AZ-104 Passing Score
You need 700 out of 1000 to pass — but that is a scaled score, not 70% of questions correct. Here is how Microsoft scoring actually works, the skills-measured weights, what practice score means you are ready, and the retake policy.
01 The short answer
That one detail matters more than it looks. Plenty of candidates walk out of the test centre convinced they cleared 70% of the questions, only to see a 680 on the screen — or scrape what felt like a shaky run and land a comfortable 740. Neither outcome is a glitch; it is exactly what a scaled scoring model is designed to do. Below we unpack how Microsoft turns your answers into that single 700-or-better number, how the five skills-measured areas feed into it, what practice score genuinely signals you are ready, and what happens — step by step — if the number comes back short.
02 How Microsoft scoring actually works
Two things about the Microsoft scoring model explain almost every misunderstanding about the 700 number.
1. It is a scaled score, not a raw percentage
Microsoft reports your result as a scaled score from 1 to 1000, and 700 is the fixed bar across every role-based exam. Scaling lets Microsoft hold everyone to the same standard even though different candidates see slightly different sets of questions of differing difficulty. The practical effect: 700 does not mean 70% correct. On a harder form the raw percentage needed dips a little; on an easier one it climbs. Because questions also carry different point values, you cannot simply count your right answers and divide. Aim well clear of the line so form difficulty never decides your result.
A useful way to picture it: two candidates can answer the exact same number of questions correctly and still finish with different scaled scores, because the underlying questions were not equally hard. Microsoft sets the 700 bar through a standard-setting process so that it represents the same level of competence on every version of the exam. That is why chasing “how many can I afford to get wrong” is the wrong mental model — there is no published number of questions you are allowed to miss, and it would not be stable across forms even if there were.
2. Only your overall total is graded
Your pass or fail comes down to a single scaled number. After the exam your report shows a bar chart of how you performed in each skills-measured area, but Microsoft does not publish a minimum you must hit in any one area — a strong showing in one section can offset a weaker one as long as your overall total reaches 700. Treat the per-area bars as feedback for your next attempt, not as separate hurdles you have to clear.
This is good news and a trap at the same time. It is good news because a single weak topic will not sink you outright if the rest of your knowledge is solid. It is a trap because candidates sometimes write off an entire area — “I never touch storage at work, I’ll just skip it” — and discover that giving away a fifth of the exam leaves too little margin everywhere else. The safe approach is breadth: be competent across all five areas, and strong in the two heaviest, rather than betting the pass on a couple of favourites.
3. Microsoft does not publish a pass rate
One question that comes up constantly: what percentage of people pass AZ-104? The honest answer is that nobody outside Microsoft knows, because Microsoft does not release official pass-rate figures for its certification exams. Any specific number you see quoted online — “only 40% pass first time” and the like — is an estimate or marketing, not data from Microsoft. Treat your own repeatable practice score as the only pass-likelihood signal worth trusting, and ignore the scare statistics.
03 The five skills areas and their weights
Microsoft publishes each skills-measured area as a range rather than a fixed figure, and tunes the mix between exam updates. The bars below use the midpoint of each current range so you can see roughly where the weight sits — identities/governance and compute are the two heaviest, jointly close to half the exam. The official ranges are: identities & governance 20–25%, compute 20–25%, storage 15–20%, virtual networking 15–20%, and monitor & maintain 10–15%.
04 What practice score means you are ready
Because the real exam is scaled, the best readiness signal is a repeatable score on fresh, full-length, timed practice exams — not one lucky run. The word that does the work there is repeatable: one good mock the night before tells you very little, because you may have simply remembered questions or caught an easy set. What you are looking for is the same comfortable margin across several different full-length papers, sat under real timing, on questions you have not seen before. Use this scale.
There is one more habit worth building before the real thing: practise reading the question carefully rather than racing the clock. AZ-104 rewards candidates who notice the precise wording — “least privilege”, “most cost-effective”, “minimum administrative effort” — because two technically correct answers will often differ only on the constraint the question actually asked for. A repeatable 85% that comes from genuinely understanding the scenarios, rather than from speed-guessing, is the score that survives contact with a harder form on exam day.
05 If you fail: the retake policy
Falling short of 700 is not the end — but Microsoft makes you wait and pay again, and it caps how often you can sit the exam, so it is worth being ready first.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| After the 1st fail | Wait 24 hours before you can rebook the exam |
| 2nd, 3rd & 4th retakes | A 14-day waiting period applies before each of these attempts |
| Annual limit | A maximum of 5 attempts in any 12-month period |
| Cost per attempt | The full exam fee every time — no discounted retake |
| Your score report | Shows the per-area bar chart — use it to target your weakest skills area before rebooking |
The five-attempts-per-year cap is the part most people overlook, and it changes the maths of rushing back. With AWS you can resit indefinitely; with Microsoft, every attempt you burn on a half-ready resit is one you cannot get back for twelve months. So the cost of an under-prepared retake is not just the fee — it is spending a finite ticket. If your first fail came back at 660 with one area flagged as weak, the smart move is to close that gap and lift your overall practice score, not to gamble the 24-hour window on the hope of an easier paper.
06 FAQ
What is the passing score for AZ-104?
You need 700 out of 1000 to pass the Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104) exam. Scores are reported on a scaled range of 1 to 1000, and 700 is the minimum passing mark set by Microsoft for all of its role-based certification exams.
Is a 700 the same as getting 70% of questions correct?
No. Microsoft uses a scaled scoring model where harder questions can carry more weight, so 700 does not map directly to 70% of questions answered correctly. Depending on the difficulty of your particular exam form, the raw percentage needed can be a little higher or lower than 70%.
Do I need to pass each skills area on AZ-104?
No. Microsoft scores AZ-104 on your overall scaled total, so only the final number matters. There is no published minimum score for any individual skills-measured area, and the per-area bars on your report are feedback rather than separate hurdles you must clear.
How long do I wait to retake AZ-104 if I fail?
Microsoft makes you wait 24 hours after your first fail. The second, third, and fourth retakes each require a 14-day wait, and you may take the exam a maximum of five times in any 12-month period. You pay the full fee each attempt, so it pays to be ready before booking.
