- A
Three separate policy assignments at each subscription
Why wrong: This creates multiple management points and does not provide one consolidated control package.
- B
One policy initiative assigned at the management group
An initiative groups related policies and can be assigned once to cover all subscriptions beneath the management group.
- C
A custom RBAC role assigned to each subscription
Why wrong: RBAC controls access, not compliance rules such as allowed locations or required tags.
- D
A resource lock on each subscription
Why wrong: Locks prevent certain operations but do not evaluate or report policy compliance.
Question 596 of 1,170
AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. 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.
An enterprise wants to enforce three governance controls for all subscriptions under a management group: allowed locations, required tags, and permitted VM sizes. The team wants a single place to assign and track compliance for all three controls. What should the administrator use?
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
✓
One policy initiative assigned at the management group
A policy initiative (also known as a policy set) allows you to group multiple policy definitions (e.g., allowed locations, required tags, permitted VM sizes) into a single, reusable package. Assigning this initiative at the management group level enforces all three governance controls across every subscription under that management group, providing a single place to assign and track compliance via Azure Policy's compliance dashboard.
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.
- ✗
Three separate policy assignments at each subscription
Why it's wrong here
This creates multiple management points and does not provide one consolidated control package.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question specified that different subscriptions require different allowed locations or VM sizes, and the team needs granular control per subscription rather than a uniform set of policies across all subscriptions, then separate policy assignments at each subscription would be appropriate.
- ✓
One policy initiative assigned at the management group
Why this is correct
An initiative groups related policies and can be assigned once to cover all subscriptions beneath the management group.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A custom RBAC role assigned to each subscription
Why it's wrong here
RBAC controls access, not compliance rules such as allowed locations or required tags.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to grant a specific set of permissions (e.g., read-only access to VMs but full access to storage) to all subscriptions under a management group, and the built-in roles do not provide the exact combination. A custom RBAC role assigned at the management group would be correct.
- ✗
A resource lock on each subscription
Why it's wrong here
Locks prevent certain operations but do not evaluate or report policy compliance.
When this WOULD be correct
An administrator needs to prevent accidental deletion or modification of critical subscriptions, such as production subscriptions, to ensure they are not removed or changed without authorization. A resource lock (e.g., CanNotDelete) would be the correct solution.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The AZ-104 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓One policy initiative assigned at the management groupCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
An initiative groups related policies and can be assigned once to cover all subscriptions beneath the management group.
✗Three separate policy assignments at each subscriptionWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Three separate policy assignments at each subscription would require managing each subscription individually, violating the requirement for a single place to assign and track compliance across all subscriptions under the management group.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question specified that different subscriptions require different allowed locations or VM sizes, and the team needs granular control per subscription rather than a uniform set of policies across all subscriptions, then separate policy assignments at each subscription would be appropriate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that assigning policies per subscription is the only way to enforce controls, not realizing that a policy initiative at the management group can apply to all child subscriptions uniformly and be tracked centrally.
✗A custom RBAC role assigned to each subscriptionWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Custom RBAC roles control permissions to Azure resources, not governance policies like allowed locations, required tags, or permitted VM sizes. These controls require Azure Policy, not role-based access control.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to grant a specific set of permissions (e.g., read-only access to VMs but full access to storage) to all subscriptions under a management group, and the built-in roles do not provide the exact combination. A custom RBAC role assigned at the management group would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse governance controls with access control, thinking that restricting permissions can enforce location or tag requirements, or they may mistakenly believe RBAC can enforce resource configuration policies.
✗A resource lock on each subscriptionWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Resource locks prevent accidental deletion or modification of resources but do not enforce governance controls like allowed locations, required tags, or permitted VM sizes. They cannot track compliance across multiple policies.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An administrator needs to prevent accidental deletion or modification of critical subscriptions, such as production subscriptions, to ensure they are not removed or changed without authorization. A resource lock (e.g., CanNotDelete) would be the correct solution.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse resource locks with governance controls, thinking that locking a subscription can enforce policies, or they may overestimate the scope of locks as a management tool.
Analysis generated from the official AZ-104blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing Azure Policy (which enforces rules on resource properties) with RBAC (which controls access permissions) or resource locks (which prevent deletion), leading candidates to pick a solution that addresses a different concern than governance compliance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy initiatives are evaluated at assignment time and during periodic compliance scans; the initiative definition includes a unique ID and version, and when assigned to a management group, the policies are inherited by all child subscriptions and resource groups. Under the hood, Azure Policy uses Azure Resource Manager (ARM) to intercept resource creation/modification requests and evaluate them against the policy rules, with compliance states (compliant, non-compliant, conflict) tracked in the Azure Policy compliance dashboard. A real-world scenario is an enterprise using the 'Azure Security Benchmark' initiative to enforce hundreds of controls across thousands of subscriptions with a single assignment.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-104 question test?
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: One policy initiative assigned at the management group — A policy initiative (also known as a policy set) allows you to group multiple policy definitions (e.g., allowed locations, required tags, permitted VM sizes) into a single, reusable package. Assigning this initiative at the management group level enforces all three governance controls across every subscription under that management group, providing a single place to assign and track compliance via Azure Policy's compliance dashboard.
What should I do if I get this AZ-104 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
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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