AZ-204
AZ-204 is Microsoft's associate-level exam for the Azure Developer Associate certification — proof that you can design, build, test, and maintain cloud applications and services on Azure. It is a hands-on, scenario-heavy exam that assumes real coding experience, not memorized facts. One thing to know up front: Microsoft has scheduled AZ-204 and this certification to retire on July 31, 2026, so the window to earn it is closing. This page breaks down exactly what is tested, how it's delivered, and how to get it done right the first time.
Pay Only After You Pass
No upfront fee — you settle only after your verified passing result. We advertise guaranteed results — 100% pass guaranteed or money back.
How AZ-204 is built — at a glance
100
A single timed block with no scheduled breaks. Case-study questions can consume several minutes each, so pacing matters as much as knowledge.
5
Compute, storage, security, monitoring, and connecting to services — each weighted differently and pulled from real development tasks across the Azure SDK.
700
Out of 1000. Because items are weighted by difficulty, 700 is not a flat 70 percent of questions — harder questions carry more value.
Expect multiple-choice, multiple-response, drag-and-drop, build-list ordering, hot-area, and code-completion items, plus one or more case studies that bundle several questions around a single scenario. Some forms include a short locked review section you cannot revisit once you advance past it.
Your raw answers are converted to a scaled score from 1 to 1000, with 700 required to pass. You learn pass or fail immediately on screen, and a printed score report shows your performance by skill area so you know exactly where you were strong or weak. There is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question.
Five skill domains — bars show each domain's official weight on the exam
Azure Functions, App Service web apps, and container solutions — Azure Container Apps, Container Instances, and Container Registry. The single largest domain on the exam.
API Management, event-based solutions with Event Grid and Event Hubs, and message-based solutions with Service Bus and Storage Queues — wiring services and third-party APIs together.
Develop solutions that use Azure Cosmos DB and Blob storage — partitioning, consistency levels, the SDK, lifecycle and access tiers, and properties and metadata.
User and service authentication and authorization with the Microsoft identity platform, plus securing secrets and configuration using Key Vault, Managed Identities, and App Configuration.
Implement caching with Azure Cache for Redis and CDN, and troubleshoot solutions using Application Insights, metrics, logs, and instrumentation.
Microsoft periodically updates the skills-measured list and may adjust these ranges. Always confirm the current weights and topics against the official AZ-204 study guide before your test date.
Compute is the heaviest domain, but security and storage questions are where well-prepared developers most often slip — Managed Identity flows, Key Vault access policies, and Cosmos DB consistency are recurring trap areas. Strong, even coverage across all five domains beats over-investing in one.
Two ways to sit AZ-204 — both run through Pearson VUE
You sit AZ-204 in a quiet, monitored room at a Pearson VUE center. Staff verify your government-issued ID, store your belongings, and provide an erasable noteboard. Test-center delivery is often the smoothest option for a coding-heavy exam because there's no home-environment setup to fail.
You take the exam from a private room at home through Pearson VUE OnVUE, monitored by a live proctor over your webcam. You run a system test, check in early, photograph your workspace, and complete an ID check before the exam unlocks. No physical scratch paper is allowed — only the on-screen whiteboard.
A valid, unexpired government photo ID whose name matches your Microsoft certification profile exactly. OnVUE captures a photo of you and your ID before the exam begins.
A clear desk, no second monitor, no phone or notes within reach, and a 360° webcam scan of the room. No one else may enter, and you must close all other applications.
Stay in frame and on-camera the whole time. There are no scheduled breaks in 100 minutes. Talking aloud, leaving the seat, or losing connection can pause or void the session.
AZ-204 is built for working cloud developers
No required exam — but real coding experience is assumed
Difficulty: AZ-204 is widely considered one of the tougher Azure associate exams because it tests applied development, not recall. Case studies, code-completion items, and the breadth of services across five domains catch out candidates who only studied theory. Most developers invest 60–120 hours of hands-on prep — exactly the pressure point our help is designed to remove.
AZ-204 is a high-stakes, applied development exam with a hard July 2026 retirement deadline looming. 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 where you stand on each domain. Takes a couple of minutes over WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord.
We review your timeline and target and tell you plainly whether it's realistic before the retirement deadline — 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 and the Pearson VUE OnVUE environment — discreetly and confidentially.
You only pay once your passing result is confirmed on your official Microsoft score report. No verified result, nothing owed.
See the full pay-after-you-pass Azure service, pricing model, and how matching works.
Straight answers about the AZ-204 exam
Service, guides, 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 GuideSee how AZ-204 fits alongside AZ-900, AZ-104, and the architect track — and which order makes sense for your role.
Read the guide GuideDeciding which cloud to certify in? Compare the developer tracks, demand, and difficulty across the three major providers.
Compare them AZ-900Microsoft's entry-level Azure exam — cloud concepts, core services, and pricing. The common starting point before AZ-204.
View exam AZ-104The associate exam for managing Azure identities, storage, networking, and compute — the infrastructure counterpart to AZ-204.
View exam AZ-305The expert-level design exam — a natural next step for developers who want to move into solution architecture on Azure.
View examGet expert Azure Developer help with no upfront fee — you settle only after your verified passing result. Honest feasibility answer first, results-first arrangement always.