AZ-104 prerequisites: what you need first
You do not need another certification to take AZ-104. Microsoft’s certification page for Azure Administrator Associate lists no prerequisite certification, so anyone can book the exam. It does, however, describe a candidate with real hands-on background, and the questions assume it. This page translates that description into things you can check yourself, so you know whether to start the study plan now or build some groundwork first.
What Microsoft says
The certification page describes a candidate with “subject matter expertise in implementing, managing, and monitoring an organization’s Microsoft Azure environment”, covering virtual networks, storage, compute, identity, security and governance. It then splits the background into two lists.
You should be familiar with: operating systems, networking, servers and virtualization.
You should have experience with: PowerShell, the Azure CLI, the Azure portal, Azure Resource Manager templates or Bicep files, and Microsoft Entra ID.
That wording matters. “Familiar with” is general IT knowledge; “experience with” means you have actually used the tools. The exam may also include interactive components, so reading and recognising commands and templates is part of the job. See the exam format for how that works.
The background that helps
Operating systems and servers
You will deploy and resize virtual machines, attach disks, and reason about what happens when a VM is stopped, deallocated or moved. If you have administered Windows or Linux machines before, those questions feel like familiar problems with new names.
Networking
This is the area where a lack of background costs most. Before you start, you should be comfortable with:
- IP addressing and CIDR notation, so you can tell whether two address ranges overlap;
- subnets, routing and the idea of a default gateway;
- DNS, and the difference between public and private name resolution;
- firewall-style allow and deny rules and how their order matters.
The virtual networking guide builds on exactly these ideas.
Identity
Users, groups, roles and the difference between authenticating and being authorised. Entra ID and Azure role-based access control are the first domain of the exam, so the identities and governance guide is a good place to find out whether the basics are solid.
Tools
You do not need to be a scripter, but you should have typed a few PowerShell or CLI commands and opened an ARM template or Bicep file. Being able to read a short snippet and say what it creates is enough to start; fluency grows during the labs.
Storage and monitoring basics
Redundancy, backups, access keys versus identity-based access, and reading metrics and logs. None needs depth in advance, but the vocabulary should not be new.
What you do not need
| Not needed | Why |
|---|---|
| AZ-900 | Microsoft does not list it as a requirement; it is a vocabulary builder, not a gate |
| Another certification | None is listed on the certification page |
| Application development skills | The exam is about running infrastructure, not writing apps |
| A paid subscription | A free account or trial is enough for the labs, with care over costs |
| Deep scripting ability | Reading commands matters more than writing long scripts |
Self-check
You are ready to begin if you can answer these without searching:
- How many usable addresses does a /24 subnet give you in a traditional network, and why does that matter when you split it?
- What is the difference between a role that lets you manage a resource and a role that lets you grant access to it?
- Why would you keep a second copy of data in another location?
- What does a DNS record do?
- Have you created at least one virtual machine in any cloud or hypervisor?
Two or more gaps means a week or two on the relevant fundamentals first, or a longer schedule than the standard plan. If you are new to the cloud altogether, AZ-900 gives you the vocabulary quickly, and how hard AZ-104 is describes how much extra time to allow.
Where it leads
AZ-104 is itself a prerequisite for something else. Microsoft requires the Azure Administrator Associate certification for the Azure Solutions Architect Expert credential (see the AZ-305 prerequisites), and the DevOps Engineer Expert credential needs an associate certification as well, as explained in AZ-400 prerequisites and exam tips. Compare the two next steps in AZ-104 versus AZ-305. Once you are ready, the study plan and the exam format are the next stops.