Everything you need to know about how the AZ-900 exam is structured — questions, time, scoring, and exactly how the marks are distributed.
45 minutes of exam time (65 minutes seat time), delivered by Pearson VUE at a test centre or online, or through Certiport for students and educators. Microsoft does not publish a fixed question count — most Microsoft exams contain 40–60 questions and Fundamentals exams sit at the lower end; question types include multiple choice, multiple select, drag-and-drop and hot-area items. Scores run from 1 to 1,000 and 700 passes. Skills measured: Describe cloud concepts (25–30%), Describe Azure architecture and services (35–40%) and Describe Azure management and governance (30–35%). Access to Microsoft Learn during the exam is NOT available on Fundamentals exams. ExamDeck simulates the single-answer format.
Microsoft publishes how the 45 questions are distributed (Microsoft Learn AZ-900 study guide (skills measured as of July 20, 2026)). Weight your preparation to match — this is the single most useful planning fact:
| Area | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Architecture and Services | 38% | |
| Azure Management and Governance | 33% | |
| Cloud Concepts | 28% |
Azure Architecture and Services is the heaviest at 38% — most candidates under-weight it.
6 free questions · explanation for every option · per-area readiness · no dumps.
Start free →No. Microsoft's renewal policy applies to role-based certifications; Fundamentals certifications such as Azure Fundamentals never expire and carry no renewal assessment or fee.
Microsoft's study guide lists the current skills measured as of July 20, 2026, with minor wording changes in compute/networking, deployment tools and monitoring. The three skill areas and their weights are unchanged.
On its own, rarely — it proves cloud literacy, not administration skill. It is the standard first step before AZ-104 (Administrator) or a role-based associate exam, and a common requirement in sales, project and business roles that touch Azure.
45 minutes of exam time (65 minutes seat time), delivered by Pearson VUE at a test centre or online, or through Certiport for students and educators.
The passing score is 700 on a scale of 1–1,000 (roughly 70%). Aim for a consistent 80–85% on realistic practice exams before booking.
Microsoft does not publish official pass rates, so any exact percentage quoted online is unverified. The readiness signal that actually predicts passing: consistently holding 80–85% on realistic, full-length practice exams before you book.
No prerequisites — anyone can schedule AZ-900 through Microsoft Learn (Pearson VUE) or, as a student, through Certiport. Microsoft's audience profile is a technology professional with skills in some area of IT (infrastructure, database or software development) who wants to demonstrate foundational cloud knowledge; no Azure hands-on experience is required.
The exam fee is $99 USD in the United States; Microsoft prices exams per country, so check the price shown on the AZ-900 page for your region. Microsoft regularly issues free exam vouchers through virtual training days. A free official Practice Assessment is available on Microsoft Learn.
For most candidates, commonly reported 15–30 hours; Microsoft Learn's free learning paths are sufficient for most candidates (no official figure). What matters most is practising questions and analysing why each option is right or wrong — not just reading.
none — Microsoft Fundamentals certifications do not expire and have no renewal requirement.
No — every question is original, written to test the concepts and reviewed before it ships, with an explanation linked to the source for every option. Dumps are stale, often wrong, and against Microsoft's policies.