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The Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Administrator Associate is Microsoft's certification for the people who run Windows Server on premises and in Azure. This October 2026 guide covers AZ-802, the single exam that replaced AZ-800 and AZ-801, plus the seven domains and their weights, the 120-minute format and 700 passing score, the $165 fee, the free annual renewal, and what the switch means if you started on the old exams.
The Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Administrator Associate, earned through exam AZ-802: Administering Windows Server, is Microsoft's role-based certification for administrators who run Windows Server in their own data centers, in Azure, or across both.
You may know it by its old name, the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate. In 2026 Microsoft dropped "Hybrid" from the title and replaced the two-exam route, AZ-800 plus AZ-801, with one exam. Both old exams retired on September 30, 2026. Since then AZ-802 is the only exam that earns the certification, and it tests the same job: Active Directory, Hyper-V, DNS and DHCP, file services, security and troubleshooting, with Azure Arc and Azure Monitor woven through.
AZ-802 carries no prerequisite certification, though Microsoft writes it for people who already administer Windows Server with Windows Admin Center, Hyper-V and PowerShell. It is issued and maintained by Microsoft, and the exam study guide was last updated on October 19, 2026.
Domain controllers, RODCs, FSMO roles, trusts, sites, replication and Group Policy. The largest domain at 20 to 25%.
Windows Admin Center, PowerShell remoting, Azure Arc, Azure Update Manager and runbooks. 10 to 15%.
Hyper-V hosts and guests, plus Windows Server VMs running in Azure. 10 to 15%.
DNS, DHCP and name resolution across on-premises and Azure networks. 10 to 15%.
Azure Files, Azure File Sync, DFS, SMB over QUIC and Storage Spaces Direct. 15 to 20%.
OS hardening, OSConfig baselines, Windows LAPS and AD DS security. 10 to 15%.
Performance Monitor, Azure Monitor, and fixing AD, DNS, update and storage problems. 15 to 20%.
Four things that set AZ-802 apart from the two-exam route it replaced in September 2026.
Until September 30, 2026, the credential took two exams, AZ-800 for core infrastructure and AZ-801 for advanced services, at $165 each in the US. AZ-802 covers both halves in a single 120-minute sitting, so you pay one fee and book one appointment. Microsoft announced the change on its Skills Hub blog in July 2026.
The old pair had ten skill areas between them. AZ-802 has seven. High availability, disaster recovery and server migration are no longer standalone areas, although pieces of them survive inside other domains, such as Hyper-V Replica, Storage Replica, DHCP high availability and moving file shares to Azure Files.
Microsoft calls out expanded Azure Arc, Azure Update Manager and Azure Monitor scenarios, plus newer topics such as OSConfig baselines, SMB over QUIC, Microsoft Entra Password Protection and GPU partitioning. Our look at how Microsoft certification evolved puts the change next to the rest of the 2026 retirements.
Microsoft says it is not retiring the credential, only changing how you earn it. If you earned it through AZ-800 and AZ-801, you keep it, it shows the new name, and you renew it the usual way through a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn each year. Microsoft claims no DoD 8140 mapping for it, so its value rests on the job it describes.
The one trap is for people who passed only half of the old pair. Those exams are gone, and Microsoft's requirement is now AZ-802, so a single AZ-800 or AZ-801 pass doesn't finish the credential.
The certification, the AZ-802 exam and how to keep the credential current, as of October 2026.
AZ-802 covers Windows Server and the Azure services that manage it. The next steps lead further into Azure, into cloud identity, or toward architecture. These three are the common ones.
The move from Windows Server in Azure to running Azure itself. AZ-104 covers Entra ID, governance, storage, compute, virtual networks and monitoring across the platform in a 100-minute exam. Our AZ-104 guide has the details.
The identity move. If AD DS is the part of AZ-802 you like best, SC-300 takes the same instincts into Microsoft Entra ID, with Entra Connect Sync and Cloud Sync for hybrid identity, Conditional Access and identity governance. It's a 100-minute associate exam.
The design move, two steps out. AZ-305 tests solution design across identity, governance and monitoring, data storage, business continuity and infrastructure. Microsoft requires the Azure Administrator Associate for it, so the route from AZ-802 runs through AZ-104 first.
AZ-802 sits at the associate tier of Microsoft's role-based certifications. Server+ or AZ-900 can lay the groundwork, and from AZ-802 the path branches into Azure administration, identity, networking and architecture.
Server and cloud groundwork
Windows Server, on premises and in Azure
Pick your path
Two questions to answer before you commit: can you sit it, and should you pursue AZ-802 specifically. Here's a straight answer to both.
No prerequisite certification required.
AZ-802 has no prerequisite certification, and you don't need to have taken AZ-800, AZ-801 or AZ-900 first. You schedule it through Pearson VUE and sit it at a test center or online. Pass that one exam and the certification is yours.
Reading about FSMO roles is not the same as moving one.
Microsoft writes the exam for people who already administer Windows Server with Windows Admin Center, Hyper-V, PowerShell, Azure Arc and Azure Monitor, and the exam may include interactive components. The objectives run from SYSVOL recovery to Kerberos troubleshooting. Build a small lab with a couple of domain controllers and an Azure subscription, so the troubleshooting questions describe problems you've already caused and fixed.
AZ-802 maps to the server, identity and infrastructure roles that keep Windows environments running, on premises and in Azure.
The role the exam is written for. Runs the domain controllers, file servers, Hyper-V hosts and Group Policy that hold a Windows estate together, whether those servers sit in a data center or in Azure.
The generalist who owns servers, identity and patching for a business. In a Windows shop, AZ-802 covers much of a normal week, from DHCP scopes and file share permissions to Azure Update Manager.
Builds and maintains the server, storage and network layer underneath everything else. The Storage Spaces Direct, Storage Replica and hybrid DNS objectives line up closely with infrastructure project work.
Manages servers that live on premises and in Azure at the same time. Azure Arc, Azure Monitor and Azure File Sync are the tools that tie the two halves together, and AZ-802 tests all three.
Looks after forests, trusts, replication, delegation and recovery. AD DS is the heaviest AZ-802 domain at 20 to 25 percent, and the security domain adds domain controller hardening and Entra Password Protection.
Takes the escalated Windows Server tickets. The troubleshooting objectives, from Kerberos and secure channel failures to replication, Windows Update and time sync, read a lot like a support queue.
AZ-802 against the retired exam pair it replaced, the Azure Administrator, and CompTIA's vendor-neutral server credential.
| Windows Server Admin (AZ-802) | Retired Pair (AZ-800 + AZ-801) | Azure Administrator (AZ-104) | CompTIA Server+ (SK0-005) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Microsoft | Microsoft | Microsoft | CompTIA |
| Status | Current, no retirement date | Retired September 30, 2026 | Current | Current, no retirement announced |
| Focus | Windows Server on premises and in Azure | Same credential, split into core and advanced | Operating Azure environments | Server hardware, administration and troubleshooting |
| Exams Required | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Exam | Count not published, 120 min | Two exams, ten skill areas | 40 to 60 items, 100 min | Up to 90 items, 90 min |
| Passing Score | 700 of 1000 | 700 on each exam | 700 of 1000 | 750 of 900 |
| Cost (US) | $165 | $165 each ($330) | $165 | $399 |
| Validity | 1 year, free renewal | Holders keep the credential and renew free | 1 year, free renewal | 3 years, 30 CEUs |
| Best For | Windows Server and hybrid admins | No longer available to new candidates | Cloud administrators | Server and data center roles |
Microsoft prices exams by the country where you test, so fees vary outside the United States. AZ-800 and AZ-801 details come from their retired Microsoft Learn exam pages. AZ-104 and Server+ figures come from the Training Camp AZ-104 guide and Server+ guide. Microsoft associate certifications renew free each year, while Server+ runs on a three-year continuing education cycle.
Certification Matchups: the published facts, strengths and weak spots of 33 certifications, side by side.
As an authorized Microsoft training partner, our Windows Server Administrator boot camp covers all seven AZ-802 domains in five days of live, instructor-led training, in person or online. You work from official Microsoft courseware with 24/7 online practice labs and the Microsoft Official Practice Test, your $165 AZ-802 voucher and an exam retake are included, and you sit the exam on the final day at our onsite Pearson VUE center.
How the 2026 retirements reshaped Microsoft certification, where AZ-802 fits, and how scoring and exam day work.
From MCSE on Windows NT to role-based credentials and the 2026 rebuild, including how AZ-800 and AZ-801 folded into a single AZ-802 exam and why fewer exams per credential may be the next trend.
The Microsoft certifications people are sitting for as of September 2026, what each one costs and who it fits, plus the retirements that left older ranking lists out of date.
The fundamentals, associate and expert tiers mapped to job roles, refreshed after the 2026 retirements, including the AZ-800 and AZ-801 merge into AZ-802 on September 30.
Why Microsoft retired MCSA and which role-based certifications replaced each track. MCSA: Windows Server now maps to the Windows Server Administrator certification and exam AZ-802.
How the Azure security exam swap works, with a table of the 2026 Microsoft retirements and their replacements, AZ-800 and AZ-801 included.
Why a scaled passing score of 700 on a Microsoft exam is not the same as 70 percent correct, and how to read practice test results before you book the real exam.
ID rules, breaks, online proctoring and retake waits compared across vendors, including Microsoft's 24-hour and 14-day retake windows and its waiver for equipment failures.
The AZ-802 exam is organized into seven domains, each with its own weight. AD DS is the heaviest at 20 to 25 percent, and storage and monitoring follow at 15 to 20 percent each. Click any domain for what it covers.
The heaviest domain. Deploying domain controllers on premises and in Azure, read-only domain controllers and their account security, FSMO roles, domain and forest trusts, AD DS sites and replication, users, groups and service accounts across multiple domains and forests, and domain-based Group Policy and Group Policy preferences.
Remote management with Windows Admin Center on premises and in the Azure portal, PowerShell remoting with double-hop and Just Enough Administration, SSH and remote desktop. On the Azure side, Azure Arc-enabled servers, device configuration through Azure Arc, VM extensions on non-Azure machines, Azure Update Manager and Azure Automation runbooks.
Hyper-V hosts and guests, including Enhanced Session Mode, PowerShell Direct, nested virtualization, memory and integration services, device assignment, GPU partitioning, checkpoints, virtual hard disks, virtual switches, NIC teaming and Hyper-V Replica. For Windows Server VMs in Azure, it covers storage, resizing and scale sets, availability sets and zones, just-in-time access, Azure Bastion and network configuration.
DNS integrated with AD DS, zones and records, forwarding and conditional forwarding, hybrid name resolution, DNS policies and DNSSEC. The DHCP half covers the server role, scopes, reservations, DHCP high availability and troubleshooting IP addressing across on-premises and Azure networks.
Azure file shares and Azure File Sync, including moving DFS and existing file shares to Azure. Windows Server file shares with FSRM, DFS, SMB over QUIC and SMB settings. Server storage with Storage Spaces and Storage Spaces Direct, Storage Replica, Data Deduplication, SMB Direct, Storage QoS, NTFS and ReFS, iSCSI, and BitLocker volumes and their recovery.
Operating system hardening with exploit protection, Application Control for Windows, Credential Guard, SmartScreen, OSConfig security baselines, Windows LAPS, Defender for Servers and Windows Firewall. AD DS hardening with password policies, Microsoft Entra Password Protection, Protected Users, locked-down domain controllers, delegation and authentication protocols.
Monitoring with Performance Monitor, data collector sets, Windows Admin Center alerts, System Insights, event logs, Azure Monitor data collection rules and VM Insights. Troubleshooting covers connectivity, name resolution, Windows Update, the time service, storage, disk encryption and Azure Arc extensions, plus Active Directory work such as restoring objects from the AD Recycle Bin, recovering the database in Directory Services Restore Mode, recovering SYSVOL, and fixing replication, Kerberos and secure channel problems.
Domains and weights reflect the Microsoft study guide for Exam AZ-802, last updated October 19, 2026. Microsoft refreshes role-based exams periodically, so confirm the current outline on Microsoft Learn before scheduling.
The questions candidates ask most often about the Microsoft Windows Server Administrator certification and the end of AZ-800 and AZ-801.
The Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Administrator Associate, earned by passing exam AZ-802: Administering Windows Server, is Microsoft's associate-level certification for the people who deploy, manage, secure, and troubleshoot Windows Server on premises, in Azure, and across hybrid setups. It covers AD DS, hybrid management with Azure Arc, Hyper-V and Azure virtual machines, DNS and DHCP, storage and file services, security, and monitoring. Until 2026 it was called the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate.
Both exams retired on September 30, 2026. Microsoft folded them into a single exam, AZ-802, and renamed the credential from Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate to Windows Server Administrator Associate. The certification itself was not retired, so anyone who already holds it keeps it.
No. Microsoft says existing holders don't need to do anything. Your certification carries the new name, and you keep renewing it through the free annual assessment on Microsoft Learn, which now tests the newer skills. You can sit AZ-802 if you want to, but passing it resets your expiration date to one year from the day you pass.
Plan on taking AZ-802. Since September 2026, Microsoft's stated requirement for earning the certification is a pass on AZ-802, and the retired exams can no longer be taken or retaken. Microsoft hasn't published any partial credit that lets a single AZ-800 or AZ-801 pass count toward the certification, so the one exam you passed doesn't shorten the route.
No prerequisite certification is required, and you don't need AZ-800, AZ-801, or AZ-900 first. Microsoft writes the exam for people with hands-on experience administering Windows Server with Windows Admin Center, Hyper-V, PowerShell, Azure Arc, Azure Monitor, Azure Update Manager, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and it expects you to be familiar with Active Directory Domain Services.
The seven domains are Deploy and manage AD DS (20 to 25 percent), Manage Windows Server instances and workloads in a hybrid environment (10 to 15 percent), Manage virtual machines (10 to 15 percent), Implement and manage an on-premises and hybrid networking infrastructure (10 to 15 percent), Manage storage and file services (15 to 20 percent), Secure Windows Server infrastructure (10 to 15 percent), and Monitor and troubleshoot Windows Server environments (15 to 20 percent). AD DS carries the most weight.
Microsoft doesn't publish a question count for AZ-802. Its general guidance is that most certification exams have 40 to 60 questions. You get 120 minutes, the time Microsoft gives associate exams that may include interactive lab components, and Microsoft suggests setting aside 140 minutes of seat time. The exam is offered in English only, and if English isn't your preferred language you can request an extra 30 minutes.
You need 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000. Microsoft uses scaled scoring, so 700 does not mean 70 percent correct. The number of points you need shifts with the difficulty of the questions you get, which is why Microsoft doesn't give a percentage target.
AZ-802 costs $165 USD in the United States as of October 2026. Microsoft sets the price by the country where you test, and local taxes can apply. Under the old route, the same credential took two $165 exams. Training Camp's Windows Server Administrator boot camp includes the AZ-802 exam voucher in the program fee, along with an exam retake.
Microsoft doesn't claim a DoD 8140 mapping for it, so don't count on it to satisfy a cyber-coded position requirement on its own. Its value comes from the work itself, since any organization that runs Active Directory and Windows Server needs people who can keep them healthy. See the full DoD 8140 work role paths.
It's valid for one year. Microsoft lets you renew it free by passing a short, unproctored, open-book assessment on Microsoft Learn. The renewal window opens six months before your expiration date, and you can retake the assessment as often as you need, as long as you pass before the certification expires. You don't sit AZ-802 again to renew.
AZ-802 lines up with roles such as Windows Server Administrator, Systems Administrator, Infrastructure Engineer, Hybrid Cloud Administrator, Active Directory Administrator, and Server Support Engineer. It fits best where an organization still runs its own domain controllers and file servers and is connecting them to Azure.
Take the one that matches your servers. AZ-802 is about Windows Server itself, from domain controllers and Hyper-V to the Azure tools that manage on-premises machines. AZ-104 is about running Azure, with subscriptions, Entra ID, virtual networks, and storage accounts. Both cost $165 and renew free each year. If your job touches both, AZ-802 covers the server half, and AZ-104 is the one that leads on to the AZ-305 architect credential.
For anyone whose job is Windows Server, yes. It's Microsoft's only current role-based certification built around Windows Server, it now takes one $165 exam instead of two, and it renews free each year. It's less useful if your organization has moved to cloud services with no servers of its own, where AZ-104 is the better fit.
Tell us where you stand, from a half-finished AZ-800 and AZ-801 plan to a Windows Server team that needs training, and we'll help you work out the next step.