SCP Attachment and Scope: Why Your Policy May Not Be Enforced
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. A company attached the above SCP to an OU in AWS Organizations. The SCP is intended to allow only t3.micro and t3.small EC2 instances. However, users in accounts within that OU are still able to launch other instance types. What is the most likely reason?
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 SCP is not attached to the correct OU or root
The most likely reason is that the SCP is not attached to the correct OU or root. SCPs must be explicitly attached to the target OU, account, or root to take effect. If the SCP is attached to a different OU or not attached at all, it will not restrict the accounts in the intended OU, allowing users to launch any instance type.
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 syntax is invalid because it uses StringNotEquals
Why it's wrong here
StringNotEquals is a valid condition operator.
✗
The SCP must also allow the allowed instance types in a separate statement
Why it's wrong here
SCPs are deny-only; allowing is not needed.
✗
The SCP does not include an Allow statement for the allowed instance types
Why it's wrong here
SCPs are deny-only; they do not require Allow statements.
✓
The SCP is not attached to the correct OU or root
Why this is correct
If the SCP is not attached to the OU containing the accounts, it will not take effect.
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.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume SCPs apply globally once created, but they must be explicitly attached to the target OU, account, or root to take effect.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs are evaluated as deny lists; any action not explicitly denied is implicitly allowed. To restrict instance types, you typically use a Deny statement with a condition like 'ec2:InstanceType' not matching allowed values. The SCP must be attached to the target OU or account; attachment to a parent OU does not automatically apply to child OUs unless inherited via the root. In AWS Organizations, SCPs are inherited only when attached to the root or an OU that contains the target accounts.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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: The SCP is not attached to the correct OU or root — The most likely reason is that the SCP is not attached to the correct OU or root. SCPs must be explicitly attached to the target OU, account, or root to take effect. If the SCP is attached to a different OU or not attached at all, it will not restrict the accounts in the intended OU, allowing users to launch any instance type.
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.
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.
About these practice questions
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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company ran the command above. The management account (111111111111) has an SCP attached that denies all actions. The DevAccount (222222222222) has no SCP. What can the root user of the DevAccount do?
hard
A.Full access to all AWS services because no SCP is applied to the DevAccount.
✓ B.Nothing, because the management account's SCP applies to all accounts.
C.Only read-only actions because of default SCP.
D.Only actions allowed by the root user's implicit full access.
Why B: Option B is correct because SCPs are inherited from the root of the organization. The management account (111111111111) has an SCP that denies all actions, and since the DevAccount (222222222222) is a member of the same AWS Organization, this SCP applies to all accounts in the organization, including the DevAccount. Therefore, the root user of the DevAccount is denied all actions, even though no SCP is explicitly attached to the DevAccount.
Variation 2. Refer to the exhibit. A company has the above AWS Organization with a management account (111111111111) and a production account (222222222222). The security administrator in the management account creates an SCP that denies s3:DeleteBucket. The SCP is attached to the root. The production account's administrator tries to delete an S3 bucket and fails. What is the MOST likely reason?
hard
A.The production account's IAM policy denies s3:DeleteBucket.
B.The SCP only applies to the management account.
✓ C.The SCP applies to the production account because it is attached to the root.
D.The production account is the management account.
Why C: SCPs are applied to all accounts in the organization when attached to the root, including the production account. The SCP denying s3:DeleteBucket is an effective deny that overrides any allow in IAM policies, so the production account's administrator cannot delete the bucket regardless of their IAM permissions.
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Question Discussion
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