Databricks-ML-Pro ML Ops Practice Question
Exhibit
Error: 'Delta Table access denied: user does not have permission on the table schema.'
Refer to the exhibit. Which security configuration is the likely culprit for this job failure?
⚠ Common exam trap
Students frequently blame cluster node sizing or notebook syntax errors, missing the governance layer where job service principals lack Unity Catalog permissions.
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
✓
Insufficient Unity Catalog permissions for the job identity.
This error points to a failure in Unity Catalog access control. In Databricks, when a job attempts to read from a table, it requires specific 'SELECT' permissions on the table and 'USE' permissions on the catalog and schema. If the job service principal is not granted these roles, the query will fail regardless of the workspace-level permissions assigned to the user.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Missing cluster-level library permissions.
Why it's wrong here
Library permissions concern installing packages on the cluster. They have no relationship to data table access. A 'permission denied' error on a table specifically indicates a failure in the Unity Catalog or Hive Metastore authorization layer, not an issue with cluster library management or execution environments.
- ✓
Insufficient Unity Catalog permissions for the job identity.
Why this is correct
The job is executing under a specific identity (service principal). If that identity lacks the necessary 'SELECT' or 'USE' grants in Unity Catalog for the specified schema, access to the underlying Delta table will be blocked, resulting in the reported permission error during the job execution.
- ✗
The table is stored in an encrypted S3 bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Encryption settings would cause 'Access Denied' errors at the cloud provider level, usually manifesting as storage connection errors rather than a 'Delta Table access denied' message. The specific phrasing points to an internal Databricks Unity Catalog authorization failure rather than a cloud-level encryption storage error.
- ✗
The Delta table has reached its version limit.
Why it's wrong here
Delta tables do not have 'version limits' that restrict access. While VACUUM operations can remove old versions of data, this would result in a 'version not found' error, not an 'access denied' error. Permission errors are exclusively related to identity-based access control policies within the platform.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Databricks exam blueprint
This Databricks-ML-Pro practice question is part of Courseiva's free Databricks 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 Databricks-ML-Pro exam.