DP-900 · Microsoft
Preparing DP-900? The distinctions the exam keeps coming back to
DP-900 keeps asking you to tell similar things apart. The distinctions that come up again and again, what the four skill areas weigh, and how the exam is delivered.
Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900) is for people beginning to work with data in the cloud. It covers core data concepts (relational and non-relational data, transactional and analytical workloads) and the Azure services that store, process and visualise that data.
Microsoft positions it as preparation for role-based certifications such as Azure Database Administrator Associate or Azure Data Engineer Associate, while making clear that it is not a prerequisite for them.
What the exam measures
| Skill area | Weight |
|---|---|
| Describe core data concepts | 25 to 30% |
| Identify considerations for relational data on Azure | 20 to 25% |
| Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure | 15 to 20% |
| Describe an analytics workload on Azure | 25 to 30% |
Core concepts and analytics are the two largest areas. Together they are more than half the exam, and neither is about a single product: they are about telling kinds of data, workloads and roles apart.
Which version you will sit
The study guide reads "Skills measured as of July 21, 2026". It was part of a week in July when five Microsoft guides moved at once, which we covered in five Microsoft exams took new objectives in the same week.
Microsoft updates the English exam first; localised versions usually follow about eight weeks later.
How the exam is scored and delivered
- Time: 45 minutes.
- Scoring: Microsoft requires a score of 700 or greater.
- Delivery: proctored, and it may include interactive components.
- Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Korean, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Indonesian, Arabic and Italian.
- Retakes: a second attempt can be taken 24 hours after the first; the wait before later attempts varies.
The distinctions the exam keeps asking for
The study guide asks you to describe and identify data types, workloads and roles. Its objectives include:
- Structured, semi-structured and unstructured data. The very first objectives. Be ready to classify a file or a record on sight.
- Transactional versus analytical workloads. You describe the features of each. Later, the guide asks you to describe options for analytical data stores.
- Three data roles. Database administrator, data engineer and data analyst each have their own objective. The guide asks you to describe each role's responsibilities.
- The Azure SQL family. Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, plus Azure database services for open-source systems. Know what separates the three SQL options.
- Azure storage and Cosmos DB. Blob storage, Azure Files and Table storage on one side; Cosmos DB, its APIs and its use cases on the other.
- Batch versus streaming. The real-time analytics objectives start from this difference before asking which Microsoft services handle real-time analytics.
A study plan that follows the guide
Turn every line of the study guide into a checklist item and follow the weights:
- Core data concepts (25 to 30%). Data representations, file formats and common data stores, Azure datastores for common use cases, workload types and the three roles.
- Analytics workload (25 to 30%). Ingestion and processing, analytical data stores, large-scale analytics services including Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric, real-time analytics, and Power BI: its capabilities, data models and choosing a visualisation.
- Relational data (20 to 25%). Relational features, normalisation and why it is used, common SQL statements and database objects, then the Azure SQL family.
- Non-relational data (15 to 20%). Azure storage services and Cosmos DB.
The verbs are "describe" and "identify" throughout. Use them to check whether you can describe or identify each topic.
Every date we track for this and the other exams we cover is in the exam calendar.