AZ-900 exam-day notes: how to handle the exam itself

Not more facts — the tactics. Pacing, the interactive question formats, flag-and-review, and staying calm on an unfamiliar service name. AZ-900, 2026 edition.

Read the exam-day playbook, then try 6 free questions about how the exam actually works — every answer explained, no sign-up.

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You have learned the services and the vocabulary. Exam day tests something extra: whether you can spend 60 minutes well, read an interactive question correctly, and stay level when a service name you have never seen appears in a stem. These notes are the tactics, not the facts — the cheat sheet already has the numbers. The strip in the diagram above is the shape of the hour: a pacing bar, the question formats, and the flag-and-review loop.

Spend the hour, don’t race it

Roughly 50 questions in about 60 minutes is a little over a minute each. That is comfortable if you keep moving and dangerous if you stall. Do a first pass answering everything you know cold, and the moment a question passes the two-minute mark, flag it and move on — the time you bank carries the hard ones. Aim to reach the last question with a few minutes in reserve for your flags.

Know the formats before you see them

AZ-900 is not all single-answer multiple choice. Expect a mix:

Multiple choice — one correct answer of four. Eliminate two, then decide.
Multiple response — “Select TWO.” The count is a scoring rule: you need every required option and no extra one, and there is no partial credit, so pick exactly the number asked.
True/false — often a set of statements; judge each on its own.
Drag-and-drop / matching / ordering — pair or sequence items. Place the ones you are sure of first to shrink the list.

None of these are live portal labs — this is a fundamentals exam, so there is no hands-on Azure environment.

Flag, review, and never leave a blank

You can navigate freely within the section and mark items for review, so no answer is final until you submit. Use that: flag rather than agonise, and revisit with a fresh head. And because there is no negative marking, a wrong answer costs exactly what a blank does — nothing. Fill in every question, guessing if you must.

Read the distractor, not just the answer

Every wrong option is wrong for a reason, and spotting that reason is the skill the exam rewards. Rule options out deliberately: this one describes the wrong service, that one inverts the definition, the third is real but answers a different question. If two options look identical, the difference is usually one qualifying word — find it. That habit is exactly what our sample questions train, because each explanation walks the “why not the others” for you.

Set-up and nerves

ESL time — if you are testing in English and it is not your first language, request the accommodation (about 30 extra minutes) when you book, not on the day.
Online proctoring — for an at-home exam, check your webcam and a stable connection ahead of time, clear your desk, and have your ID ready; the proctor scans the room before you start.
An unfamiliar name — a service you have never studied will appear. Do not freeze. Read what the stem says it does, match that to the category you know, and eliminate. You rarely need to recognise the name to rule it out.

Work the six questions below the way you will work the real ones: rule out the wrong options first, then confirm the right one. Practising the mechanics is half of passing fast.

An AZ-900 exam-day strip. A pacing bar shows roughly 50 questions across about 60 minutes, marking just over a minute per question with a reserve at the end for review. Three question-format cards sit above it: multiple choice with one answer, multiple response labelled select TWO with no partial credit, and drag-and-drop matching. A flag-and-review loop shows an uncertain question being flagged, skipped, and revisited before time runs out.

6 free AZ-900 practice questions

Answers and explanations — no email wall

AZ-900 Question 1 of 6

AZ-900 gives you about 60 minutes for roughly 50 questions. About how much time does that leave per question on average?

Answer: A — Just over a minute each

Roughly 60 minutes over about 50 questions is a little more than a minute apiece — enough to read carefully but not to stall. Why not the others: four or three minutes each would run you far past the clock. Fifteen seconds is too little to read a scenario and rule out distractors. Pro tip: if a question passes the two-minute mark, flag it and move on rather than sinking the time you banked on easier items.

AZ-900 Question 2 of 6

A multiple-response question says 'Select TWO.' You mark one correct answer and leave the second blank. How does that score?

Answer: A — No credit — the item is all-or-nothing, with no partial marks

Multiple-response items are scored as a whole: you need every required choice and no extra one to earn the point. Why not the others: there are no half marks for a partial answer, one right pick alone is not full marks, and the item still counts. Pro tip: when a stem says 'Select TWO,' the count is a scoring rule — pick exactly that many, never one or three.

AZ-900 Question 3 of 6

You are unsure on an early question and want to keep moving. What does the AZ-900 interface let you do?

Answer: A — Flag it and return later — you can move freely within the section

AZ-900 lets you navigate back and forth and mark items for review, so an uncertain answer is never final until you submit. Why not the others: questions do not lock behind you, skips are not permanent, and nothing forces a restart. Pro tip: do a first pass answering everything you know cold, flagging the rest, then spend the reserve time on flagged items with a fresh head.

AZ-900 Question 4 of 6

English is your second language and you are sitting the exam in English. What can you request?

Answer: A — About 30 extra minutes, granted on request when the exam is not in your first language

Microsoft offers an ESL time accommodation — roughly 30 additional minutes — that you request when booking, for exams taken in a non-native language. Why not the others: it grants time, not an on-demand translation, and it does not change the question mix or add a free retake. Pro tip: request it during scheduling, not on exam day — it is applied to the booking, not the seat.

AZ-900 Question 5 of 6

Besides standard single-answer multiple choice, which question style should you expect on AZ-900?

Answer: A — Drag-and-drop matching or ordering of items

AZ-900 mixes single-answer and multiple-response items with interactive formats such as drag-and-drop matching, ordering, and true/false. Why not the others: this fundamentals exam has no live portal labs, no spoken component, and no essay. Pro tip: for a matching item, place the pairs you are certain of first — that shortens the list and makes the last few obvious.

AZ-900 Question 6 of 6

You have 90 seconds left and three unanswered questions. Is guessing a risk?

Answer: A — No — there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so always enter a guess

AZ-900 has no negative marking, so a blank and a wrong answer score the same zero — a guess can only help. Why not the others: nothing is subtracted for errors, a blank never outscores a guess, and guessing does not void anything. Pro tip: if the clock is nearly out, eliminate one distractor and pick — an informed guess beats a coin flip, and both beat a blank.

That is exactly how every question in the course works — answer, explanation, why-not. The real set continues in the practice player: 10 free questions, no sign-up.

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Those 6 questions were the start.

The exam does not test whether you recognise a term — it tests whether you can rule out three plausible answers under time pressure. That is what the explanations above are for, and there are 300 more questions built exactly like them.

Collecting questions yourself

Scattered across forums, of unknown age
Answer keys without reasoning
No idea which domain you are weak in

Practising with a system

300 questions in 6 full tests, AZ-900 (2026)
Every option explained — including the wrong ones
Readiness per exam domain, and drills for your weakest

Start free — 10 questions

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Frequently asked questions

Is there negative marking on the AZ-900 exam?

No. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a blank and an incorrect answer score the same nothing. Always enter an answer for every question, even a last-second guess, because it can only raise your score and never lower it.

Can I go back to a question I already passed?

Yes. You can move backward and forward within the section and flag items for review, so nothing is locked until you submit. Answer what you know on a first pass, flag the doubtful ones, and spend your reserve time on the flags.

Are these real AZ-900 exam questions?

No. Every question here is written for this page in the style and difficulty of the exam. Reproducing real Microsoft exam items breaks the certification agreement and can cost you your certification, and a copied item teaches you nothing about how the exam is run.

Updated for AZ-900 (July 2026). The sample questions above are our own work in the style of the exam — not real exam items. The exam itself is set and marked by the certification body.