The answer is blob immutability policy with time-based retention, blob versioning with a delete lock policy, and legal hold. These three features enforce immutability for compliance requirements by preventing data from being modified or deleted for a specified duration or until explicitly cleared. Time-based retention policies lock blobs for a fixed interval, satisfying regulations like SEC 17a-4(f) that mandate data preservation, while legal holds offer indefinite protection for e-discovery scenarios. On the AZ-204 exam, this topic tests your understanding of how to configure data protection for regulated workloads, often appearing in scenario-based questions where you must choose the correct combination to meet a compliance mandate. A common trap is confusing soft delete or snapshots with true immutability—soft delete only protects against accidental deletion, not intentional overwrites. For a memory tip, remember the three I’s: Immutable policy, Indefinite legal hold, and Immutable versions with delete locks.
AZ-204 Develop for Azure storage Practice Question
This AZ-204 practice question tests your understanding of develop for azure storage. 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.
Which THREE Azure Storage features can be used to enforce immutability for compliance requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Blob versioning with delete lock policy
Option A is correct because blob versioning with a delete lock policy prevents deletion of blob versions, effectively enforcing immutability by ensuring that once a version is created, it cannot be deleted or overwritten. This satisfies compliance requirements such as SEC 17a-4(f) or FINRA rules that mandate data preservation.
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.
✓
Blob versioning with delete lock policy
Why this is correct
Versioning with delete lock can prevent permanent deletion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Legal hold on a blob container
Why this is correct
Legal hold prevents deletion until hold is removed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Blob immutability policy (time-based retention)
Why this is correct
Time-based retention prevents modification/deletion for a specified period.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Soft delete for blobs
Why it's wrong here
Soft delete allows recovery but does not prevent deletion.
✗
Storage account firewall rules
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules restrict access but do not enforce immutability.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse soft delete with immutability, not realizing that soft delete only offers recovery, not prevention of deletion or modification, which is required for true compliance immutability.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Blob immutability policies (time-based retention) use a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) model, where blobs cannot be deleted or overwritten until the retention period expires. Legal hold is a container-level policy that applies an indefinite lock on all blobs, overriding any time-based policy. Both are enforced at the storage service level via REST API calls that check the immutability status before allowing write or delete operations.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-204 question in full detail.
Develop for Azure storage — This question tests Develop for Azure storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Blob versioning with delete lock policy — Option A is correct because blob versioning with a delete lock policy prevents deletion of blob versions, effectively enforcing immutability by ensuring that once a version is created, it cannot be deleted or overwritten. This satisfies compliance requirements such as SEC 17a-4(f) or FINRA rules that mandate data preservation.
What should I do if I get this AZ-204 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. You are building a compliance solution that stores terabytes of data in Azure Blob Storage. Data is appended frequently and never modified. Regulatory requirements mandate that no data can be overwritten or deleted for 7 years. Which storage configuration should you enable?
Why A: A is correct because a time-based retention policy under Azure Blob Storage immutability policy ensures that blobs cannot be overwritten or deleted for a specified duration (here, 7 years). This meets the regulatory requirement of write-once-read-many (WORM) compliance, and the policy is enforced at the storage container level, preventing any modifications or deletions even by the storage account owner.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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This AZ-204 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-204 exam.
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