How to Pass Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 (2026): A 2-Week Study Plan

AZ-900 is the friendliest cloud certification worth having: no coding, no architecture design, and it never expires. It's a knowledge exam — can you describe cloud concepts and match Azure services to use cases? That makes it very passable in two weeks of focused study, and this plan shows you exactly where to spend that time.

If you're wondering whether it's too easy to bother with or harder than it looks, read Is AZ-900 Hard? first. This post is the how-to-pass plan.

Start from the weighting

AZ-900 has three skill areas, and Microsoft publishes weight ranges (the exam varies slightly form to form):

| Skill area | Exam weight | What it rewards |
|---|:---:|---|
| Describe cloud concepts | 25–30% | IaaS/PaaS/SaaS, public/private/hybrid, cloud benefits, CapEx vs. OpEx |
| Describe Azure architecture and services | 35–40% | Core services, regions, compute/storage/networking/databases |
| Describe Azure management and governance | 30–35% | Cost, SLAs, policy, RBAC, Microsoft Entra, monitoring, compliance |

"Azure architecture and services" (35–40%) is the biggest slice, and it's the most memorization-heavy — you need to match services to scenarios (which compute option, which storage tier, which database). The other two are more conceptual and quicker to lock in.

The 2-week plan

Assumes ~6–8 hours a week. Career changers with zero cloud exposure should add a few days; anyone already in IT can compress this to a long weekend.

Days 1–3 — Cloud concepts (25–30%).
The vocabulary: IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS with real examples, public/private/hybrid/multi-cloud, the shared responsibility model, and cloud economics (CapEx→OpEx, consumption-based pricing, scalability vs. elasticity, high availability vs. disaster recovery). This domain is pure understanding — no service memorization — so it goes fast.

Days 4–9 — Azure architecture and services (35–40%).
The heavy lifting. Group your study by category and learn what each is for, not deep configuration:
- Core structure: regions, region pairs, availability zones, resource groups, subscriptions, management groups.
- Compute: VMs, Virtual Machine Scale Sets, App Service, Azure Functions, Azure Container Instances, AKS.
- Networking: Virtual Network, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute, DNS.
- Storage: blob tiers (hot/cool/cold/archive), redundancy options (LRS/ZRS/GRS), Files, Disks.
- Databases: Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL/MySQL.
The exam loves "which service would you use to…" — practice matching, not reciting.

Days 10–14 — Management and governance (30–35%) + review.
Cost management and the Pricing Calculator / TCO Calculator, SLAs and service lifecycle, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) and RBAC, Azure Policy and locks, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Purview for governance/compliance, and monitoring (Azure Monitor). Then spend the final days on timed full-length practice across all three areas.

Naming matters on the current exam: it's Microsoft Entra ID, not "Azure Active Directory / Azure AD"; Microsoft Defender for Cloud; and Microsoft Purview. Older study material using the legacy names will cost you points on the newest questions.

AZ-900 logistics

• Duration: 45 minutes. Microsoft does not publish an official question count for AZ-900; expect a modest set of items well within the time limit — pacing is rarely the problem.
• Passing score: 700 on a scale of 1000. Note this is a scaled score, not a percentage — it does not mean "70% correct."
• Cost: about $99 USD (price is set by region, so it varies by country).
• It never expires. Microsoft Fundamentals certifications have no renewal requirement — pass once, keep it. (This is unlike Azure's role-based associate/expert exams, which need annual renewal.)
• Question formats are mostly multiple choice and multiple response, with occasional drag-and-drop or "yes/no" case sets.

The practice-test loop

AZ-900 rewards recognition and service-to-use-case matching, which is exactly what timed questions build. The loop:

1. Take a timed set on the skill area you're studying.
2. Review every question — including correct ones — and read why each wrong option doesn't fit.
3. Repeat until you're consistently 85%+ on fresh questions. The scaled 700 bar is comfortable, but 85% on unseen material means you're genuinely ready, not just familiar.

That's what CertBase's Azure Fundamentals bank is for: 500 questions written to the current AZ-900 objectives, using up-to-date product names (Microsoft Entra ID, Defender for Cloud, Purview, Cost Management), each with a detailed explanation of the correct answer and every distractor. Rebuilt and independently verified in July 2026, one-time purchase, lifetime access, free samples on the exam page, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Are you ready?

• ✅ Consistently 85%+ on fresh, timed questions across all three areas
• ✅ You can match a scenario to the right compute/storage/database service without guessing
• ✅ You know the current names (Entra ID, Defender for Cloud, Purview), not the legacy ones
• ✅ You understand the shared responsibility model and CapEx vs. OpEx cold

FAQ

How long does it take to study for AZ-900? Most people need 1–2 weeks at a handful of hours per day. Those already working in IT often pass with a weekend of focused review; complete beginners should budget closer to two to three weeks.

What's the passing score and how many questions? The passing score is 700 on a 1000-point scale. Microsoft does not publish an official question count for AZ-900, and you get 45 minutes — pacing is rarely an issue.

Does AZ-900 expire? No. Microsoft Fundamentals certifications, including AZ-900, do not expire and require no renewal. (Role-based Azure certifications like AZ-104 do require renewal.)

Is a practice exam enough to pass AZ-900? For many people, yes — pair a short concepts pass (Microsoft Learn's free modules or a study guide) with heavy timed practice on realistic questions. Because AZ-900 is a knowledge exam, question reps with strong explanations are the highest-leverage prep. The CertBase AZ-900 bank is built for exactly that.