AZ-104 Renewal vs AZ-900: Which Microsoft Certification Expires?

Passing AZ-104 earns Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, a role-based Associate certification with a 12-month renewal frequency. Microsoft says Associate, Expert, and Specialty certifications expire unless they are renewed.

Passing AZ-900 earns Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals. Microsoft explicitly excludes Fundamentals certifications from renewal because they do not expire. An AZ-900 holder should not retake the exam merely to renew the credential.

Microsoft makes the renewal assessment available during the six months before an eligible certification expires. Check the exact expiration timestamp in the Credentials area of your Microsoft Learn profile rather than estimating from the day you passed the exam.

Renewal is free and completed through an online, unproctored assessment on Microsoft Learn. After you pass, Microsoft extends the certification for one year from its current expiration date. Renewing early within the window does not shorten the existing certification period.

Microsoft's renewal FAQ says the renewal assessment is the renewal path for an active eligible certification. It is shorter than the original certification exam, focuses on relevant technology and industry updates, and is open book.

You can retry the renewal assessment as needed while the certification remains active. After a second unsuccessful attempt, Microsoft requires at least 24 hours between later attempts. Start before the final week so account, scheduling, or retake delays do not consume the remaining window.

The free assessment must be passed before expiration. Microsoft's current policy says that once the certification expires, you must earn it again by completing the current certification requirements. For Azure Administrator Associate, that means following the current credential page and exam requirements rather than using the expired renewal link.

Before assuming a credential expired, sign in with the same personal Microsoft account connected to the certification profile. Microsoft recommends using a personal Microsoft account for exam registration because records associated only with an organizational account can become inaccessible after leaving that organization.

No expiration does not mean the AZ-900 exam blueprint stays frozen. Microsoft's AZ-900 study guide lists the skills measured as of July 20, 2026 and records updates to areas such as Azure compute, networking, management, deployment, and monitoring tools.

Those changes matter to someone preparing to take AZ-900 now, but they do not create a renewal obligation for someone who already earned Azure Fundamentals. Separate the current exam content from the lifetime status of the credential already held.

Microsoft describes renewal assessments as focused on relevant updates. Start with the current AZ-104 study guide and its change log, then compare those topics with the work you have used recently. Identity and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, monitoring, backup, and recovery remain the core skill areas.

Use targeted practice when a current task is unfamiliar. For example, review Azure Policy versus RBAC when governance decisions are weak, or work through routing, filtering, DNS, and private access scenarios when networking is the gap. The goal is current operational judgment, not memorizing a date or replaying every beginner lesson.

Open your Microsoft Learn profile and record the exact certification name and expiration date. Confirm that Azure Administrator Associate shows a renewal option during the six-month window. Review the official renewal collection and current AZ-104 study-guide changes, then take the assessment early enough to allow retries.

For Azure Fundamentals, confirm the credential in your profile but do not look for a renewal assessment. If a credential appears missing, first verify that you are signed in to the same Learn profile used for the exam before treating the issue as an expiration problem.