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A plain reference to the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert as of October 2026. This guide covers the AZ-305 exam, its four design domains and their weights, the 700 passing score and $165 fee, the AZ-104 prerequisite, the free annual renewal, DoD 8140 status, and the architect roles it fits.
The Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert is Microsoft's expert-level credential for people who design cloud and hybrid solutions on Azure. You earn it by passing exam AZ-305 and holding the Azure Administrator Associate.
AZ-104 checks that you can operate Azure. AZ-305 moves up a level and hands you a business with a budget, a recovery target, and a security requirement, then asks what you would build. The exam covers identity, governance, and monitoring, data storage, business continuity, and infrastructure, and nearly every objective in the outline starts with the word recommend. Microsoft expects you to judge how a decision in one area affects the whole solution.
The credential requires the Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104). It is issued and maintained by Microsoft, and the English skills-measured outline was last updated on April 17, 2026, with only a minor change to the audience profile.
Logging and monitoring, authentication and authorization, secrets and keys, and governance structure. 25 to 30%.
Relational, semi-structured, and unstructured data, plus data integration and analysis. 20 to 25%.
Backup and disaster recovery against recovery objectives, and high availability. The smallest domain at 15 to 20%.
Compute, application architecture, migrations, and networking. The largest domain at 30 to 35%.
Four things that set the Azure Solutions Architect Expert apart from the associate certifications below it.
AZ-305 is the exam behind the Azure Solutions Architect Expert, the certification Microsoft maps to its solution architect job role. The role it describes advises stakeholders and turns business requirements into designs that line up with the Azure Well-Architected Framework and the Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure.
The outline asks you to recommend, specify, or evaluate, and very little else. Expect to pick which database tier, recovery approach, or network design fits a stated requirement, and to know why the other options fall short. If you studied click paths for AZ-104, expect to relearn the same services as trade-offs.
Microsoft awards the Expert credential only to people who also hold the Azure Administrator Associate, and the two renew on separate schedules. Our Azure Administrator (AZ-104) guide covers the prerequisite.
The Expert credential is valid for one year and renews free through a short online assessment on Microsoft Learn. It renews separately from AZ-104, and it does not lapse just because the associate certification does. That is cheaper to maintain than a paid three-year cycle, but it does mean a check-in every year. It is not a DoD 8140 credential and does not appear in the Qualification Matrix V2.1.
Its weight comes from the market instead. Employers that run on Azure, including some defense and government contractors, list Azure certifications in cloud architecture job postings even though they sit outside the 8140 matrix.
The certification, the AZ-305 exam, and how to keep the credential active, as of October 2026.
AZ-305 is the top of Microsoft's Azure infrastructure path. From here, architects usually add delivery skills, move toward security architecture, or pick up a second cloud. The three below are the common next steps.
Adds delivery and automation to design. AZ-400 covers source control strategy, build and release pipelines, security and compliance plans, and instrumentation. Microsoft accepts the Azure Administrator Associate as its prerequisite, and you already hold that for AZ-305.
The move into security architecture. SC-100 tests security strategy across Zero Trust, identity, security operations, infrastructure, applications, and data. AZ-305 does not count toward it, so plan for one of the SC-200, SC-300, or SC-500 associate certifications first.
The second-cloud move. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) has no prerequisite and runs 65 questions in 130 minutes, and much of the design thinking carries over from AZ-305. See our AWS Solutions Architect guide.
AZ-305 sits at the expert tier of Microsoft's role-based Azure path. It builds on the AZ-104 associate certification the credential requires, and from there the path branches into DevOps, security architecture, or a second cloud.
The required groundwork
Designing on Azure
Pick your path
Two questions to answer before you commit: can you earn it, and should you pursue AZ-305 specifically. Here's a straight answer to both.
Two credentials, in either order.
Microsoft awards the Azure Solutions Architect Expert only to people who also hold the Azure Administrator Associate. The requirement is attached to the certification rather than the AZ-305 exam, so the order you pass them in is up to you. Both exams are booked through Pearson VUE, at a test center or online.
The exam assumes you have built things.
Microsoft describes the candidate as someone with advanced experience in networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms, and governance. Questions hand you requirements and constraints and ask for the design that meets them. If you have only administered Azure, spend time comparing services against each other, and use Microsoft's free AZ-305 practice assessment on Microsoft Learn to find the gaps.
The Azure Solutions Architect Expert maps to the design and advisory roles that decide how an organization builds on Azure. Day-to-day operations jobs are AZ-104 territory.
The role the certification is named for. Advises stakeholders, turns business requirements into Azure designs, and works with developers, administrators, security engineers, and data engineers to get those designs built.
Owns the target design for an organization's cloud estate, from the management group and subscription structure to the standards every team builds against.
Designs the compute, storage, and network foundations, including how Azure connects to the internet and to on-premises sites, and which load-balancing and routing options carry the traffic.
Plans the move from on-premises to Azure with the Cloud Adoption Framework, deciding which workloads go to IaaS or PaaS and how databases and unstructured data get moved.
The senior builder who makes design calls as well as deploying them. AZ-305 shows the design half of the job on top of the operations skills AZ-104 already proves.
Works for a partner or consultancy, assessing client environments and recommending Azure designs that balance cost, availability, recovery targets, and security.
AZ-305 is usually weighed against the AZ-104 it requires and against the two AWS Solutions Architect certifications. These are the four side by side.
| Azure Solutions Architect (AZ-305) | Azure Administrator (AZ-104) | AWS SA Associate (SAA-C03) | AWS SA Professional (SAP-C02) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Microsoft | Microsoft | AWS | AWS |
| Level | Expert | Associate | Associate | Professional |
| Focus | Designing Azure solutions | Operating Azure environments | Designing AWS architectures | Complex enterprise AWS design and migration |
| Prerequisites | AZ-104 required for the credential | None (rec. 6 months) | None (rec. 1 year) | None (rec. 2 years) |
| Exam | Count not published, 100 or 120 min | 40 to 60 items, 100 min | 65 items, 130 min | 75 items, 180 min |
| Passing Score | 700 of 1000 | 700 of 1000 | 720 of 1000 | 750 of 1000 |
| Cost | $165 | $165 | $150 | $300 |
| Validity | 1 year, free renewal | 1 year, free renewal | 3 years | 3 years |
| Best For | Cloud and solutions architects | Cloud administrators | Cloud architects and engineers | Senior and principal architects |
Pricing is US list and varies by country and taxes. None of the four appear on the DoD 8140 Matrix, so their recognition comes from the market. Microsoft associate and expert certifications renew free each year, and AWS certifications are valid for three years. AWS moves the Professional exam to SAP-C03 on November 17, 2026. If you already hold the AWS Professional, AZ-305 is the closer Azure match, but budget for AZ-104 as well. For the prerequisite, see our Azure Administrator guide.
Certification Matchups: the published facts, strengths and weak spots of 33 certifications, side by side.
As an authorized Microsoft training partner, our Azure Solutions Architect Expert boot camp covers all four AZ-305 domains in five days of live, instructor-led training, in person or online. You work through hands-on labs and design case studies with official Microsoft courseware, your $165 exam voucher and a free retake are included, and the AZ-305 exam is scheduled for the final day.
The current Microsoft lineup, the multi-cloud question, and the security and architecture paths that sit next to AZ-305.
The Microsoft exams people are booking as of September 2026, including AZ-305 and its AZ-104 requirement, plus the 2026 retirements that left many ranking lists out of date.
For AWS-certified professionals deciding whether to add Microsoft. Where AZ-104 fits, and why AZ-305 is the Azure-side target for anyone holding the AWS Solutions Architect Professional.
The Cybersecurity Architect Expert exam, its October 21, 2026 outline update, and the SC-200, SC-300, or SC-500 associate credential Microsoft requires before it awards the expert certification.
What replaced the Azure Security Engineer Associate, what SC-500 adds for AI workloads, and why there is no conversion path from the old credential to the new one.
From the MCSE era to role-based certifications and the 2026 replacements built around AI, with a look at why the free annual renewal model has held up.
Why MCSA retired on January 31, 2021, what it still means on a transcript, and which role-based credentials, AZ-305 among them, Microsoft job postings reference now.
How to read a practice result by domain, why Microsoft's 700 is a scaled score rather than 70 percent, and what a given score suggests about your next step.
The AZ-305 exam is organized into four design domains, each carrying its own weight. Infrastructure is the heaviest at 30 to 35 percent, with identity, governance, and monitoring next at 25 to 30 percent. Click any domain for what it covers.
Recommending logging, log routing, and monitoring solutions, then authentication, identity management, and authorization for both Azure and on-premises resources, including how to manage secrets, certificates, and keys. The governance half covers the structure of management groups, subscriptions, and resource groups, a tagging strategy, compliance, and identity governance.
Choosing where relational data lives, the right database service tier and compute tier, and how to scale and protect it. The domain then moves to semi-structured and unstructured data, balancing features, performance, and cost, durability, and the data integration and analysis solutions that tie the storage layer together.
Recommending recovery solutions for Azure and hybrid workloads that meet stated recovery objectives, with backup and recovery for compute, databases, and unstructured data. The second half is high availability for compute, relational data, and semi-structured and unstructured data.
The largest domain. Compute choices across virtual machines, containers, serverless, and batch processing, then application architecture covering messaging, event-driven design, API integration, caching, configuration management, and automated deployment. It finishes with migrations planned through the Cloud Adoption Framework and network design for internet and on-premises connectivity, performance, security, and load balancing.
Domains and weights reflect the Microsoft AZ-305 skills-measured outline as of April 17, 2026. Microsoft refreshes role-based exams periodically, so confirm the current outline in the AZ-305 study guide before scheduling.
The questions candidates ask most often when researching the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
The Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert is Microsoft's expert-level certification for people who design cloud and hybrid solutions on Azure. You earn it by passing exam AZ-305, Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions, and holding the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate. The exam covers identity, governance, and monitoring, data storage, business continuity, and infrastructure design.
The current exam is AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions. Microsoft updated the English version on April 17, 2026, and the change log lists only a minor change to the audience profile, with no changes to the skill areas. As of October 2026 the exam page shows no retirement date and Microsoft has not announced a replacement. Localized versions are updated about eight weeks after the English one.
You need it for the certification. Microsoft awards the Azure Solutions Architect Expert only to people who also hold the Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104). The requirement sits on the certification rather than the AZ-305 exam, so you can pass the two exams in either order, and the Expert credential is added once you hold both. Microsoft also expects advanced experience across networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms, and governance.
The four domains are Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions (25 to 30 percent), Design data storage solutions (20 to 25 percent), Design business continuity solutions (15 to 20 percent), and Design infrastructure solutions (30 to 35 percent). Infrastructure is the largest and covers compute, application architecture, migrations, and networking.
Microsoft doesn't publish a fixed question count. It says most of its exams contain 40 to 60 questions and the number varies by exam. The AZ-305 page doesn't print a time either. Microsoft's policy gives associate and expert role-based exams 100 minutes, or 120 minutes when an exam may contain labs, and you see the exact time when you register. Item types can include case studies, multiple choice, drag and drop, build list, and hot area questions.
You need 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000. It's a scaled score, so 700 doesn't mean 70 percent correct. Multi-part questions usually earn a point for each correct component, there's no penalty for guessing, and some questions may be unscored, so answer every one.
Microsoft prices associate and expert exams at $165 USD in the United States as of October 2026. Prices are set by country, and taxes are extra. The full credential also needs AZ-104, which is another $165 if you don't already hold it. Training Camp's Azure Solutions Architect Expert boot camp includes the AZ-305 exam voucher and a free retake.
No. Microsoft certifications don't appear on the DoD 8140 Qualification Matrix V2.1, so the Azure Solutions Architect Expert won't satisfy a cyber-coded position requirement by itself. Some defense and government employers still ask for Azure certifications in cloud job postings, but that's an employer requirement, not an 8140 qualification. See the full DoD 8140 work role paths.
It's valid for one year. You renew it free by passing an unproctored, open-book online assessment on Microsoft Learn, which opens six months before your expiration date and takes about 45 minutes. If you miss, you can try again right away, and after the second try you wait at least 24 hours between attempts. The Expert credential and your AZ-104 renew separately, and the Expert doesn't expire just because AZ-104 does.
The credential fits roles such as Azure Solutions Architect, Cloud Architect, Cloud Infrastructure Architect, Cloud Migration Architect, Senior Cloud Engineer, and Cloud Solutions Consultant. Microsoft describes the job as advising stakeholders and turning business requirements into Azure designs that follow the Azure Well-Architected Framework and the Cloud Adoption Framework.
AZ-104 tests whether you can run Azure: identities, storage, compute, networking, and monitoring. On AZ-305, several designs would usually work, and you have to pick the one that best fits the stated cost, availability, security, and recovery targets. AZ-104 is an associate certification with no prerequisite. AZ-305 is expert level and needs AZ-104 for the credential. Taking AZ-104 first is the logical order, because the design questions assume you already know how the services behave.
It's an expert exam, and what makes it hard is judgment. Questions describe a business with requirements and constraints and ask which design fits, often inside case studies where you can reread the scenario but can't go back once you move on. You can open Microsoft Learn during the exam, but the clock keeps running, so it helps with a detail, not with every question. Hands-on time with the services in all four domains makes the biggest difference.
For anyone who designs, or wants to design, on Azure, yes. It's Microsoft's expert credential for the solution architect role, it renews free each year, and it builds on the AZ-104 you need anyway. It's less useful if your work is day-to-day administration, where AZ-104 already matches the job, or if your employer runs mainly on AWS, where the AWS Solutions Architect path is closer to the work.
Tell us where you are with AZ-104 and AZ-305, or what your team needs from Azure architecture training, and we'll help you map out the next step.