool.
Use current naming. It’s Microsoft Entra ID now (formerly Azure Active Directory), and Microsoft Entra Domain Services. Expect Entra branding throughout the identity questions.
Watch the clock loosely. With 45 minutes for ~40-60 questions, time is rarely the problem - don’t rush.

Master the domains

Domain weights — spend your study time in proportion.

Describe cloud concepts (25-30%). The “why cloud” domain. Know the benefits (high availability, scalability, reliability, predictability, security, governance, manageability), the cloud models (public/private/hybrid), the consumption/pay-as-you-go model, serverless, and - crucially - the shared responsibility model and the IaaS/PaaS/SaaS split. Tested with definition and “which model fits this scenario” questions.

Describe Azure architecture and services (35-40%). The heavyweight. Master the scope hierarchy: management groups → subscriptions → resource groups → resources. Know regions, region pairs, sovereign regions, availability zones, and datacenters. Compare compute types (VMs, containers, functions) and VM options (scale sets, availability sets, Azure Virtual Desktop). Understand virtual networks, subnets, peering, Azure DNS, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, and public vs. private endpoints. Storage: tiers, redundancy options, account types, and movement tools (AzCopy, Storage Explorer, File Sync, Migrate, Data Box). Identity/security: Entra ID, Entra Domain Services, SSO, MFA, passwordless, external identities, Conditional Access, RBAC, Zero Trust, defense-in-depth, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

Describe Azure management and governance (30-35%). Cost: the factors that affect cost, the pricing calculator, cost management capabilities, and tags. Governance: Microsoft Purview, Azure Policy, and resource locks. Deployment/management tools: the portal, Cloud Shell (CLI and PowerShell), Azure Arc, infrastructure as code, and ARM templates. Monitoring: Azure Advisor, Service Health, and Azure Monitor (Log Analytics, alerts, Application Insights).

Common pitfalls

Over-studying the wrong way. You don’t need to memorize configuration steps or pricing numbers. Focus on purpose and fit.
Confusing the governance trio. Azure Policy (enforces rules), resource locks (prevents deletion/changes), and RBAC (controls who can do what) are the most-missed distinctions.
Skipping the practice assessment. Reading alone leaves you blind to the question style. Take it for real.
Ignoring interactive questions. Don’t be thrown by drag-and-drop or ordering items - read the instructions and treat them like any other question.
Old terminology. If your study source says “Azure Active Directory,” mentally translate to Microsoft Entra ID.

After you pass

Good news: you’re done forever. Microsoft’s policy states “Microsoft fundamentals Certifications do not expire” - no renewal, no continuing education, no fee to keep it. (Microsoft can retire credentials as technology changes; if that happens, a retired Fundamentals credential stays in the Active section of your transcript for two years after retirement.)

Where to go next:

Role-based associate exams: AZ-104 (Azure Administrator), AZ-204 (Developer), or AZ-700 (Networking).
Other fundamentals to round out your knowledge: AI-900 (AI), DP-900 (Data), or SC-900 (Security).
Note: role-based and specialty certs are valid for one year and require free annual renewal (an online assessment on Microsoft Learn) - a different rule from fundamentals.

The week before, and exam day

The final week:

Take the official Practice Assessment until you’re consistently above 700.
Re-read the study guide’s “Skills measured” list and confirm you can describe every bullet in a sentence.
Skim your weak domain one more time - don’t cram new material.

If testing online: check your system in advance, clear your desk completely, and have a quiet, well-lit room. The proctor will scan your environment.

Exam day:

Have your government-issued ID ready.
Arrive (or log in) early to handle check-in.
Answer every question - flag the tricky ones and return to them; never leave a blank.
Trust your first instinct on definition questions; only change an answer if you’re sure you misread.
You’ll see your result immediately. With steady prep, expect to walk away certified.

Quick-reference: exam tips by domain

Pulled from every term in this subject — a fast last-pass before exam day.

Azure Architecture and Services

Azure Kubernetes Service — Reach for AKS when you need to orchestrate many containers; ACI for simple single containers.
Azure App Service — App Service is PaaS — you deploy code and Azure manages the OS and scaling.
Availability Set — Availability sets protect within a datacenter; availability zones protect across datacenters.
Availability Zone — Spread resources across zones to survive a single datacenter failure.
Azure Functions — Functions are serverless — you pay per execution and never manage servers.
Azure Portal — The portal is the GUI; the CLI and PowerShell are the command-line alternatives.
Azure SQL Database — Azure SQL Database is PaaS — Microsoft handles patching, backups, and high availability.
Blob Storage — Blob storage offers hot, cool, and archive access tiers to optimize cost.
Azure Container Instances — ACI runs single containers fast; AKS orchestrates many containers at scale.
ExpressRoute — Choose ExpressRoute for higher reliability, lower latency, and more security than a VPN.
Azure Geography — Geographies keep data within a compliance boundary and contain region pairs.
Management Group — Management groups sit at the top of the hierarchy: management group > subscription > resource group > resource.
Azure Region — You pick a region to place resources close to users and meet data-residency rules.
Region Pair — Region pairs get sequential updates and prioritized recovery — key for DR.
Resource Group — A resource can belong to only one resource group; deleting the group deletes its resources.
Azure Resource Manager — Every request to Azure — portal, CLI, or template — goes through Resource Manager.
Storage Account — All Azure Storage data services live inside a storage account.
Azure Subscription — Subscriptions are a billing and scale boundary — large orgs use several.
Virtual Machine — Choose VMs when you need full control of the OS — the classic IaaS workload.
Virtual Network — A VNet is the fundamental building block for private networking in Azure.
VPN Gateway — VPN Gateway uses the internet; ExpressRoute uses a private dedicated connection.

Azure Management and Governance

Azure Advisor — Advisor gives personalized best-practice recommendations across five categories.
Azure Arc — Arc is the answer for governing non-Azure servers from the Azure control plane.
Azure Blueprints — Blueprints deploy a governed environment in one step — policies plus resources together.
Azure CLI — The CLI and PowerShell are the scriptable alternatives to the portal.
Azure Cost Management — Cost Management tracks actual spend; the Pricing Calculator estimates it beforehand.
Azure Monitor — Azure Monitor is the umbrella; Log Analytics and alerts are part of it.
Azure Policy — Policy enforces rules (e.g. allowed regions); locks prevent deletion; RBAC controls who can act.
Azure PowerShell — Choose PowerShell if your team already automates with it; otherwise the CLI is equivalent.
Azure Service Health — Service Health is about Azure's health affecting you; Azure Monitor is about your resources.
Azure Cloud Shell — Cloud Shell needs no local install — it runs in the browser with auth built in.
Log Analytics — Log Analytics uses Kusto Query Language (KQL) to investigate telemetry.
Multifactor Authentication — MFA combines something you know, have, or are — a top defense against stolen passwords.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud — Defender for Cloud gives a Secure Score and threat protection recommendations.
Microsoft Entra ID — Entra ID (was Azure AD) manages users, groups, and sign-in to cloud apps.
Pricing Calculator — Pricing Calculator = estimate before; Cost Management = track after.
Role-Based Access Control — RBAC controls who can do what; Azure Policy controls what resources are allowed.
Resource Locks — Two lock types: CanNotDelete and ReadOnly — they override user permissions.
Resource Tags — Tags are key for cost allocation and reporting across resource groups.
Service-Level Agreement — Combining services multiplies their SLAs, lowering the composite guarantee.
Total Cost of Ownership — The TCO Calculator compares on-premises costs against running the same workloads in Azure.

Cloud Concepts

Agility — Agility is about speed to deploy — spinning up resources in minutes, not weeks.
CapEx vs OpEx — The cloud shifts spending from CapEx to OpEx — a frequently tested distinction.
Cloud Computing — The cloud lets you rent IT resources instead of buying and maintaining your own datacenter.
Consumption-Based Model — Consumption-based pricing is pay-as-you-go — it converts CapEx into OpEx.
Disaster Recovery — Region pairs support DR by replicating data to a second, geographically separate region.
Elasticity — Elasticity is automatic, dynamic scaling — think autoscale rules.
Fault Tolerance — Fault tolerance avoids a single point of failure through redundancy.
High Availability — Availability zones and availability sets are Azure's main HA building blocks.
Hybrid Cloud — Hybrid is the answer when an org wants to keep some workloads on-premises and burst to the cloud.
IaaS — IaaS gives the most control and the most responsibility — you patch the OS and apps.
PaaS — PaaS removes OS management — Azure App Service and Azure SQL Database are PaaS.
Private Cloud — Private cloud offers more control and is often chosen for strict compliance needs.
Public Cloud — Public cloud means no capital expense and no hardware to own — Azure itself is a public cloud.
Reliability — Reliability is one of the pillars of the Azure Well-Architected Framework.
SaaS — SaaS gives the least control and the least responsibility — you just sign in and use it.
Scalability — Vertical scaling adds power to one resource; horizontal scaling adds more instances.
Shared Responsibility Model — In IaaS you own more; in SaaS the provider owns more — but you always own your data and identities.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the AZ-900, and how long do I get?: Microsoft does not publish an exact per-exam count, but states that most certification exams contain 40-60 questions. You have 45 minutes of exam time (about 65 minutes of total seat time once you include instructions and the candidate agreement). The exam is proctored and may include interactive (e.g., drag-and-drop, build-list) questions, not just multiple choice. Fundamentals exams do not include hands-on labs.
What score do I need to pass?: 700 out of 1,000. This is a scaled score, so per Microsoft it 'may not equal 70%' of the points - it accounts for question difficulty. There is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question.
Does the AZ-900 certification expire?: No. Microsoft's policy states 'Microsoft fundamentals Certifications do not expire.' There is no annual fee and no continuing education. Once you pass, the credential is yours indefinitely (the only exception is if Microsoft retires the credential as technology changes).
Do I need IT experience or another cert first?: No prerequisites. AZ-900 is a beginner-level, common starting point. Microsoft suggests skills and experience in an area of IT (infrastructure, databases, or development) but it is not required, and no prior certification is needed.
How much does it cost and where do I book?: Commonly about USD $99 in the US, but Microsoft does not publish a fixed price - the exact amount is set by the country/region where you test and shown at checkout. Schedule through Pearson VUE from the Microsoft Learn certification page; students and educators can also book through Certiport. You can take it online (proctored at home) or at a test center.
Was the exam updated recently?: Yes - the skills measured were last updated January 14, 2026. The three domains and their weight ranges stayed the same; the only changes were 'Minor' tweaks to the 'Describe Azure identity, access, and security' and 'Describe features and tools for managing and deploying Azure resources' sub-areas. Most questions cover generally available (GA) features, with occasional Preview features that are commonly used.