AZ-104 FAQ — Common Questions About the Azure Administrator Exam

What is AZ-104 and who should take it?

AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator validates hands-on administration skills: identity and access, compute, storage, networking, monitoring, backup, and basic resilience. It’s ideal for admins, ops engineers, or help-desk technicians stepping into cloud operations.

How many questions and what is the passing score?

Microsoft lists a scaled passing score of 700/1000. The exam currently allows 100 minutes, and the exact item count can vary by delivery form because Microsoft mixes standard question types with case-style or task-style items.

Does the exam include labs or interactive items?

Microsoft says the exam is proctored and may include interactive components. That does not mean every delivery form contains the same hands-on item mix, but it does mean you should be comfortable navigating Azure administration scenarios instead of preparing only for plain multiple-choice questions.

Are there prerequisites?

No formal prerequisite exam is required. Practically, 6–12 months of Azure administration experience and comfort with the Portal plus basic CLI/PowerShell will make preparation much smoother.

How is AZ-104 different from AZ-900?

AZ-900 is conceptual and broad (fundamentals). AZ-104 is task-level and operational: you’ll apply RBAC/Policy, configure storage/networking, deploy/patch/backup compute, and wire monitoring/alerts.

Do I need to know ARM/Bicep or Terraform?

You’re primarily assessed on administration. Infrastructure-as-code awareness still matters because the official study guide explicitly includes reading, modifying, and deploying ARM templates and Bicep files. You do not need deep platform-engineering depth, but you do need to recognize common deployment structure, parameters, and outcomes.

How much CLI/PowerShell appears?

Expect some task-style questions or answer options that reference commands. You should recognize common az or PowerShell patterns (e.g., setting RBAC, creating Private Endpoints, enabling diagnostics), but most tasks can be reasoned from Portal experience.

Should I use the official practice assessment and exam sandbox?

Yes. Microsoft currently provides both on the certification page. The practice assessment is useful for identifying weak domains and getting used to Microsoft’s wording. The exam sandbox is useful because it lets you see the interface and question interactions before test day.

What domains are tested?

• Manage Azure identities and governance
• Implement and manage storage
• Deploy and manage Azure compute resources
• Implement and manage virtual networking
• Monitor and maintain Azure resources

Those labels come from the official AZ-104 study guide. Microsoft can refresh the English objectives before localized versions, so always check the live study guide before your exam date.

How should I study?

Use the Study Plan as your default sequence, then validate weak areas with the Resources page and the IT Mastery app:

• Start with 20–25 question domain drills on weak areas.
• Mix 30–40 question sets that cross domains.
• In the final week, take 2–3 full mocks and review every miss.

What are the most common weak spots?

• RBAC vs Policy vs Locks (scope and purpose confusion)
• Private Endpoint DNS (missing Private DNS zone links/records)
• Redundancy choices (ZRS vs GZRS vs GRS and SLA trade-offs)
• Load-balancer selection (LB vs App Gateway vs Front Door)
• Monitoring wiring (metric vs log alerts, action groups, workspace placement)

Are labs required?

Hands-on practice is strongly recommended. Build a small lab: a VNet with subnets/NSGs, a storage account with a Private Endpoint and lifecycle rules, a VM/VMSS with backups, and basic Monitor alerts plus a Log Analytics workspace.

How long does it take to prepare?

With prior Azure exposure: 2–3 weeks part-time. From near-zero: 4–6 weeks. Your pace depends on how quickly you can perform each syllabus task from memory.

What should I expect on exam day?

• Manage time: first pass fast; flag long scenarios for later.
• Read the scope carefully (management group → subscription → RG → resource).
• Prefer answers that satisfy least privilege, zone awareness, and operability (monitoring/backup).

How do retakes work?

Microsoft currently says you can retake the exam 24 hours after the first failed attempt. The waiting period increases after later failures, so check the live retake policy when you schedule.

How long is the certification valid?

Microsoft role-based certifications require renewal on a 12-month cycle. Renewal is handled through a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn rather than retaking the full proctored exam.

What languages is AZ-104 currently offered in?

As of March 28, 2026, Microsoft lists AZ-104 in English, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Traditional), and Italian. If language availability matters, verify the live exam page before booking because vendors can change delivery details.

Why does the April 17, 2026 update notice matter?

Microsoft says the English-language version of AZ-104 updates on April 17, 2026. If your exam date is close to that change, re-open the live study guide and certification page so your notes match the right objective version.

Any last-mile tips?

• Build a one-page cheat list: RBAC scopes, redundancy options, Private Endpoint DNS, LB/AppGW/Front-Door chooser, 3–5 KQL queries.
• Set at least one metric and one log alert in your lab—understand the difference.
• For any storage/network scenario that fails, fix DNS first, then check NSGs/UDRs.

Quiz

Keep going

• Build your sequence: Study Plan →
• Objectives by domain: Resources →
• High-yield tables & commands: Cheat Sheet →
• Timed drills & mocks: IT Mastery →