AZ-104 vs AZ-900: which Azure exam should you take first?

The short answer

AZ-900 (Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals) checks that you understand cloud concepts and what the main Azure services are for. AZ-104 (Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate) checks that you can configure and run them: identities and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking and monitoring.

Microsoft does not require AZ-900 before AZ-104. If you already work in Azure day to day, you can usually go straight to AZ-104. If you work in IT but Azure is new to you, AZ-900 is a shorter, cheaper, lower-stakes way to learn the vocabulary first.

Both exams are current. As of October 20, 2026, neither is on Microsoft’s list of exams scheduled to retire. That list shows AZ-204 and AZ-500 as retired this year, so it is worth checking before you plan any Azure exam.

How the two exams differ

	AZ-900	AZ-104
Certification	Azure Fundamentals	Azure Administrator Associate
Microsoft’s level	Beginner	Intermediate
What it tests	Cloud concepts, Azure architecture and services, Azure management and governance	Five administration areas: identities and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, monitoring and maintenance
Skills outline in force	July 20, 2026	April 17, 2026
Exam time	45 minutes	100 minutes
Microsoft’s instructor-led course	1 day (AZ-900T00)	4 days (AZ-104T00)
Price in the US, October 20, 2026	$99	$165
Prerequisite certification	None	None
Renewal	Does not expire	Expires every 12 months; renew free with an online assessment

Sources: the AZ-900 and AZ-104 certification pages, the AZ-900 and AZ-104 study guides, the course pages for AZ-900T00 and AZ-104T00, and certification renewal.

Exam prices depend on the country or region where you take the exam. The same certification pages showed £64 and £106 for the UK on the same day. Check your own country on the certification page before you book.

Both exams report a scaled score from 1 to 1,000, and 700 or greater is a pass. A scaled score is not the same as 70% of the points (exam scoring and score reports).

Do you need AZ-900 before AZ-104?

No. Microsoft lists no prerequisite certification for Azure Administrator Associate. The real question is whether the AZ-900 vocabulary is already familiar to you: resource groups, subscriptions, management groups, regions and availability zones, the shared responsibility model. All of these sit in the AZ-900 outline. AZ-104 takes them as known and asks you to work with them: organize resources and subscriptions, set up a management group hierarchy, place VMs in availability zones, move a VM between regions.

If those words are new, learn them first. Microsoft’s instructor-led course for AZ-900 runs one day and is written for IT staff who are just beginning to work with Azure (course AZ-900T00).

Learning the material and sitting the exam are separate choices. You can study the AZ-900 topics and go straight on to AZ-104. Sit AZ-900 itself if the credential matters to you or your employer. It does not expire, so it does not add a renewal to your calendar.

AZ-104 asks for more than vocabulary. Microsoft expects experience with the Azure portal, PowerShell, Azure CLI, Azure Resource Manager templates or Bicep files, and Microsoft Entra ID (AZ-104 study guide). If you have never configured those in a real or trial subscription, plan lab time as well as reading time.

How to tell you are ready for AZ-104

Try questions from each of the five AZ-104 skill areas. If you can explain why each wrong option is wrong, not only pick the right one, you are close. Microsoft’s free practice assessment is linked from the AZ-104 certification page.

Our free AZ-104 practice questions give you one question from each skill area, with every option explained. If those show gaps, our AZ-104 study guide is written to the April 17, 2026 outline, with 267 questions across the same five areas.