This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company runs a multi-account environment using AWS Organizations. The security team has implemented a service control policy (SCP) that denies all actions on DynamoDB tables unless the request includes a specific tag "Environment": "Production". The development team has an IAM role with full DynamoDB access in their account. When they try to create a DynamoDB table using the AWS CLI, they receive an access denied error. They are certain they included the tag. The DevOps engineer reviews the SCP and finds that it uses the condition key "aws:RequestTag". However, the engineer notices that the SCP also denies access if the request does not include the tag for tagging actions. What is the most likely reason for the access denied error?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The CreateTable API does not accept tags in the request; tags must be added after creation using the TagResource API.
Option C is correct because the `CreateTable` API in DynamoDB does not accept tags as part of the request parameters when creating a table. Tags can only be added after the table is created using the `TagResource` API or the `aws dynamodb tag-resource` CLI command. Since the SCP uses `aws:RequestTag` to require the tag on the initial request, and the `CreateTable` call cannot include tags, the request is denied regardless of whether the developer intended to include the tag.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The SCP requires an explicit allow statement in the IAM policy to override the deny.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs work with IAM policies; an explicit allow is not needed to override a deny.
✗
The IAM role does not have permission to tag resources.
Why it's wrong here
The role has full DynamoDB access, including tagging.
✓
The CreateTable API does not accept tags in the request; tags must be added after creation using the TagResource API.
Why this is correct
The CreateTable API does not support tagging at creation. The SCP condition fails because the tag is not present in the request.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The SCP is not applied to the development account because it is in a different OU.
Why it's wrong here
The scenario implies the SCP is applied to the account.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume all AWS resource creation APIs support inline tagging, but DynamoDB's `CreateTable` does not, leading to a false belief that including the tag in the CLI command would satisfy the SCP condition.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
The scenario implies the SCP is applied to the account.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `aws:RequestTag` condition key evaluates tags that are explicitly included in the API request. For DynamoDB, the `CreateTable` API does not support the `Tags` parameter; tags must be applied via the `TagResource` API after table creation. This means any SCP that uses `aws:RequestTag` to require a tag on `CreateTable` will always deny the request because the condition can never be satisfied. A real-world scenario is when teams attempt to enforce tagging at creation time for resources like DynamoDB tables, but the API design forces a two-step process: create the resource, then tag it.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The CreateTable API does not accept tags in the request; tags must be added after creation using the TagResource API. — Option C is correct because the `CreateTable` API in DynamoDB does not accept tags as part of the request parameters when creating a table. Tags can only be added after the table is created using the `TagResource` API or the `aws dynamodb tag-resource` CLI command. Since the SCP uses `aws:RequestTag` to require the tag on the initial request, and the `CreateTable` call cannot include tags, the request is denied regardless of whether the developer intended to include the tag.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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