Microsoft SC-900

Microsoft states you have 45 minutes to complete the assessment, and a score of 700 or greater is required to pass. The exam is proctored and may include interactive components, so budget your time and use the exam sandbox to get comfortable with the interface before exam day.

Four areas: security, compliance, and identity concepts (10–15%); Microsoft Entra capabilities (25–30%); Microsoft security solutions (35–40%); and Microsoft compliance solutions (20–25%). Security solutions carry the most weight, so prioritize Azure infrastructure security, Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Sentinel, and Defender XDR when planning your study time.

Microsoft targets business stakeholders, new or existing IT professionals, and students who want a grounding in security, compliance, and identity across Microsoft cloud services. It is a beginner-level fundamentals exam, so difficulty is moderate: breadth matters more than depth, and candidates who confuse similar services or skip weaker domains tend to struggle.

Yes. Microsoft says you can retake 24 hours after the first attempt, and the wait for subsequent retakes varies. Review your score report by domain before rebooking so the second attempt targets your weakest areas rather than repeating the same preparation.

Follow the study guide's structure, then weight your time by exam percentage: start with concepts, then Entra, then spend the most effort on security solutions, and finish with compliance. Take the free practice assessment afterward to find gaps, and revisit the study guide's change log so you are studying the current objectives.

The study guide lists skills measured as of October 21, 2026, and the certification page shows a last-updated date of 10/21/2026. That version reports minor changes to the Microsoft Entra ID function and identity types objective and to the Microsoft Defender XDR threat protection objective, so check the change log before relying on older material.

Microsoft lists English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Indonesian (Indonesia), German, Chinese (Traditional), and Italian. Microsoft notes that English versions are updated first and localized versions follow, so a non-English exam may lag behind the current objectives.

Microsoft strongly recommends registering with a personal MSA account. If you register with an organizational work or school account, your exam records will be lost if you leave the organization and will be unrecoverable. Schedule through Pearson VUE, or through Certiport if you are a student or educator.

Memorizing product names without knowing what each does, assuming overlapping services are interchangeable, and ignoring the compliance domain because it feels less technical. Also confirm the price for your country, since Microsoft prices exams by the country or region where the exam is proctored.