Once you've finished studying for AZ-104, the last thing to prepare for is the exam itself. AZ-104 asks you to pick configuration steps in order, interpret tables and code snippets, and read long case studies, all within 100 minutes, so the time pressure is far greater than on a Fundamentals exam. On top of that, Associate exams let you open Microsoft Learn during the exam, and how you use it can either leave you with time to spare or leave you badly short.
This article closes the AZ-104 study series. It covers the exam's time structure, question types and how to read AZ-104 questions, how to use Microsoft Learn during the exam, scoring, managing 100 minutes, the April 2026 skills outline revision and exam languages, and the online exam process, based on Microsoft's official guidance (checked October 2026). For the exam scope and study order, start with The Complete Azure AZ-104 Exam Guide.
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The Exam's Time Structure at a Glance
| Item | Details | |------|------| | Exam time | 100 minutes (associate and expert exams without labs) | | Seat time | 120 minutes (includes instructions, the candidate agreement, and post-exam comments) | | Number of questions | Not published (varies by exam) | | Breaks | Allowed at any time, but the clock keeps running (5 minutes are built into the exam time for breaks) | | After a break | You can't return to questions you saw before the break; no breaks in the middle of a lab or a problem-solution set | | Microsoft Learn access | Available (associate and expert exams); the timer keeps running | | Exam languages | English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Spanish, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian | | Results | Usually within minutes of finishing |
In its exam duration table, Microsoft lists "exams that may contain labs" separately at 120 minutes, and because labs can be removed at any time due to Azure outages or bandwidth issues, it doesn't publish a list of exams with labs. The AZ-104 exam page gives the exam time as 100 minutes and notes that you may have interactive components, so be sure to check the overview screens at the start for what this exam includes.
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How Exam Day Flows
For an online exam, you finish check-in before your appointment time, wait for the proctor, go through the instruction screens and the agreement, and then start the exam. When you finish, you can leave comments, and results usually appear within minutes.
!How AZ-104 exam day flows
The exam screen shows the time remaining and the questions remaining, and breaks and Microsoft Learn open from icons in the left navigation pane. When you select the break icon, it first shows how many questions you've seen, how many are unanswered, and how many are marked for review, so sort out the remaining questions on that screen before starting the break.
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A Preview of Question Types
To protect exam security, Microsoft doesn't announce in advance which question formats appear on each exam. Instead, the exam sandbox lets you try the same screens, instructions, and question types as the real exam. These are the types to get especially comfortable with for AZ-104.
| Type | What you do on screen | How to approach it | |------|------|------| | Multiple choice | Select one or more options | Check how many to choose first, as in "choose two" | | Drag and drop | Drag commands, roles, or setting values into the right boxes | Check whether an item can be used more than once | | Hot area | Choose values from drop-downs inside a table, image, or code snippet | In template questions, find the asked-about section (loop, condition, mode) first | | Build list | Pick task steps and arrange them in the right order | Unneeded steps may be mixed in | | Case study | Read a company's environment and requirements, then answer several questions | Read the questions first and look up only the requirements you need | | Problem-solution set | The same problem with different solutions; answer yes or no to whether each meets the goal | Judge each solution independently; there may be several correct solutions or none | | Interactive components | If included, work directly in a live environment | Check whether they're included on the overview screens at the start |
How to Read AZ-104 Questions
AZ-104 options often include several answers that would technically work. What decides the right one is the condition at the end of the question. "Must follow the principle of least privilege" means the smallest role at the narrowest scope; "must minimize administrative effort" means automation or a managed feature that no one has to repeat; "must minimize cost" means the lowest tier that meets the requirement. Mark that condition sentence first when you read a question.
Exam tip: Problem-solution sets and case studies often come as sections where the instructions tell you that once you answer and move on, you can't come back. In those sections, don't rely on marking for review; settle your answer on the spot.
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How to Use Microsoft Learn During the Exam
On associate exams such as AZ-104, the Microsoft Learn button in the left navigation pane opens Learn in a split screen next to the question. But Microsoft itself says that if you use it for every question, you won't be able to finish the exam in the time allotted, and that this is by design.
The timer keeps running while you browse Learn You can open several tabs, but not the Q&A section, practice assessments, or your personal profile Use it only to confirm a fact you already know you need (for example, from which tier deployment slots are available) Don't use it during the first pass; use it only for questions you marked, during the review stage Decide your search terms in advance (service name + limits, service name + overview, and so on)
Exam tip: Learn is "a place to confirm a number or condition you already knew," not "a place to study a concept you've never seen." If the concept itself is unfamiliar, opening Learn rarely helps you understand it in time.
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What You Must Know About Scoring
| Rule | Meaning | What to do in the exam | |------|------|------| | 700 or higher on a 1–1,000 scale passes | It's a scaled score, not the same as 70% correct | Don't try to calculate your percentage | | No penalty for wrong answers | A wrong answer doesn't lower your score | Never leave a question blank | | Partial credit on multi-part questions | Usually one point per correct part | Fill in the parts you're sure about first | | Unscored questions are mixed in | You can't tell which ones | Treat every question as scored | | Bars per skill area on the score report | You can't add up the bars to count correct answers | Use them only to find weak areas |
The passing score is a scaled score because the passing standard reflects not only the knowledge and skills required but also the difficulty of the questions.
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A Strategy for 100 Minutes
Decide your time plan before you go in so you don't waver during the exam. The exact number of questions isn't published, so check it on the start screen and then apply the steps below.
Step 1 (right at the start): On the overview screens, check the number of questions and whether there are sections such as case studies and problem-solution sets, and work out roughly how much time each question gets.
Step 2 (first pass): Answer questions you can see right away. If you're stuck for more than a minute, pick the most likely answer, mark it for review, and move on. With no penalty for wrong answers, never leave a blank.
Step 3 (case studies): Case studies have long scenarios, and one set can take 15 minutes or more. Reading the questions first and looking up only the requirements you need saves a lot of time.
Step 4 (review and Learn): Use the remaining time to revisit marked questions, and open Microsoft Learn only for questions that need a number or condition confirmed. Change your first answer only when you find clear evidence.
The most common mistake is spending several minutes on one or two template or table questions early on, then rushing through the final case study. Make finishing a complete first pass your top priority.
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Skills Outline Revision and Exam Languages
The AZ-104 skills outline was revised on April 17, 2026. It's a small revision in which six areas changed as "Minor": the audience profile, Azure Files and Blob Storage, virtual machines, containers, virtual networks, and resource monitoring. The five domains and their weights stay the same.
The headline change is that VM disk encryption moved from Azure Disk Encryption to encryption at host Microsoft updates the English exam first and usually updates localized exams such as Korean about eight weeks later (the schedule can slip) For content where older material and today's answer can differ, such as the Basic SKU public IP and Load Balancer retired on September 30, 2025, go by the current documentation AZ-104 is offered in 10 languages, including Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese (Brazil)
The two outlines differ so little that preparation is the same either way. Just remember that a renamed feature mixed into the options (Azure AD → Microsoft Entra ID, for example) is the same feature.
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Online Exam Checklist
Online exams taken from home or the office run on Pearson VUE's OnVUE. A proctor watches you and your room through your webcam and microphone, and the session is recorded.
Before booking, run the Pearson VUE system test to confirm your PC, webcam, and network meet the requirements Check-in opens 30 minutes before your appointment and stays open until 15 minutes after; the process takes about 15 minutes Have valid government-issued ID ready, and confirm in advance that the name on your Microsoft certification profile matches it Take the exam alone in a walled space with a door that closes; no one else may enter the room during the exam Disconnect extra monitors an