The correct answer is that the SCP denies launching EC2 instances that are not t3.micro or t3.small for IAM users and roles, but it does not affect the root user. This is because SCPs use a Deny effect with a condition key like ec2:InstanceType, which blocks any RunInstances action unless the type matches the allowed values, yet SCPs inherently cannot restrict the root user in the management account of an AWS Organization. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that SCPs act as a centralized permission guardrail for all accounts, but the root user in the management account remains exempt—a common trap where candidates assume SCPs apply universally. Remember the memory tip: “SCPs stop the staff, not the superuser,” meaning they restrict IAM users and roles but never the root user in the management account.
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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Denies launching instances that are not t3.micro or t3.small for IAM users and roles, but not root.
The SCP uses a Deny effect with a condition that denies any EC2:RunInstances action unless the instance type is t3.micro or t3.small. However, SCPs do not affect the root user (the management account's root user) because SCPs cannot restrict the root user in the management account. Therefore, the policy denies launching non-compliant instance types for IAM users and roles, but not for the root user.
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.
✗
Allows only t3.micro and t3.small instances to be launched.
Why it's wrong here
The SCP denies non-allowed types, but the root user is exempt.
✓
Denies launching instances that are not t3.micro or t3.small for IAM users and roles, but not root.
Why this is correct
SCPs apply to IAM users and roles, not to root user.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Has no effect because SCPs cannot deny actions.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs can deny actions.
✗
Denies launching any instance except t3.micro and t3.small for all users including root.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs do not apply to the root user.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often forget that SCPs do not apply to the root user of the management account, leading them to incorrectly assume the policy denies all users including root.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs are service control policies that act as a guardrail, setting maximum permissions for all IAM users and roles in an account, but they never affect the root user of the management account. The condition key 'ec2:InstanceType' is used with a 'ForAnyValue:StringNotEquals' operator, which means if any instance type in the request is not in the list, the deny applies. This is a common pattern to enforce allowed instance families across an organization.
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 — 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: Denies launching instances that are not t3.micro or t3.small for IAM users and roles, but not root. — The SCP uses a Deny effect with a condition that denies any EC2:RunInstances action unless the instance type is t3.micro or t3.small. However, SCPs do not affect the root user (the management account's root user) because SCPs cannot restrict the root user in the management account. Therefore, the policy denies launching non-compliant instance types for IAM users and roles, but not for the root user.
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 →
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 uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The central IT team wants to restrict the use of specific EC2 instance types across all accounts to control costs. Which approach should the team use?
easy
A.Use AWS Budgets to send alerts when costs exceed a threshold.
B.Configure Amazon CloudWatch Events to detect launches and terminate instances.
C.Attach an IAM policy to each account's root user to deny the ec2:RunInstances action for certain instance types.
✓ D.Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies the ec2:RunInstances action for prohibited instance types and apply it to the organization.
Why D: Option B is correct because SCPs can deny the launch of specific EC2 instance types. Option A is wrong because IAM policies are per-account and not inherited. Option C is wrong because EC2 billing alerts do not prevent launches. Option D is wrong because CloudWatch Events can only trigger notifications, not deny actions.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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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.
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