Quick Answer
The answer is the Virtual Machine Contributor role. This built-in role is the correct choice because it grants the exact permissions needed to create and manage virtual machines within the RG-Dev resource group scope, while explicitly excluding the ability to assign roles to other users—a privilege reserved for Owner or User Access Administrator roles. On the AZ-104 exam, this question tests your understanding of Azure RBAC role scoping and the principle of least privilege, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose Contributor (which includes role assignments) or Owner. A common memory tip is to remember that "Contributor" can create resources but cannot delegate access, whereas "Virtual Machine Contributor" is a more specific, scoped-down version that only targets compute resources. For quick recall, think: "VM Contributor builds the machines, but can't hand out the keys."
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.
Your company uses Microsoft Entra ID. A new engineer must be able to create virtual machines in RG-Dev but must not be able to assign roles to other users. Which built-in role should you assign at the RG-Dev scope?
Owner
Why wrong: Owner includes full resource management and the ability to delegate access, which is more than required.
Virtual Machine Contributor
This allows VM management in the resource group without permission to grant access.
User Access Administrator
Why wrong: This role manages access assignments and does not match the requirement.
Reader
Why wrong: Reader cannot create virtual machines.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Virtual Machine Contributor
The Virtual Machine Contributor role provides the exact permissions needed: it allows creating and managing virtual machines within the specified scope (RG-Dev), but explicitly does not include the ability to assign roles to other users. This role grants write access to compute resources while preserving the principle of least privilege.
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 includes full resource management and the ability to delegate access, which is more than required.
Virtual Machine Contributor
Why this is correct
This allows VM management in the resource group without permission to grant access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
User Access Administrator
Why it's wrong here
This role manages access assignments and does not match the requirement.
Reader
Why it's wrong here
Reader cannot create virtual machines.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the Virtual Machine Contributor role with the Owner role, mistakenly thinking that any contributor-level role includes role assignment capabilities, when in fact only Owner and User Access Administrator have that permission.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, Azure RBAC roles are collections of 'Actions' and 'NotActions' in JSON format. The Virtual Machine Contributor role includes 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write' for VM creation but excludes 'Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/write', which is the permission required to assign roles. In a real-world scenario, this role is ideal for DevOps engineers who need to deploy VMs in a development resource group without gaining the ability to elevate privileges of other users.
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: Virtual Machine Contributor — The Virtual Machine Contributor role provides the exact permissions needed: it allows creating and managing virtual machines within the specified scope (RG-Dev), but explicitly does not include the ability to assign roles to other users. This role grants write access to compute resources while preserving the principle of least privilege.
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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