AZ-104
Exam AZ-104 earns the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate credential — the certification recruiters and employers most often list for cloud operations and infrastructure roles. It is a hands-on, scenario-heavy exam that expects you to actually administer identity, storage, compute, networking, and monitoring in Azure, not just memorize definitions. A failed attempt costs you the ~$165 fee, a mandatory 24-hour wait before a retake, and sometimes a job offer or promotion tied to the badge. This page breaks down exactly what the exam tests, how it's delivered, and how to get it passed.
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No upfront fee — you settle only after your verified passing result. We advertise guaranteed results — 100% pass guaranteed or money back.
How AZ-104 is built — at a glance
5
Identity & governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, and monitoring — each carries a published percentage band that maps to how many questions you'll see.
100
One continuous block — no scheduled breaks. Case studies and any interactive items eat into this budget, so pacing matters as much as knowledge.
700
Scoring runs 100–1000. 700 is a scaled threshold, not a flat 70% of questions — Microsoft weights items by difficulty.
Expect single and multiple-response multiple choice, drag-and-drop ordering, build-list, hot-area, and one or more case studies that bundle several questions around a single scenario. AZ-104 can also include interactive, lab-style tasks. Once you move past a case study or a marked section, you usually cannot go back, so read carefully the first time.
There is no penalty for wrong answers, so never leave a question blank. Your final report shows a single scaled score (100–1000) plus a bar chart of relative performance per skill area — useful if you need to retake. There is no separate pass mark for each domain; only the overall 700 matters for the credential.
Five skill domains — bars show each domain's published weight on the exam
Microsoft Entra ID users and groups, RBAC role assignments and scopes, Azure Policy, resource locks, tags, management groups, subscriptions, and cost controls via budgets and alerts.
Storage accounts and redundancy, SAS tokens and access keys, Azure Files and Blob Storage, storage tiers, soft delete, lifecycle management, versioning, and tools like Storage Explorer and AzCopy.
Virtual machines, disks, scale sets, availability zones and sets, ARM templates and Bicep, container registry, Container Instances and Apps, and App Service plans with scaling, TLS, and deployment slots.
VNets, subnets and peering, public IPs, user-defined routes, NSGs and application security groups, Azure Bastion, service and private endpoints, Azure DNS, and load balancers.
Azure Monitor metrics, logs and alert rules, Network Watcher and Connection Monitor, Recovery Services and Backup vaults, backup policies, and Azure Site Recovery failover.
Compute and identity together are roughly half the exam, but networking is where most people stumble — effective NSG rules, peering, and private endpoints reward hands-on practice, not flashcards. Treat those as priority study areas.
Weights are published as ranges by Microsoft and refreshed periodically — the current skills-measured set is dated April 17, 2026. Because each domain is a band rather than a fixed count, your exam mix can lean a few questions in any direction within those ranges.
Two ways to sit AZ-104 — and what to expect on test day
You sit AZ-104 in a quiet, monitored room at a Pearson VUE center. Staff verify your government-issued ID, store your belongings, and provide an erasable noteboard. No personal devices, notes, or watches are allowed in the room. This is the most reliable choice if your home setup or internet is unpredictable.
You take the exam from a private room at home, monitored by Pearson VUE's OnVUE software with a greeter and proctor. You run a mandatory system check, ID capture, and 360° room scan before the exam unlocks. No paper notes, second monitor, phone, or other people are permitted. Plan to be on camera the entire time.
A valid, unexpired government photo ID whose name matches your Microsoft Learn / Pearson VUE profile exactly. OnVUE captures your photo and ID before the exam unlocks.
A clear desk, no second monitor, no phone within reach, and a webcam room scan. Run the OnVUE system test in advance — corporate laptops and VPNs often block it.
Stay in frame the whole time. There are no scheduled breaks in the 100 minutes. Speaking aloud, leaving the seat, or losing connection can pause or void the session.
AZ-104 is the core credential for Azure operations roles
No formal requirements — but hands-on experience is assumed
Difficulty: AZ-104 is widely considered the toughest associate-level Azure exam. The questions are practical and configuration-specific — you're expected to know exact portal steps, CLI commands, and which setting solves a given scenario. Most candidates invest several weeks of study plus real lab time, which is exactly the kind of pressure point our help is designed to remove.
AZ-104 is a hands-on, time-boxed exam standing between you and a cloud role or promotion. Exam Assist pairs you with a vetted Azure specialist and works on a pay-after-you-pass model — so the risk sits with us, not you. No upfront fee, guaranteed results: Exam Assist handles the sitting end to end, and you settle only after the verified result.
Tell us your delivery method (center or OnVUE), test date, and target timeline. Takes a couple of minutes over WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord.
We review your timeline and setup and tell you plainly whether it's realistic — before any money is discussed. If it isn't a fit, we say so.
Exam Assist handles the sitting end to end. You're matched with an Azure specialist who maps the work around the five skill domains, the case-study format, and the OnVUE environment — discreetly and confidentially.
You only pay once your passing result is confirmed on your official report. No verified result, nothing owed.
See the full pay-after-you-pass Azure service, how matching works, and what to share.
Straight answers about Exam AZ-104
Service, a guide, and sibling Azure exams
Pair with a vetted Azure specialist on a results-first arrangement. No upfront fee — settle only after a verified passing result.
Explore the service GuideWhere AZ-104 fits — from AZ-900 fundamentals up to Architect and Security Expert tracks, and what to take next.
Read the guide Get StartedShare your AZ-104 details and get an honest feasibility answer before any money changes hands.
Start here AZ-900The entry-level Azure exam covering cloud concepts and core services — the recommended primer before AZ-104.
View exam AZ-305The expert-level design certification many AZ-104 holders pursue next to step into architecture roles.
View exam AZ-500The security-focused associate certification that pairs naturally with AZ-104 for ops and security crossover roles.
View examGet expert AZ-104 help with no upfront fee — you settle only after your verified passing result. Honest feasibility answer first, results-first arrangement always.