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I earned my AZ-104 certification on December 14, 2024. I passed my first renewal assessment today, June 15, 2025, and decided to share my experience.
Renew as Early as Possible
My first tip for passing your AZ-104 renewal assessment is to renew as early as possible. The renewal exam page (page requires Microsoft Learn sign-in) will activate for you approximately 6 months before the expiry date.
I’m told that Microsoft sends you a reminder email at about this time, but I did not wait for this email because I wanted to take control of the process.
To ensure I take the renewal test as soon as possible, I set a weekly reminder. So, a day before the exam was available to me, I started going through the study material.
Study Materials and Preparation
The AZ-104 renewal tests your knowledge of the updates to Microsoft Azure. So, it is much easier than the original exam due to the limited scope of the renewal exam.
To see the preparation materials, open the renewal exam page (page requires Microsoft Learn sign-in) and scroll down. You will see the “Prepare for the renewal assessment” section.
Read the materials in this section at least once. Then, before you take the exam, take the original AZ-104 practice test.
Although the AZ-104 practice test covers more topics than the renewal assessment test, taking the practice test helps refresh your memory. Secondly, the format of the renewal assessment test is similar to the practice test – more on this in the next section.
Renewal vs Original Exam Format
Unlike the original AZ-104 exam, the renewal assessment is not proctored. So, you do not need to go to an exam center.
Meanwhile, if you’re taking the renewal exam at home, you do not need cameras. In essence, the exam is an open-book exam!
Once you’re ready to take the renewal assessment exam, open the renewal exam page (page requires Microsoft Learn sign-in), scroll to the “Renew your Microsoft Certification for free” section, accept the agreements, and select Take the renewal assessment.
When you finish taking the test, if you pass, you’ll receive a beautiful Congratulations page shown below.
When you click, see score details below the above page, the page will display details of your score, including a graphical representation of your performance in different modules.
As shown in the above screenshot, the passing score is 57. In comparison, the passing score in the original exam is 70% (700/1000).
My View on the Renewal Exam Difficulty
As I have hinted in previous sections of this article, the renewal assessment exam is much easier than the original exam.
Firstly, you receive fewer exams (I got 26 questions), and it is not timed. Although the exam renewal page shows that you have 45 minutes, from my experience, it was not enough time.
In addition to the above, the renewal exam also has fewer questions. Also, the exam format is multiple choice and with no scenario-based questions like the real exam.
On top of the aforementioned, if you fail the assessment test the first time, you can take it immediately. I failed my first attempt but decided to take it immediately.
I passed the exam on the second attempt.
Meanwhile, when I took the exam the second time, I had almost the same questions as my first attempt.
I must mention that if you fail the exam on your second attempt, you must wait 24 hours before your third and subsequent attempts. However, you can continue to attempt the assessment test until before your original certification expires.
Conclusion
Overall, I can say that the AZ-104 renewal assessment test is much simpler than the original exam for the reasons I already mentioned. I strongly recommend taking the renewal test immediately it becomes available for you, which is six months before your certificate expires.
Even when you renew early, your certificate retains its original expiry cycle. As shown in the screenshot below, even though I renewed my certification 6 months before its expiration, it is still valid until December 14, 2026, in line with the original expiration cycle!
I hope that sharing my experience helps you pass your AZ-104 renewal with relative ease. Kindly share your experience with me and my readers using the Leave a Comment form at the bottom of this page.
Alternatively, you can use the “Was this page helpful?” feedback request below.
Good luck!
