DP-900 Exam Guide: What Azure Data Fundamentals Covers, Format, and How to Pass

Microsoft's DP-900 exam — its full name is Azure Data Fundamentals — is a beginner certification that shows you understand core data ideas and the main Azure data services behind them. You get 45 minutes and need a scaled score of 700 out of 1,000 to pass. There are no prerequisites, and the credential never expires. Here is the full picture, checked against Microsoft's own pages.

What DP-900 covers

Microsoft divides the exam into four skill areas. Each carries a weight range that hints at how many questions it brings (study guide):

• Core data concepts (25–30%) — the groundwork: structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data; common file formats; the difference between transactional and analytical workloads; and the data roles of administrator, engineer, and analyst.
• Relational data on Azure (20–25%) — relational tables, normalization, SQL statement families, and database objects, plus the Azure SQL line-up and the managed open-source database services.
• Non-relational data on Azure (15–20%) — the smallest slice. It covers Azure Storage options (Blob, Files, and Table storage) and where Azure Cosmos DB fits, including its several APIs.
• Analytics workloads on Azure (25–30%) — tied for the largest area. Expect data ingestion and pipelines, analytical data stores, the big analytics platforms (Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric), the split between batch and streaming, and data visualization in Microsoft Power BI.

Notice that nearly every objective opens with the verb describe or identify. DP-900 checks whether you can explain what these services do and when to use each one — not configure them. There is no hands-on lab, which sets it apart from the associate-level data exams.

Microsoft refreshed the English exam on July 21, 2026, but the change log marks every tweak as minor. The four skill areas and their weightings hold, so this guide stays accurate through the update.

Exam format: what's official, and where guides overreach

Here is only what Microsoft states.

You get 45 minutes for the exam. That figure is official, and the exam is proctored, with the chance of interactive components.

The number of questions is not. Microsoft does not publish a fixed count for DP-900, and Fundamentals exams can vary. You will find sites that confidently list "40 to 60 questions" or one exact figure — none of that comes from Microsoft. A rough expectation of 40 to 60 items is reasonable, but treat any precise number as a guess. We would rather flag it as unpublished than repeat a figure Microsoft never gave.

The pass mark is 700 on a 1,000-point scale. One thing to know: 700 is not the same as getting 70% of questions right. Scores are scaled, so a harder set of questions needs fewer points and an easier set needs more. Some items are also unscored trial questions that Microsoft uses to shape future exams. Aim well clear of the line rather than counting questions.

Cost and renewal

Microsoft prices DP-900 by country or region, so there is no single global figure. The exact amount appears when you book through Pearson VUE (or through Certiport, for students and educators). Because pricing shifts by location, we point you at the registration page instead of quoting a US number that may not match yours.

Now the good news on upkeep: Fundamentals certifications do not expire. Associate- and expert-level credentials need a free renewal assessment every year to stay valid. DP-900 does not. You earn it once and keep it — no renewal, no clock.

Who it's for and what you need first

DP-900 has no prerequisites — you can book it without passing anything else first. Microsoft aims it at people who are starting to work with data in the cloud: business users, students, and IT staff new to data services. Some grounding in relational and non-relational data helps you follow the examples, but it is not required.

It also opens doors later. Microsoft notes that DP-900 can help you prepare for role-based data certifications — the Azure Data Engineer Associate and the Azure Database Administrator Associate among them — though it is not a prerequisite for either. Wondering how tough it really is? We give a sourced, honest read in is DP-900 hard.

How to prepare

Start with Microsoft's free material: the four official learning paths and the free practice assessment linked from the exam page. Work through the skills outline so nothing on the blueprint surprises you on the day.

Then test yourself under exam-like conditions. Practice questions are the clearest signal of whether the material has stuck. That is why we built our DP-900 practice exams straight from the official skills list. Every question traces to the Microsoft page behind it, and none come from dumps. Practice tests do not replace study; they show you where you are not ready yet.

For a week-by-week route through the four areas, see our DP-900 study plan. For a closer look at the question styles and how to practise them, see our guide to DP-900 questions.

Is it worth it

For a first data credential, we think yes. DP-900 gives you a shared vocabulary — relational versus non-relational, OLTP versus OLAP, data lake, Power BI, Cosmos DB — that maps directly onto the Azure services you will meet in data and analytics work. It is a common on-ramp to role-based certifications like Azure Data Engineer Associate, and because it never expires, it stays on your record for good. For anyone starting in data, it is a low-risk, high-signal place to begin.