What is the SC-900 Microsoft Azure Security Compliance Identity Fundamentals exam?
SC-900 is Microsoft's fundamental level exam for security, compliance, and identity. It checks that you understand core ideas that sit across Azure and Microsoft 365, rather than deep hands-on skill in one product. The exam sits in the Cloud Security category and is aimed at people who are new to this field.
Passing the exam earns the Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals credential. It does not require you to configure services yourself. Instead it tests whether you can describe concepts, explain how Microsoft tools work together, and choose the right service for a given need.
The exam suits students, IT beginners, sales and pre-sales staff, compliance teams, and anyone new to security who wants a foundation in how Microsoft protects cloud services. There are no formal prerequisites. Basic familiarity with cloud ideas or Microsoft 365 helps, but you can start from scratch.
How much does the SC-900 Microsoft Azure Security Compliance Identity Fundamentals exam cost?
Microsoft charges $99 for the official SC-900 exam voucher. Cyber VK sells the same official voucher for $44.99, which saves you $54.01 off the vendor price, a saving of 55%. The voucher is valid for 12 months from the date you buy it.
You can buy the SC-900 exam voucher from Cyber VK and use it to book your exam directly with Pearson VUE, either online or at a test center. The voucher covers one proctored attempt. Delivery is digital, so it lands in your registered email address soon after you pay.
What is on the SC-900 Microsoft Azure Security Compliance Identity Fundamentals exam?
The exam has 60 questions to answer within 45 minutes. The format includes multiple choice, drag and drop, and case study style questions typical of Microsoft fundamentals exams. Content splits across four domains, described below.
| Domain | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Security Concepts | Shared responsibility, Zero Trust, defense in depth, and common threat and encryption concepts. |
| Microsoft Security Solutions | Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Sentinel, and other tools used to protect identities, devices, and data. |
| Compliance | Microsoft Purview and the tools organizations use to manage risk, records, and regulatory requirements. |
| Identity | Azure Active Directory, also called Microsoft Entra ID, authentication methods, access management, and identity governance. |
Security concepts sit under general ideas like Zero Trust and shared responsibility, which apply across every Microsoft product. Identity and access management is the largest domain and covers Azure Active Directory, also called Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft security solutions and compliance solutions round out the exam with product level knowledge.
To pass you need a score of 700 (on 100 to 1000 scale). Microsoft sets this bar to confirm you understand each domain reasonably well, rather than doing well in only one area.
How hard is the SC-900 Microsoft Azure Security Compliance Identity Fundamentals exam?
SC-900 is a fundamental exam, so it is designed to be approachable for beginners. It tests recognition and understanding rather than deep configuration skill, so most of the difficulty comes from breadth. There is a lot of terminology to know across four different domains, and it is easy to mix up which product does what.
The exam is manageable within 45 minutes, but time can still feel tight if you get stuck rereading questions. Some questions describe a business scenario and ask you to pick the right Microsoft service, which needs more than memorized definitions. Beginners with no cloud background will need more study time than people who already use Microsoft 365 or Azure day to day.
People who already work with Microsoft cloud tools day to day, even in a non-technical role, often find the exam easier. Anyone starting completely fresh should plan for steady study rather than a quick read the night before.
How to prepare for the SC-900 Microsoft Azure Security Compliance Identity Fundamentals exam
A steady plan over four to six weeks works well for most beginners. Adjust the pace to fit how much time you have.
- Week 1: Read through the official exam objectives and get an overview of each domain.
- Week 2: Study security concepts, including Zero Trust, shared responsibility, and encryption basics.
- Week 3: Study identity, focusing on Azure Active Directory, also called Microsoft Entra ID, authentication methods, and access management.
- Week 4: Study Microsoft security solutions such as Defender and Sentinel, and how they fit together to protect a business.
- Week 5: Study compliance solutions, including Microsoft Purview, and review weak areas from earlier weeks.
- Week 6: Try free SC-900 practice questions on Cyber VK, review mistakes, and do a final pass over all four domains.
If you have more time, spread the same steps over a longer schedule and add extra review sessions. If you have less time, focus most of your hours on identity and security solutions, since together they make up most of the exam.
Common mistakes people make
Many candidates treat SC-900 as a memorization exercise rather than learning how the pieces fit together, which makes scenario questions harder. Skipping the compliance domain is a common mistake, since it carries less weight but still needs solid understanding. Some people also underestimate the identity domain, which spans several products and concepts.
Another mistake is rushing through practice questions without reviewing why an answer is correct. Booking the exam before finishing all four domains can also leave gaps that show up on exam day. Leaving no time buffer before the exam date, in case a topic needs more review, is also common.
Is the SC-900 Microsoft Azure Security Compliance Identity Fundamentals certification worth it?
SC-900 gives you a real foundation in how Microsoft approaches security, compliance, and identity, which is useful even if you never take a role focused only on security. It is a natural first step before more advanced Microsoft Security certifications, and it signals to employers that you understand core cloud security concepts.
Because it has no formal prerequisites and a low official price, it is a low risk way to start a Microsoft certification path. If your work touches Azure or Microsoft 365 in any way, the concepts carry over directly into daily tasks like reviewing access or understanding a compliance policy.
For people considering entry level roles such as cloud support or IT help desk work, the certification is a reasonable early credential to show basic security awareness. It also works well alongside other fundamentals level exams if you are exploring which part of Microsoft's ecosystem to specialize in next.
Once you have SC-900, some people move on to a deeper security credential such as SC-100 Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Expert, while others branch into a different track such as AZ-204 Microsoft Azure Developer Associate or DP-203 Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate. Which path makes sense depends on whether your interest is security itself or a broader cloud role that touches security along the way.