SC-300
SC-300: Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator
Everything for Microsoft exam SC-300: 100 minutes, passing score 700, the four skill areas, Entra ID topics, a four-week study plan and free sample questions.
- Duration
- 100 min
- Passing score
- 700 / 1000
- Level
- Associate
- Languages
- 10
SC-300, Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator, is Microsoft’s exam for the people who run identity in a Microsoft environment: who creates and syncs the users, decides how they sign in, controls which apps they reach and keeps privileged access under review. Passing it earns the Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate credential.
The exam is about Microsoft Entra ID and the services around it: Conditional Access, ID Protection, Privileged Identity Management, entitlement management, access reviews, app registrations, enterprise applications and, in the current outline, Global Secure Access. It is a hands-on administrator exam, not a conceptual one. Microsoft’s audience profile expects familiarity with Azure, Microsoft 365, Active Directory Domain Services, PowerShell and Kusto Query Language (KQL).
Microsoft publishes a new English skills outline effective October 28, 2026. The four skill areas and their weights stay the same; the change log marks the edits as minor (authentication methods, Global Secure Access and privileged access). This guide follows the October 28 outline.
What the exam covers
| Skill area | Weight |
|---|---|
| Implement and manage user identities | 20–25% |
| Implement authentication and access management | 25–30% |
| Plan and implement workload identities | 20–25% |
| Plan and automate identity governance | 20–25% |
Authentication and access management is the largest area, because Conditional Access, authentication methods, ID Protection and Global Secure Access all sit in it. The other three areas are close in size, so no single area can be skipped.
Where to start
Read the exam format for the mechanics and the outline change. If you are deciding between the identity and the data-protection route, see SC-300 versus SC-401. New to the Microsoft security family? The SC-900 guide is the fundamentals exam, and SC-200 is the security operations analyst exam. The study plan fits in four weeks, and the free sample questions show the style before you spend any money.
SC-300 guides
- SC-300 exam format: questions, score and costThe SC-300 format: 100 minutes, passing score 700, 10 languages, question types, pricing, the October 28, 2026 outline update and the four domain weights.
- SC-300 vs SC-401: which exam fits you?SC-300 vs SC-401: the identity administrator protects who gets in, the information security administrator protects the data. Differences, overlap and order.
- SC-300 study plan: pass in 4 weeksA four-week SC-300 study plan: user identities and hybrid, authentication and Conditional Access, workload identities, then governance, with a lab each week.
- Free SC-300 sample questions with answersFive free SC-300 practice questions on administrative units, Conditional Access, risk policies, app permissions and PIM, each with an explained answer.
- SC-300 user identities explainedThe SC-300 user identities domain explained: Entra roles and administrative units, groups, external users, cross-tenant settings and hybrid sync options.
- SC-300 authentication and access explainedThe SC-300 authentication domain explained: authentication methods, MFA, SSPR, Conditional Access, ID Protection risk policies and Global Secure Access.
- SC-300 workload identities explainedThe SC-300 workload identities domain explained: managed identities, enterprise apps, consent, Application Proxy, app registrations and Defender for Cloud Apps.
- SC-300 identity governance explainedThe SC-300 governance domain explained: entitlement management, access reviews, PIM for roles and groups, emergency accounts, logs, KQL and workbooks.
- SC-300 exam tips: how to approach itPractical SC-300 exam tips: the distinctions that decide questions, how to read Entra ID scenarios, KQL and PowerShell snippets, and time management.
- Free SC-300 practice test: 20 questionsA free 20-question SC-300 practice test on Entra ID users, Conditional Access, ID Protection, app registrations, PIM and governance, with explained answers.
- SC-300 study resourcesWhat to study for SC-300: the official study guide and free practice assessment, the Entra documentation worth reading and the labs that cover the exam.
- SC-300 cheat sheetA one-page SC-300 reference: the four skill areas, which Entra feature answers each requirement, Conditional Access rules, PIM terms and common traps.
- Is SC-300 hard? Difficulty explainedHow hard is SC-300? An associate-level Entra ID exam: what makes it difficult, who finds it easy, how long to prepare and which topics trip people up.
- Is SC-300 worth it? Who should take itIs SC-300 worth taking? Who benefits from the Identity and Access Administrator Associate, what it covers for the job role and which exams to pick instead.
- SC-300 career: identity admin rolesWhere SC-300 leads: Microsoft files it under Security Engineer, assumes AD DS and KQL, and stops short of SOC, Purview and architecture work. Next exams.
- SC-300 renewal and retake rulesSC-300 validity is 12 months, renewal is a free open-book assessment in a six-month window, and the exam changes on October 28, 2026. Retake waits explained.
- SC-300 study scenarios: choose your routeThree SC-300 planning profiles: the Entra administrator, the on-premises AD engineer and the app developer, with domain order, traps and time budgets.