Quick Answer
The answer is Microsoft Entra access reviews, as this feature is specifically designed to automate the periodic review and certification of external identities. By configuring an access review, you assign a designated reviewer who receives automated reminders to approve or deny each external user’s continued access, with results applied automatically—this directly satisfies the requirement for a governed, recurring approval process. On the AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of identity governance for hybrid and multi-tenant environments, often appearing as a distractor against options like Privileged Identity Management (PIM) or conditional access policies; the key trap is that PIM handles just-in-time elevation for roles, not periodic attestation of external user access. Remember the memory tip: “Reviews for guests, PIM for roles”—if the question mentions external users needing periodic approval, think access reviews first.
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 organization uses Microsoft Entra ID and requires that all external users accessing resources must be approved by a designated reviewer. You need to automate the review process for external identities. What should you implement?
Microsoft Purview
Why wrong: Purview manages data governance, not identity access reviews.
Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
Why wrong: PIM manages just-in-time privileged access, not external identity reviews.
Microsoft Entra access reviews
Access reviews automate the periodic review of external users' access.
Conditional Access
Why wrong: Conditional Access enforces policies, but does not automate access reviews.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Microsoft Entra access reviews
Microsoft Entra access reviews allow you to automate the periodic review of external identities, ensuring that only approved users retain access. This feature directly supports the requirement for a designated reviewer to approve or deny external users, with automated reminders and results. It is the correct choice because it is purpose-built for governance of external identities in Entra ID.
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.
Microsoft Purview
Why it's wrong here
Purview manages data governance, not identity access reviews.
Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
Why it's wrong here
PIM manages just-in-time privileged access, not external identity reviews.
Microsoft Entra access reviews
Why this is correct
Access reviews automate the periodic review of external users' access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Conditional Access
Why it's wrong here
Conditional Access enforces policies, but does not automate access reviews.
Common exam traps
The trap here is confusing Privileged Identity Management (PIM) with access reviews, as both involve approvals, but PIM is for privileged roles while access reviews are for ongoing user access certification, especially for external identities.
Detailed technical explanation
Entra access reviews leverage the Microsoft Graph API to programmatically create, schedule, and manage review campaigns, with each review generating a list of group members or application assignments. The reviewer receives an email with a link to a review portal where they can approve or deny each user, and the system can automatically remove denied users after the review period ends. This process supports recurring reviews (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly) and can be scoped to guest users only, making it ideal for external identity governance.
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
Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — This question tests Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Microsoft Entra access reviews — Microsoft Entra access reviews allow you to automate the periodic review of external identities, ensuring that only approved users retain access. This feature directly supports the requirement for a designated reviewer to approve or deny external users, with automated reminders and results. It is the correct choice because it is purpose-built for governance of external identities in Entra ID.
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 24, 2026
This AZ-305 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-305 exam.
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