Quick Answer
The answer is the Deny effect. This is the correct choice because the Deny effect in Azure Policy actively blocks any resource creation request that does not comply with the assigned policy definition, such as preventing the provisioning of a storage account with the 'Premium' performance tier. When a policy with the Deny effect is applied, Azure Resource Manager evaluates the request against the policy rules and rejects it before the resource is created, ensuring only compliant resources like 'Standard' tier storage accounts are deployed. On the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Azure Policy effects enforce compliance, often appearing in questions about blocking non-compliant resource creation. A common trap is confusing Deny with Audit or Disabled; remember that Deny actively prevents creation, while Audit only logs non-compliance. Memory tip: think of Deny as a strict bouncer who turns away anyone without the right credentials before they even enter the club.
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure management 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.
A company wants to enforce that all storage accounts use the 'Standard' performance tier and block creation of any 'Premium' storage accounts. Which Azure Policy effect could achieve this?
Append
Why wrong: Append adds fields to resources, but does not block creation of non-compliant resources.
Deny
Deny blocks any operation that violates the policy, preventing creation of Premium storage accounts.
Audit
Why wrong: Audit only logs compliance without blocking creation.
Disabled
Why wrong: Disabled means the policy effect is turned off.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Deny
The Deny effect is the correct choice because it actively prevents the creation of Azure resources that do not comply with the policy definition. In this scenario, by assigning a policy with the Deny effect that targets storage accounts with the 'Premium' performance tier, Azure Resource Manager will block any request to create a Premium storage account, ensuring only 'Standard' tier accounts are provisioned.
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.
Append
Why it's wrong here
Append adds fields to resources, but does not block creation of non-compliant resources.
Deny
Why this is correct
Deny blocks any operation that violates the policy, preventing creation of Premium storage accounts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Audit
Why it's wrong here
Audit only logs compliance without blocking creation.
Disabled
Why it's wrong here
Disabled means the policy effect is turned off.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the Audit effect with Deny, thinking that logging non-compliance is sufficient to enforce a policy, but Audit only reports violations without blocking the resource creation.
Detailed technical explanation
Azure Policy effects are evaluated during resource creation and update operations via Azure Resource Manager. The Deny effect uses a pre-existing deny assignment that is evaluated before the resource is provisioned, effectively blocking the request and returning a 403 (Forbidden) status code. This is different from a role-based access control (RBAC) deny; it is a policy-driven gate that can be applied at management group, subscription, or resource group scope, and it supports exclusion scopes for fine-grained control.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Describe Azure management and governance — This question tests Describe Azure management and governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Deny — The Deny effect is the correct choice because it actively prevents the creation of Azure resources that do not comply with the policy definition. In this scenario, by assigning a policy with the Deny effect that targets storage accounts with the 'Premium' performance tier, Azure Resource Manager will block any request to create a Premium storage account, ensuring only 'Standard' tier accounts are provisioned.
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.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
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. A company has a policy that requires all storage accounts to have secure transfer enabled. They want to automatically audit all existing storage accounts and enforce the setting on new ones. They also want to automatically fix non-compliant new storage accounts. Which Azure Policy effect combination should they use?
hardWhy B: The correct combination is 'audit' and 'deployIfNotExists'. The 'audit' effect logs non-compliant existing storage accounts without changing them, satisfying the audit requirement. The 'deployIfNotExists' effect automatically remediates new non-compliant storage accounts by enabling secure transfer (HTTPS) during deployment, enforcing the policy on new resources without blocking creation.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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