What is the difference between AZ-900, AI-900, SC-900, and DP-900?

AZ-900 covers general cloud concepts and core Azure services. AI-900 (now AI-901) covers AI and generative AI concepts. SC-900 covers security, identity, and compliance. DP-900 covers core data concepts and Azure data services. They share a format but test different subject matter.

Did AI-900 become AI-901?

Yes. Microsoft retired AI-900 and replaced it with a refreshed AI-901 in 2026, updated to cover generative AI, agents, and Microsoft Foundry. Current practice and study materials should target AI-901.

Can I take more than one Microsoft Fundamentals exam?

Yes, and it is common. None of the four require each other, so many people take AZ-900 first for general vocabulary and then add SC-900, AI-901, or DP-900 depending on their target role.

Which Microsoft Fundamentals exam should a non-technical person take?

AZ-900 is the safest general default for broad cloud literacy. If your role is specifically security-adjacent or data-adjacent, SC-900 or DP-900 may be more directly useful.

Do these Fundamentals exams have prerequisites or expire?

None of the four have prerequisites, and none are required before any associate or expert-level Microsoft exam. Fundamentals certifications generally do not expire the way role-based associate and expert certifications do under Microsoft's renewal program, but always confirm current policy on Microsoft Learn.

How long does each Fundamentals exam take and cost?

All four run about 45 minutes with 40-45 questions and a 700-out-of-1000 passing score, and each costs roughly USD 99 in most regions. Confirm current pricing when you register, since Microsoft sets it and it varies by country.

Which Fundamentals exam is easiest?

They sit in the same difficulty band by design. Ease depends more on your background than the exam itself - someone in security will find SC-900 easier than DP-900, and vice versa for someone in data.

Should a security professional take SC-900 or AZ-900 first?

SC-900 is the more directly relevant exam for security, identity, and compliance work. AZ-900 is still useful as general Azure context, but SC-900 is the better first choice if security is your specific focus.

AZ-900 vs AI-900 vs SC-900 vs DP-900: Which Microsoft Fundamentals Exam?

Microsoft's Fundamentals tier now has four exams - AZ-900, AI-900, SC-900, and DP-900 - and at a glance they look interchangeable: same level, same format, same '900' naming. They are not interchangeable. Each one validates a different slice of the Microsoft cloud, aimed at a different audience, and picking the wrong one wastes weeks of study on the wrong vocabulary. This guide compares all four side by side and gives a straightforward way to decide which one is actually yours to take first.

The four exams at a glance

AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals - general cloud concepts and core Azure services. The default starting point for anyone new to Azure.
AI-900 (now AI-901): AI Fundamentals - AI and generative AI concepts, and building AI solutions and agents on Azure.
SC-900: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals - identity, Microsoft security tooling, and compliance concepts.
DP-900: Azure Data Fundamentals - core data concepts and Azure's relational, non-relational, and analytics data services.

All four share the same shape: roughly 45-minute exams, 40-45 questions, a 700-out-of-1000 (70 percent) passing score, and no hands-on lab component. The difference is entirely in the subject matter, not the format or difficulty band.

AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals

AZ-900 is the broadest and most general of the four. It covers cloud concepts (public/private/hybrid, economies of scale, shared responsibility), core Azure services at a recognition level (compute, networking, storage, databases), and Azure management and governance basics. It is the right starting point if your goal is general cloud literacy rather than a specific specialty, and it is the exam most people mean when they say 'I want a Microsoft fundamentals certification' without a more specific goal in mind.

AI-900 (now AI-901): AI Fundamentals

Microsoft retired AI-900 and replaced it with AI-901 in a 2026 refresh, so if you see 'AI-900' referenced today, the current live exam is AI-901. The refreshed exam covers AI and responsible AI basics, generative AI and language models, building AI solutions and agents with Microsoft Foundry, and applied AI services like vision, language, speech, and document intelligence. This is the right exam if you work adjacent to AI projects - as a product manager, analyst, or engineer - and want validated vocabulary for generative AI and agent concepts specifically, rather than cloud infrastructure in general.

SC-900: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals

SC-900 covers security, compliance, and identity concepts across Microsoft's stack: Microsoft Entra ID (identity and access management), Microsoft's security tooling (Defender, Sentinel, and related services at a conceptual level), and Microsoft's compliance solutions (Purview and related governance tools). Unlike AZ-900, SC-900 is not really about Azure infrastructure - it is about how Microsoft approaches identity, protection, and compliance across its ecosystem, including Microsoft 365. This is the right exam for anyone heading toward a security, compliance, or identity-focused role, or already working in one and wanting a Microsoft-specific credential to match.

DP-900: Azure Data Fundamentals

DP-900 covers core data concepts - relational vs non-relational data, transactional vs analytical workloads - and how Azure's data services map to them: Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Azure Storage, and analytics services like Synapse. It assumes no prior data background and is built for people who need to understand data terminology and Azure's data service lineup without doing hands-on database or pipeline work themselves. This is the right exam if your path is heading toward data engineering, data analytics, or database administration roles.

Which one should you take first

Match the exam to the role you are heading toward, not to which one sounds most impressive:

General cloud literacy, no specific specialty yet, or a non-technical role that touches Azure conversations: start with AZ-900.
Heading toward AI, machine learning, or generative AI and agent work: start with AI-901.
Heading toward security, identity, or compliance roles: start with SC-900.
Heading toward data engineering, analytics, or database administration: start with DP-900.
Genuinely unsure: AZ-900 is the safest general default, since Azure core concepts underpin the other three exams to some degree.

None of these four exams require each other as a prerequisite, and none of them are required for any associate or expert-level Microsoft exam. Pick based on your target role, not based on an assumed order.

Can and should you take more than one

Yes, and it is common. Many people take AZ-900 first for general Azure vocabulary, then add SC-900, AI-901, or DP-900 depending on where their role is heading - a security analyst might do AZ-900 then SC-900, while someone moving into a data role might do AZ-900 then DP-900. Because each is only 45 minutes and a few weeks of preparation, stacking two or even three Fundamentals exams over a few months is a realistic way to build a broad Microsoft cloud vocabulary before committing to a deeper associate-level specialty.

Browse all Microsoft practice exams

The bottom line

AZ-900, AI-901, SC-900, and DP-900 share a format and a difficulty band, but they are not the same exam with a different label - they validate genuinely different vocabulary for genuinely different roles. Pick the one that matches where your career is actually headed: AZ-900 for general cloud literacy, AI-901 for AI and generative AI, SC-900 for security and identity, and DP-900 for data. If you are still deciding between an eventual associate-level path, most people find it worthwhile to start with AZ-900 regardless, since it underpins the other three.