The short version
AZ-104 is Microsoft’s intermediate exam for people who run Azure day to day. It tests whether you can set up and look after identities, storage, virtual machines, networks, and monitoring, and whether you pick the right option when two look similar. This guide follows the study guide that Microsoft labels “Skills measured as of April 17, 2026”.
What the exam is
The full name is Microsoft Azure Administrator. Passing it earns the credential that Microsoft calls Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, which Microsoft lists at intermediate level for the administrator role. The exam is about doing, not just describing. You should know how to create a storage account, assign a role at the right scope, peer two virtual networks, or read a Bicep file and say what it deploys.
Think of the work as running the platform for a small team. Someone asks for a new virtual machine behind a load balancer, a file share that only one subnet can reach, and an alert when the disk fills up. AZ-104 checks that you know which features to combine and which settings matter.
Who it is for
Microsoft describes the candidate as someone with subject matter expertise in implementing, managing, and monitoring an organization’s Azure environment, including virtual networks, storage, compute, identity, security, and governance. Administrators usually work as part of a larger team and coordinate with networking, security, database, development, and DevOps roles.
Microsoft says you should be familiar with operating systems, networking, servers, and virtualization, and have experience with PowerShell, Azure CLI, the Azure portal, Azure Resource Manager templates or Bicep files, and Microsoft Entra ID. The prerequisites page turns that list into a self-check.
Format at a glance
| Item | What Microsoft says |
|---|---|
| Exam code | AZ-104 |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Time | 100 minutes |
| Passing score | 700 or higher on a scale of 1 to 1,000 |
| Delivery | Proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE |
| Languages | 10, including English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese (Brazil) |
| Number of questions | Not published for this exam; Microsoft says most exams have 40 to 60 |
| Question styles | Can include interactive components; Microsoft Learn is open during the exam |
| Renewal | Every 12 months, free, through an online assessment |
Details, including scoring and retakes, are on the exam format page.
The five domains and their weightings
| Domain | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Manage Azure identities and governance | 20-25% |
| Implement and manage storage | 15-20% |
| Deploy and manage Azure compute resources | 20-25% |
| Implement and manage virtual networking | 15-20% |
| Monitor and maintain Azure resources | 10-15% |
Manage Azure identities and governance
Microsoft Entra users, groups, licenses, and external users; self-service password reset; Azure role-based access control and how roles work at different scopes; and the governance toolbox of Azure Policy, locks, tags, resource groups, subscriptions, management groups, and cost alerts and budgets.
Implement and manage storage
Storage firewalls, shared access signatures, stored access policies, access keys, redundancy, encryption, object replication, Azure Files, Blob Storage, access tiers, soft delete, versioning, snapshots, and lifecycle management. Tools such as Storage Explorer and AzCopy are in scope too.
Deploy and manage Azure compute resources
ARM templates and Bicep files, virtual machines (sizes, disks, availability zones and sets, scale sets, encryption at host), containers with Azure Container Registry, Container Instances, and Container Apps, and Azure App Service (plans, scaling, slots, certificates, custom DNS, backup, networking).
Implement and manage virtual networking
Virtual networks, subnets, peering, public IP addresses, user-defined routes, network security groups, application security groups, Azure Bastion, service endpoints, private endpoints, Azure DNS, load balancers, and connectivity troubleshooting.
Monitor and maintain Azure resources
Azure Monitor metrics, logs, alerts, action groups, and Insights, Network Watcher and Connection Monitor, plus backup and recovery with Recovery Services vaults, Backup vaults, backup policies, and Azure Site Recovery.
Official source
For the vendor’s own page, see the Microsoft Learn AZ-104 study guide. It is the final authority if anything here differs.
More guides for AZ-104
- AZ-104 Study Plan: 4 and 8 Weeks
- AZ-104 Sample Questions With Answers
- Is AZ-104 Hard? An Honest Difficulty Check
- AZ-104 Renewal and Retakes Explained
- Is AZ-104 Worth It? An Honest Look
- AZ-104 Cheat Sheet: Key Facts to Review
- AZ-104 vs AZ-305: Which First?
- AZ-104 vs AZ-400: Which First?
- AZ-104 vs AZ-802: Which First?
Next step
Read the domains explained page to see where your time should go. When you want to check yourself, our AZ-104 practice tests are original practice sets built around these five domains.
Frequently asked questions
Does AZ-104 expire?
Yes. Microsoft says role-based certifications expire unless renewed. Renewal is free: you pass an online, unproctored, open-book assessment on Microsoft Learn during the six months before the expiry date, and Microsoft extends the credential by one year.
Is the exam available in English only?
No. Microsoft lists 10 languages. The English version is updated first, and Microsoft says other languages follow about eight weeks later.
Do I need hands-on Azure experience?
Microsoft expects experience with the portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, and templates or Bicep. You can build much of that in a personal Azure account while you study.