Azure AZ-500

No. Microsoft's certification page carries an explicit warning that the certification, the related exam, and its renewal assessments were retired on August 31, 2026, and that the credential can no longer be earned or renewed after that date. Treat this material as study reference only, not a path to an active credential.

The source lists four assessed areas: secure identity and access; secure networking; secure compute, storage, and databases; and securing Azure using Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel. Microsoft publishes no percentage weights for these areas, so treat them as equally important and study each to working depth.

It is proctored, and Microsoft notes you may have interactive components to complete as part of the exam. For duration and exam experience details, Microsoft points candidates to its own exam duration and exam experience page. Question count, time limit, passing score, and fee are not published on the pages reviewed here.

Microsoft rates it Intermediate and expects practical experience administering Azure and hybrid environments plus strong familiarity with Microsoft Entra ID, Azure compute, networking, and storage. Candidates without hands-on Azure administration typically find the identity and networking objectives hardest, so build lab experience before attempting it.

If you fail, Microsoft allows a retake 24 hours after the first attempt. For subsequent retakes, the waiting period varies. Microsoft directs candidates to its full exam retake policy page for details, so confirm the current rules there before scheduling.

The source states plainly that no training is available for this exam. Plan self-directed preparation: Microsoft Learn documentation for Entra ID, Azure networking, storage, Defender for Cloud, and Microsoft Sentinel, plus hands-on lab work in a test subscription where you configure controls and review the resulting recommendations.

Start with secure identity and access, because Entra ID underpins nearly every other control. Then move to networking, then compute, storage, and databases, and finish with Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel. That order mirrors how controls build on one another and keeps monitoring topics grounded in resources you have already secured.

Candidates typically lose points by memorizing portal menus instead of understanding control behavior, skipping the Sentinel and Defender for Cloud objectives because they feel like a separate product area, and underestimating identity edge cases such as conditional access and privileged role management. Practicing configuration in a live subscription closes most of these gaps.

The source lists English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Traditional), and Italian. Note the retirement date above before planning a sitting; availability in any language may be affected once an exam is retired.