- A
Use AWS Config rules to detect non-compliant roles and send alerts.
Why wrong: Detective, not preventive; non-compliant roles can still exist.
- B
Deploy the IAM roles using AWS CloudFormation StackSets.
Why wrong: Deploys roles but does not enforce their use; non-compliant roles can still be created.
- C
Request each business unit to create the required IAM roles manually.
Why wrong: Not scalable and prone to human error.
- D
Apply an SCP that denies iam:CreateRole unless the role has the required trust policy.
SCPs can enforce conditions on role creation centrally.
Question 930 of 1,746
Service Control Policies for Centralized Security
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 decentralized IT structure where each business unit manages its own AWS account. The central security team needs to ensure that all accounts use a specific set of IAM roles for cross-account access. What is the most scalable way to enforce this?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Apply an SCP that denies iam:CreateRole unless the role has the required trust policy.
Option D is correct because an SCP (Service Control Policy) that denies `iam:CreateRole` unless the role has the required trust policy is the most scalable enforcement mechanism. SCPs are applied at the organizational unit (OU) or account level in AWS Organizations, allowing the central security team to centrally prevent the creation of non-compliant IAM roles across all business unit accounts without requiring per-account configuration or manual intervention. This approach enforces compliance proactively (preventive control) rather than reactively (detective control), and it scales automatically as new accounts are added to the organization.
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.
- ✗
Use AWS Config rules to detect non-compliant roles and send alerts.
Why it's wrong here
Detective, not preventive; non-compliant roles can still exist.
- ✗
Deploy the IAM roles using AWS CloudFormation StackSets.
Why it's wrong here
Deploys roles but does not enforce their use; non-compliant roles can still be created.
- ✗
Request each business unit to create the required IAM roles manually.
Why it's wrong here
Not scalable and prone to human error.
- ✓
Apply an SCP that denies iam:CreateRole unless the role has the required trust policy.
Why this is correct
SCPs can enforce conditions on role creation centrally.
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 choose AWS Config (Option A) because it is a common compliance tool, but they fail to recognize that Config is detective, not preventive, and the question specifically asks for 'enforce,' which requires a preventive control like an SCP.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs in AWS Organizations use a deny-by-default or allow-by-default model; when using a deny statement with a condition key like `iam:ResourceTag` or checking the trust policy document via `aws:SourceArn` or custom condition keys, the SCP can block `iam:CreateRole` unless the role's trust policy matches a specific pattern (e.g., includes a specific external ID or principal). Under the hood, SCPs are evaluated before IAM policies, and a deny in an SCP overrides any allow, making it a powerful guardrail. A real-world scenario is a multi-account environment where the security team requires all cross-account roles to trust a central identity provider (IdP) account; an SCP can enforce that the trust policy must contain the IdP account ARN, preventing any role from being created with a different trust relationship.
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.
- →
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SAP-C02 questions
1,746 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SAP-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related SAP-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity.
Design for New Solutions practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Design for New Solutions.
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
Practice this exam
Start a free SAP-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
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: Apply an SCP that denies iam:CreateRole unless the role has the required trust policy. — Option D is correct because an SCP (Service Control Policy) that denies `iam:CreateRole` unless the role has the required trust policy is the most scalable enforcement mechanism. SCPs are applied at the organizational unit (OU) or account level in AWS Organizations, allowing the central security team to centrally prevent the creation of non-compliant IAM roles across all business unit accounts without requiring per-account configuration or manual intervention. This approach enforces compliance proactively (preventive control) rather than reactively (detective control), and it scales automatically as new accounts are added to the organization.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on SAP-C02
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 has a decentralized IT structure where each business unit manages its own AWS accounts. The central IT team wants to enforce security policies across all accounts but allow business units to retain administrative control. Which solution should the central IT team implement?
easy- A.Deploy AWS CloudFormation StackSets to each account with security templates.
- B.Create a shared services account and use IAM cross-account roles for each business unit.
- ✓ C.Use AWS Organizations with service control policies (SCPs) to enforce baseline permissions, and delegate administration to organizational units (OUs) for each business unit.
- D.Migrate all workloads to a single AWS account and use IAM roles for each business unit.
Why C: AWS Organizations with SCPs allows the central IT team to enforce baseline security policies across all accounts without removing administrative control from business units. By delegating administration to OUs for each business unit, the central team sets guardrails while business units retain full IAM management within their accounts, satisfying the decentralized structure requirement.
Keep practising
More SAP-C02 practice questions
- A company wants to automate the migration of on-premises servers to AWS. The migration plan includes discovery, assessme…
- A company is using AWS Organizations with hundreds of accounts. The central IT team needs to deploy a common set of AWS…
- A multinational company operates a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The security team needs to enf…
- A company has a multi-account AWS environment with a centralized logging account. The security team needs to analyze VPC…
- A company has multiple AWS accounts and wants to centralize logging of all API calls. Which TWO services should be used…
- Match each AWS compute service to its use case.
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.