Quick Answer
The answer is the Reader role, because it grants read-only access to all resources within a subscription without permitting any create, modify, or delete operations. This Azure RBAC role is designed specifically for scenarios where users need to view resource properties, status, and configuration data but must be prevented from making any changes, making it the perfect fit for junior administrators who only need visibility into the Prod-Sub environment. On the AZ-104 exam, this question tests your understanding of the built-in RBAC roles and their scopes, often appearing as a straightforward scenario where the trap is confusing Reader with Contributor or Owner, both of which include write permissions. A common memory tip is to think of the Reader role as “eyes only”—you can see everything, but you cannot touch or change anything, which directly maps to the requirement for view-only access without modification rights.
This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. 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.
You need to ensure that junior administrators can view all resources in the Prod-Sub subscription but cannot create, modify, or delete any resources. Which Azure RBAC role should you assign?
Owner
Why wrong: Owner grants full management rights, including role assignment.
Contributor
Why wrong: Contributor allows creation and modification of resources, which is more access than required.
Reader
Reader provides view-only access to resources across the assigned scope.
Monitoring Reader
Why wrong: Monitoring Reader focuses on monitoring information and is not the standard role for broad read-only resource access.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Reader
The Reader role is the correct choice because it grants read-only access to all resources in a subscription, including their properties and status, but does not allow any create, modify, or delete operations. This aligns perfectly with the requirement for junior administrators to view resources without making changes.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Owner
Why it's wrong here
Owner grants full management rights, including role assignment.
Contributor
Why it's wrong here
Contributor allows creation and modification of resources, which is more access than required.
Reader
Why this is correct
Reader provides view-only access to resources across the assigned scope.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Monitoring Reader
Why it's wrong here
Monitoring Reader focuses on monitoring information and is not the standard role for broad read-only resource access.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the Monitoring Reader role with the Reader role, mistakenly thinking it provides full read access, but it only covers monitoring data, not all resource types.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, Azure RBAC roles are defined as collections of actions and notActions in JSON role definitions. The Reader role includes the '*/read' action, which applies to all resource types, ensuring comprehensive read-only access. In contrast, the Monitoring Reader role uses a narrower scope, such as 'Microsoft.Insights/*/read', limiting visibility to monitoring-related data only.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Reader — The Reader role is the correct choice because it grants read-only access to all resources in a subscription, including their properties and status, but does not allow any create, modify, or delete operations. This aligns perfectly with the requirement for junior administrators to view resources without making changes.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This AZ-104 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 AZ-104 exam.
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