What's On the AZ-900 Exam in 2026
Objectives verified against Microsoft Learn on 22 August 2026.
Microsoft updates AZ-900 exam objectives periodically. The January 2026 update added several new topics and shifted emphasis in existing areas. This page covers every testable topic, what's new, and how heavily each area is weighted so you spend your study time in the right places.
Domain weights at a glance
| Domain | Weight | Your study priority |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1: Cloud Concepts | 25–30% | Study last — most people already know the basics |
| Domain 2: Azure Architecture & Services | 35–40% | Study thoroughly — most questions come from here |
| Domain 3: Management & Governance | 30–35% | Study deeply — this is where most people fail |
Domain 1: Cloud Concepts
Weight: 25–30%
Domain 2: Azure Architecture & Services
Weight: 35–40% · This is the widest domain — prepare for breadth.
Core infrastructure
Compute
Networking
Storage
Identity & Security
Additional services
Domain 3: Management & Governance
Weight: 30–35% · Nearly as heavy as Domain 2. Study this as thoroughly.
What changed in January 2026 — full list
All 11 of these topics are now formal exam objectives. If your prep material predates 2026, it likely doesn't cover them.
| Topic | Domain | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|
| Serverless computing | D1 | Event-driven, scales to zero, pay per execution. Azure Functions is the main example. |
| HA vs DR / RTO vs RPO | D1 | HA minimises downtime. DR recovers from catastrophic failure. RTO = restore time, RPO = data loss window. |
| Cloud Migration 6 Rs | D1 | Rehost, Refactor, Rearchitect, Rebuild, Replace (SaaS), Retire. |
| ARM Templates & Bicep | D2 | Declarative IaC. Idempotent. Bicep is preferred newer syntax compiling to ARM JSON. |
| Azure DNS | D2 | Public zones (internet) vs private zones (internal VNet). Both now explicitly in scope. |
| Passwordless authentication | D2 | Co-equal with MFA and SSO. Windows Hello, FIDO2, Microsoft Authenticator app. |
| Managed Identity | D2 | System-Assigned vs User-Assigned. Eliminates credential management. Authenticate to Azure services without secrets in code. |
| Entra ID vs Azure RBAC roles | D2 | Two entirely separate systems. Entra manages the directory. RBAC manages resources. Not interchangeable. |
| Messaging: Bus/Hubs/Grid | D2 | Service Bus = reliable delivery. Event Hubs = high-throughput streaming. Event Grid = event routing. Scenario questions expected. |
| Azure AI Foundry | D2 | Renamed from Azure AI Studio. Platform for building and deploying AI models including GPT-4. |
| Savings Plans vs Reservations | D3 | Savings Plans = flexible ($/hr commitment, any eligible compute). Reservations = specific VM SKU + region, 1 or 3 years. |
Common questions about the AZ-900 exam
How many questions are on the AZ-900 exam?
Microsoft does not fix the number. Its own guidance says the count “is subject to change” and that “most Microsoft Certification exams typically contain between 40-60 questions; however, the number can vary depending on the exam.” AZ-900 is scheduled for 45 minutes of exam time. Anyone quoting you an exact number is guessing.
What score do you need to pass AZ-900?
700 on a scale of 1 to 1000. That is not the same as answering 70% of the questions correctly — Microsoft reports a scaled score, which weights questions by difficulty. Treat 700 as the bar and ignore anyone converting it neatly into a question count.
Does the AZ-900 certification expire?
No. Microsoft states plainly that “Fundamentals certifications do not expire.” Once you pass AZ-900 it is yours permanently, with nothing to renew. That is different from the role-based and specialty certifications — AZ-104, AZ-305 and the rest — which have to be renewed every year through a free online assessment.
How long does it take to prepare for AZ-900?
It depends almost entirely on where you start. Someone already working alongside Azure can be ready in a week of evenings. Someone new to cloud computing altogether should plan on three to four weeks. The honest signal is not hours studied but whether you can consistently score above the pass mark on practice questions you have not seen before — particularly in Domains 2 and 3, which together are 65–75% of the exam.
Is AZ-900 worth taking?
It depends what you want from it. AZ-900 will not by itself get you a cloud job — it is a fundamentals credential, and hiring managers know it. What it does well is prove baseline Azure literacy for a non-engineering role, satisfy an employer requirement, and give you a structured reason to learn the vocabulary before attempting AZ-104. If your goal is a role as an Azure administrator, AZ-900 is an optional warm-up rather than a requirement.
What is the difference between AZ-900 and AZ-104?
AZ-900 is a fundamentals exam: it asks whether you understand what Azure services do and when you would use them. AZ-104 is role-based: it asks whether you can actually configure and operate them. AZ-900 never expires; AZ-104 must be renewed annually. Most people who want an administrator role go straight to AZ-104, and take AZ-900 first only if the terminology is new to them.
Are there free AZ-900 practice questions?
Yes, and you should use more than one source. Microsoft publishes its own free practice assessment on the Azure Fundamentals certification page, written by the people who write the exam — start there. Then try our 40 free practice questions, which are weighted to the same domain proportions as the real exam and score you by domain so you can see which one is letting you down.
Test yourself on these topics — free, no sign-up
40 practice questions across all three domains, weighted to the proportions above. You get a score per domain at the end, so you can see which one is actually letting you down.
Take the free 40-question quiz →Want the full set afterwards? 548 questions, 607 flashcards and 6 PDF guides for $30 once — see what's included.