AZ-204 Retires July 31, 2026: Safe SC-900 and AWS Study Plans

Developers preparing for Microsoft SC-900, Microsoft AZ-204, or AWS Certified Developer – Associate should use the official exam objectives, hands-on labs, and vendor-approved practice tools—not “exam dumps.” This guide covers Windows 10 and Windows 11 users studying through a web browser, including people using a personal Microsoft account or an AWS Training and Certification account. It also corrects an important timing issue: Microsoft’s Azure Developer Associate certification and Exam AZ-204 are scheduled to retire on July 31, 2026.

Choose the certification that matches the work you actually do​

A certification can demonstrate a focused skill set, but it is not a universal requirement for every developer or a substitute for production experience. Select an exam based on the platform and responsibilities you want to validate.

• SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
  • Best for developers, support staff, students, and IT professionals who need a foundation in Microsoft Entra, Microsoft security products, compliance, and cloud identity.
  • It is a fundamentals exam. It helps you understand identity and security terminology, but it does not certify you as an Azure application developer.
• AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02)
  • Best for developers building, testing, deploying, debugging, and securing applications on AWS.
  • AWS recommends prior hands-on experience developing and maintaining applications with AWS services. The current guide emphasizes development, security, deployment, and troubleshooting/optimization.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)
  • Intended for developers who build and maintain Azure applications using compute, storage, APIs, security controls, monitoring, and connected services.
  • Do not begin a long AZ-204 study plan without checking the retirement date. Microsoft states that AZ-204 and the associated certification retire on July 31, 2026. If you cannot test before that date, choose the current Microsoft role-based path shown in Microsoft Learn instead of paying for an exam that will no longer be available.

Before committing to an exam, open its official details page and read the current Skills measured or Exam guide. Treat this document as the source of truth. Vendors revise objectives, services, and question coverage over time.

Do not use exam dumps or “real question” files​

Do not buy, download, memorize, or use material advertised as an exam dump, recalled questions, leaked questions, “latest VCE,” or guaranteed-pass question bank.
Microsoft explicitly defines a brain dump as material containing exam questions or assessment content obtained fraudulently. Its exam security policy says using brain-dump material is misconduct. Possible consequences include canceled scores, revoked certifications, a required retest, or a ban from the Microsoft Credentials Program.
This is more than a quality problem. A question bank can be inaccurate, stale, copied from another exam, or based on confidential content. Even if a provider claims to be “verified,” a review-site rating does not make recalled exam content legitimate.
Use this quick screening rule before paying for preparation material:

1. Reject any provider that claims its questions are identical or substantially similar to live exam questions.
2. Reject promises of a guaranteed pass, leaked content, remembered questions, or answers from recent test takers.
3. Prefer official vendor learning, vendor-authorized training partners, and practice products that clearly state their questions are original exam-style items.
4. Use third-party courses only when they teach skills and explain concepts, rather than selling answer memorization.

A legitimate practice assessment helps you identify weak areas. It does not reproduce confidential exam content.

Build a safe Microsoft study plan for SC-900 or AZ-204​

Microsoft Learn provides free training aligned to Microsoft certification objectives. Use it as the center of your plan.

1. Create or sign in to a Microsoft Learn profile.
   Use a personal Microsoft account when possible. Microsoft recommends registering for certification exams with a personal account because records associated only with a work or school account can become unavailable if you leave that organization.
2. Open the official certification or exam page.
   Confirm the current exam code, retirement status, languages, duration, and skills measured. For SC-900, note that the skills outline changes on July 28, 2026. If you sit the exam after that date, study the revised outline rather than relying on an older course.
3. Turn the official objectives into a checklist.
   For SC-900, organize your notes around:
   • Security, compliance, and identity concepts.
   • Microsoft Entra capabilities.
   • Microsoft security solutions.
   • Microsoft compliance solutions.
   For AZ-204, organize your work around:
   • Azure compute solutions.
   • Azure storage.
   • Azure security.
   • Monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization.
   • Azure and third-party service integration.
4. Complete the matching Microsoft Learn modules.
   Do not simply read pages and mark them complete. For every objective, write down:
   • What problem the service solves.
   • Which identity or authorization method applies.
   • What you would monitor.
   • What failure or misconfiguration would affect the application.
5. Use a sandbox or your own non-production Azure environment for hands-on work.
   For developer-level skills, build a small application that uses managed identity or another supported identity method, stores a secret outside source code, writes logs, and calls an Azure service. Remove resources when finished to prevent ongoing charges.
6. Take Microsoft’s free Practice Assessment from the exam details page.
   Microsoft says these assessments provide examples of the likely style, wording, and difficulty, but the questions are not the same as live exam questions. After each attempt, review the rationale and linked learning content for every incorrect answer.
7. Retake the assessment only after closing the knowledge gaps.
   A rising score is useful, but do not rely on memorizing practice questions. Explain why each wrong option is wrong and complete the related task in a lab where practical.

Build an AWS Certified Developer – Associate study plan​

AWS Certified Developer – Associate is designed around application development on AWS, not general programming theory. Plan time for actual AWS configuration and deployment work.

1. Sign in to AWS Training and Certification, then open the current Developer – Associate exam page and DVA-C02 exam guide.
2. Record the four current content domains in your notes:
   • Development with AWS Services.
   • Security.
   • Deployment.
   • Troubleshooting and Optimization.
   Security is a major portion of the exam. Do not defer IAM, encryption, credentials, and authorization decisions until the end of your study schedule.
3. Follow the AWS Exam Prep Plan in AWS Skill Builder.
   Use the official learning plan to identify courses, exam-style questions, labs, and readiness activities. AWS provides official practice questions and an Official Practice Exam to help candidates understand the testing format.
4. Build a small cloud-native application.
   Your lab should include at least these decisions:
   • How the application receives AWS permissions without embedding long-term credentials in code.
   • Where configuration and secrets are stored.
   • How you deploy a change.
   • Which logs and metrics you inspect after a failure.
   • How you limit access to data and services.
5. Review the official exam guide again after your labs.
   Map every task statement to something you have configured, tested, or diagnosed. If an objective is still only a flashcard definition, schedule another hands-on exercise.
6. Take official exam-style questions and the Official Practice Exam.
   Treat the results as a diagnostic report. Review the domain where you missed questions, return to the exam guide, then perform a related lab task before retesting.

Prepare your Windows PC for legitimate online study and testing​

For online preparation, Windows 10 or Windows 11 with a supported browser is sufficient. For a remotely proctored exam, the delivery provider’s system test is the final authority.

1. Install pending Windows updates, then restart the PC.
2. Use a reliable network connection. Prefer Ethernet if Wi-Fi is unstable.
3. Close communication, screen-sharing, recording, remote-access, virtual machine, and notification applications before running the provider’s system test.
4. Run the provider’s required system test on the same PC, network, webcam, and testing location you will use on exam day.
5. If the system test fails, do not assume an exam appointment will work. Correct the failure first or choose an in-person test center.

Warning: Do not disable antivirus, Windows security features, firewall protection, or account security controls merely to accommodate an unofficial simulator or course application. Legitimate exam delivery software should provide its own documented compatibility test and instructions.

Know the exam-day rules before scheduling​

Microsoft certification exams are proctored. Microsoft requires valid government-issued identification with a name that exactly matches the first and last name used for registration. Read the candidate agreement and the testing-provider instructions before your appointment.
For Microsoft role-based exams, Microsoft Learn may be available during the exam, but this does not apply to Fundamentals exams such as SC-900. Even on eligible role-based exams, the timer continues while you use Learn, and Practice Assessments and profile pages are unavailable.
Do not use AI tools, notes, a second device, web searches, messaging, or outside help during an exam unless the provider’s rules expressly permit it. Microsoft’s policies specifically identify using AI during an exam or assessment as misconduct.

Verify that your study plan is working​

You are ready to schedule when you can do all of the following without relying on a recalled-question bank:

• Explain the purpose, tradeoffs, and security implications of services in the official objectives.
• Complete core deployment, identity, storage, logging, and troubleshooting tasks in a lab.
• Use official practice results to identify why an answer is correct, not merely recognize it.
• Pass multiple practice attempts after revisiting weak objectives, rather than through repeated answer memorization.
• Complete the online-proctoring system test successfully, or confirm an available test-center appointment.

If you have already used questionable dump material, stop using it. Return to the official exam guide, rebuild your notes from vendor documentation, complete hands-on labs, and use official practice tools. That approach protects the value of the certification and leaves you with skills you can apply after the exam.

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References​

1. Primary source: Programming Insider
   Published: 2026-07-17T15:00:37+00:00
   
   

   Why Coders Need Cloud Computing Certifications in 2026

   AI is changing software development. Learn why modern coders must hold cloud computing certifications to secure senior roles in 2026 and how to pass safely.

   programminginsider.com
2. Official source: learn.microsoft.com
   
   

   Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate - Certifications | Microsoft Learn

   Build end-to-end solutions in Microsoft Azure to create Azure Functions, implement and manage web apps, develop solutions utilizing Azure storage, and more.

   learn.microsoft.com