The correct answer is to enforce IAM role tags with SCP and Config by combining an SCP that denies creation or modification of IAM roles without the required tag, an AWS Config rule to detect noncompliant roles, and automatic remediation via Systems Manager Automation. This works because SCPs set a permission boundary at the organizational level, preventing any IAM action that would create or update a role missing the tag, while Config provides ongoing detection and remediation for roles that existed before the policy was applied. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how SCPs enforce preventive controls and how Config adds detective and corrective layers—a common trap is thinking IAM policies alone can enforce tags across accounts, but SCPs are the only way to block actions organization-wide. Remember the memory tip: SCPs block the bad, Config finds the bad, and Automation fixes the bad.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. 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 has a multi-account AWS environment and wants to enforce that all IAM roles in member accounts must include a specific tag (e.g., CostCenter). Which THREE steps should be taken to enforce this policy using AWS Organizations?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Attach the SCP to the root organizational unit to apply it to all accounts
Option C is correct because AWS Organizations allows you to attach a service control policy (SCP) to the root organizational unit (OU), which applies the policy to all member accounts in the organization. This ensures that the tag enforcement is centrally managed and cannot be bypassed by individual account administrators, as SCPs set permission boundaries that override IAM policies.
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.
✗
Create an IAM policy in each account that requires tags on role creation
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies are not effective for preventing role creation across accounts.
✗
Set up AWS Budgets to alert on untagged roles
Why it's wrong here
Budgets do not enforce tagging.
✓
Attach the SCP to the root organizational unit to apply it to all accounts
Why this is correct
Attaching to root ensures all accounts are covered.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies iam:CreateRole if the request does not include the required tag
Why this is correct
SCP can deny API calls that don't meet tag requirements.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Use AWS Config rules to detect roles missing the tag and trigger automatic remediation
Why this is correct
Config can detect and remediate non-compliance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Budgets (a cost alerting tool) with a governance enforcement mechanism, or think that per-account IAM policies are sufficient for centralized control, missing the fact that SCPs are the only way to enforce organization-wide guardrails that cannot be overridden by account administrators.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policy language with conditions like `aws:RequestTag` to deny actions if required tags are missing. When attached to an OU, the SCP applies to all accounts within that OU, including future accounts, and works by setting a maximum permission boundary that cannot be exceeded by any IAM policy or role in those accounts. This is different from IAM policies, which are evaluated after SCPs and cannot grant permissions that the SCP denies.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Attach the SCP to the root organizational unit to apply it to all accounts — Option C is correct because AWS Organizations allows you to attach a service control policy (SCP) to the root organizational unit (OU), which applies the policy to all member accounts in the organization. This ensures that the tag enforcement is centrally managed and cannot be bypassed by individual account administrators, as SCPs set permission boundaries that override IAM policies.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This SAP-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 SAP-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.