AZ-120 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify

What Is Actually Required to Sit the AZ-120

If you're planning to register for Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty, the first thing worth knowing is that Microsoft imposes no hard eligibility gate. There's no mandatory prior certification, no minimum years of experience form to submit, and no application review process. Anyone willing to pay the USD 165 U.S. list fee and book a seat with Pearson VUE - either at a physical test center or through OnVUE online proctoring - can sit the 100-minute AZ-120 exam.

That said, "eligible to register" and "actually prepared to pass" are two very different things. AZ-120 is a specialty-level credential, and Microsoft's own guidance frames it around candidates who already work with SAP on Azure in a hands-on capacity. The real qualification bar isn't administrative - it's technical. For a full breakdown of exam structure and what's actually tested, see our AZ-120 Exam Domains 2026 guide.

Recommended Background: SAP + Azure Knowledge

Microsoft's stated recommended background for AZ-120 spans two knowledge domains that rarely live in the same person's résumé: SAP platform expertise and Azure infrastructure expertise. Specifically, the recommended background includes:

• SAP HANA - sizing, deployment models, and performance characteristics on Azure infrastructure
• SAP Business Suite - how core business applications map to underlying Azure resources
• SAP NetWeaver - application server architecture and how it interacts with the hosting environment
• Azure compute - VM families, scale sets, and sizing for SAP-certified workloads
• Azure storage - disk types, performance tiers, and storage account configuration for SAP data
• Azure networking - virtual networks, subnets, load balancing, and connectivity patterns
• Azure identity - access control and authentication models relevant to SAP deployments
• Availability and recovery - configuring resilience for SAP systems running in Azure

Candidates who come from a pure SAP Basis background but have never configured an Azure virtual network will struggle just as much as an Azure administrator who has never touched an SAP HANA instance. The exam assumes fluency in both worlds simultaneously - that's what makes it a specialty credential rather than a general associate-level exam.

Do You Need Prior Certifications First?

Microsoft strongly recommends holding the Azure Administrator Associate certification before attempting AZ-120, but it is not a mandatory gate. In practice, this recommendation exists because Azure Administrator Associate covers the foundational Azure skills - compute, storage, networking, and identity - that AZ-120 assumes you already have and builds on top of.

If you skip that foundational certification and go straight for AZ-120, you're not breaking any rule, but you are accepting a steeper learning curve. You'll need to acquire the same foundational Azure knowledge through hands-on experience or independent study instead of a structured certification path. Many candidates who already administer Azure environments professionally skip the associate exam because their day-to-day work has already covered that ground - which is a reasonable shortcut if you're confident in your practical skills.

Registration, Fee, and Delivery Mechanics

Once you feel technically ready, the registration process itself is straightforward. AZ-120 is delivered through Pearson VUE, and candidates choose between two formats:

• Test-center delivery - an in-person, proctored session at a Pearson VUE testing location
• OnVUE online-proctored delivery - a remote exam taken from your own computer under live proctor supervision

The exam itself is a 100-minute proctored computer-based assessment, and it may include interactive question components beyond standard multiple choice - think drag-and-drop architecture matching or scenario-based configuration tasks. The U.S. list fee is USD 165, though pricing can vary by region. For a full cost breakdown including optional add-ons, see our AZ-120 Certification Cost breakdown.

Passing requires a scaled score of 700, which is not the same as answering 70% of questions correctly - Microsoft weights questions differently based on difficulty and domain. Our AZ-120 Passing Score guide explains exactly how that scaled scoring system works. If your first attempt doesn't succeed, Microsoft's retake policy allows you to try again after a 24-hour waiting period.

Domain-by-Domain Readiness Check

Because eligibility for AZ-120 is really about competence rather than paperwork, the most useful way to self-assess is against the exam's own domain structure. Before you register, honestly evaluate your readiness in each area described in our complete domains guide.

If you can't confidently outline a plan for at least three of these four domains right now, that's a strong signal you need more hands-on time before scheduling. Our difficulty guide goes deeper into why the combined SAP-plus-Azure scope catches many candidates off guard.

Who Actually Qualifies (and Who Should Wait)

In practice, the candidates who pass AZ-120 tend to fall into a few recognizable profiles: SAP Basis administrators who've been assigned to Azure migration projects, cloud infrastructure engineers who've been pulled into SAP hosting responsibilities, and consultants at systems integrators who work across both disciplines for clients moving off on-premises SAP landscapes.

Organizations hiring for SAP-on-Azure roles typically look for this certification as validation of exactly that dual skill set - you can browse typical role expectations in our AZ-120 jobs overview. If you're evaluating whether pursuing this credential fits your career direction at all, our ROI analysis and salary guide walk through the practical considerations.

Conversely, candidates who should hold off include: general cloud administrators with zero SAP exposure, SAP functional consultants who've never touched infrastructure, and anyone who hasn't yet worked through at least one real or lab-based SAP deployment on Azure. The exam's scenario-based questions reward practical pattern recognition that's very hard to fake with pure theory.

Building a Realistic Timeline to Eligibility

Since there's no formal prerequisite countdown, your personal timeline to "eligibility" is really a timeline to competence. A reasonable structure - tying study effort to domain weight - looks like this:

This pacing isn't a universal rule - candidates already working in SAP-on-Azure roles can compress it significantly, while those building both skill sets from scratch may need longer. For a more detailed week-by-week methodology, see our AZ-120 Study Guide.

After You Pass: Maintaining Eligibility

Qualifying for AZ-120 doesn't end at the pass screen. The certification is valid for 12 months from the date you pass, not indefinitely. To stay certified, you'll need to complete Microsoft's free online renewal assessment during the six-month window before expiration - doing so extends validity by another year without requiring you to retake the full proctored exam.

This renewal structure means "requirements" for AZ-120 are ongoing rather than one-time. Keep an eye on your certification dashboard as your renewal window approaches, and treat the renewal assessment as a lightweight checkpoint on whether your SAP-on-Azure knowledge has kept pace with platform changes. You can track exam version details and timing considerations in our exam dates guide.

FAQ

Ultimately, qualifying for AZ-120 is less about clearing an administrative bar and more about honestly assessing your dual SAP-and-Azure skill set against the four exam domains. Start with an honest domain-by-domain self-check, fill the gaps deliberately, and use practice exams on az120exam.com to confirm you're truly ready before you spend the registration fee.