This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 wants to centrally manage and apply policies across multiple AWS accounts in an AWS Organization. Which service should be used to define and enforce compliance rules?
AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs)
SCPs centrally control permissions across accounts.
AWS Config rules
Why wrong: AWS Config evaluates resource configurations, not policies.
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail is for logging API calls.
IAM policies
Why wrong: IAM policies are per-account, not cross-account.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs)
AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs) are the correct choice because they centrally manage permissions across all accounts in an AWS Organization by defining maximum allowable permissions. SCPs act as a guardrail, restricting what member accounts can do, even if IAM policies within those accounts grant broader access. This makes SCPs the ideal service for enforcing compliance rules at the organization level.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs)
Why this is correct
SCPs centrally control permissions across accounts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Config rules
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config evaluates resource configurations, not policies.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail is for logging API calls.
IAM policies
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies are per-account, not cross-account.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config rules (which detect non-compliance) with SCPs (which enforce compliance), leading them to choose Config instead of SCPs for policy enforcement.
Detailed technical explanation
SCPs are JSON-based policy documents that use an allow list or deny list approach, and they are inherited by all member accounts and organizational units (OUs) under the root. SCPs do not grant permissions themselves; they define the maximum permissions boundary, so an IAM policy must still explicitly allow an action for it to be effective. In a real-world scenario, an SCP can deny access to specific services (e.g., disabling EC2 in non-production accounts) while still allowing account administrators to create their own IAM policies within that boundary.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs) — AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs) are the correct choice because they centrally manage permissions across all accounts in an AWS Organization by defining maximum allowable permissions. SCPs act as a guardrail, restricting what member accounts can do, even if IAM policies within those accounts grant broader access. This makes SCPs the ideal service for enforcing compliance rules at the organization level.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DOP-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DOP-C02 exam.
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