Azure AZ-204

Microsoft's certification pages carry a warning stating that this certification and the renewal assessment are retired, with a link to learn more. Before you invest in preparation, check the current Microsoft Learn page yourself to confirm whether the exam can still be scheduled and whether a replacement credential is recommended instead.

Microsoft's public exam page does not publish a question count or a time limit for this exam; it instead points readers to a separate page about exam duration and exam experience. Because those figures are not stated in the official material, treat any specific number you see elsewhere as unverified and check Microsoft's own duration page.

The official source material does not state a passing score for this exam. Microsoft does not publish a fixed raw cut score in the pages referenced here, so avoid planning around a specific number. Focus instead on the five assessed skill areas and use the official practice assessment to gauge readiness before scheduling.

Microsoft states: "If you fail a certification exam, don't worry. You can retake it 24 hours after the first attempt. For subsequent retakes, the amount of time varies." So your first retake can be booked one day later, while later attempts follow a different schedule described in the full retake policy.

Microsoft describes the exam as proctored and notes that it may include interactive components. To reduce surprises, Microsoft offers an exam sandbox where you can try different question types in the same interface used during the exam, plus a practice assessment that shows the style, wording, and difficulty of the questions.

Microsoft recommends at least two years of programming experience, proficiency programming with Azure SDKs, and proficiency using the Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, and other tools. You should also be comfortable with Azure data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, compute and container deployment, and debugging.

Microsoft lists five assessed areas: developing Azure compute solutions; developing for Azure storage; implementing Azure security; monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing Azure solutions; and connecting to and consuming Azure services and third-party services. Build your study plan around these areas, and use the practice assessment to find which ones need the most work.

Microsoft lists the exam as offered in English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Traditional), and Italian. Availability of a given language can change, so confirm your preferred language when you schedule the appointment through your certification account.

Start with compute and storage, since most solutions combine an app with a data store, then layer security on top of both. Add monitoring and troubleshooting once you can deploy something, and finish with service-to-service integration. Take the official practice assessment early to identify gaps, then revisit the weakest area before booking.

The scope is broad: candidates are expected to be fluent across storage, security, monitoring, compute, and integration rather than deep in one area. Many underprepare for authentication and authorization or for monitoring and troubleshooting because those feel less like coding. Use the practice assessment to confirm you can handle every assessed area, not just your specialty.