- A
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect assigned to the subscription, and create policy exemptions for the resource groups that need to deploy VNets in other regions.
Correct. Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect prevents the creation of resources that do not meet the policy rule. Policy exemptions allow the team to exclude specific scopes from the policy assignment, enabling exceptions for disaster recovery testing without modifying the policy definition.
- B
Azure role-based access control (RBAC) by creating a custom role that restricts the 'Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/write' action to only the West Europe region, and assign that role to all users.
Why wrong: Incorrect. RBAC controls who can perform actions, but it does not evaluate resource properties like region. Custom roles can restrict actions at a scope, but they cannot inspect the location parameter during the resource creation. Azure Policy is designed for this kind of property-based enforcement.
- C
A resource lock on each resource group that prevents the creation of any resource in disallowed regions.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Resource locks only prevent deletion or modification of a resource group or resource; they cannot prevent creation of new resources based on properties like region. Also, a resource lock applies uniformly to a scope and cannot be selectively applied to specific resource types like VNets.
- D
Azure Blueprints by defining a blueprint that only includes VNets in West Europe and assigning it to all resource groups.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Azure Blueprints are used to deploy and manage standardized environments (resource groups, policies, role assignments, etc.). However, they do not enforce ongoing compliance against future deployments outside the blueprint. To block non-compliant resources, a policy with 'Deny' effect is required.
Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect assigned at the subscription scope, combined with policy exemptions for specific resource groups. This is correct because Azure Policy enforces organizational rules by evaluating resources against defined conditions, and the 'Deny' effect actively blocks the creation of any virtual network in a disallowed region like West Europe. Policy exemptions then provide a clean way to selectively exclude certain resource groups—such as those used for disaster recovery testing—from the rule without modifying the original policy definition, preserving the compliance baseline. On the AZ-900 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Azure Policy applies at different scopes (subscription vs. resource group) and the distinction between policy effects (Deny vs. Audit) and exemptions. A common trap is confusing policy exemptions with policy exclusions or role-based access control; remember that exemptions are specifically for skipping enforcement on a resource or group while keeping the policy active. Memory tip: think of the policy as a "global no" and exemptions as "special permission slips" that don't tear up the rule.
AZ-900 Describe Azure management and governance Practice Question
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 has a single Azure subscription that contains resource groups for several business units. The company's compliance team wants to enforce a rule: no virtual network (VNet) can be deployed in any resource group unless the VNet is in a specific allowed region (West Europe). The rule must also block the creation of VNets in disallowed regions, but the team must be able to selectively exempt certain resource groups (e.g., for disaster recovery testing) without altering the underlying rule definition. Which Azure feature should the compliance team implement?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect assigned to the subscription, and create policy exemptions for the resource groups that need to deploy VNets in other regions.
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect can enforce a rule at the subscription scope that blocks VNet creation in disallowed regions. Policy exemptions allow specific resource groups to be excluded from the policy without modifying the original rule definition, meeting the compliance team's requirement for selective exemption.
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.
- ✓
Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect assigned to the subscription, and create policy exemptions for the resource groups that need to deploy VNets in other regions.
Why this is correct
Correct. Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect prevents the creation of resources that do not meet the policy rule. Policy exemptions allow the team to exclude specific scopes from the policy assignment, enabling exceptions for disaster recovery testing without modifying the policy definition.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Azure role-based access control (RBAC) by creating a custom role that restricts the 'Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/write' action to only the West Europe region, and assign that role to all users.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. RBAC controls who can perform actions, but it does not evaluate resource properties like region. Custom roles can restrict actions at a scope, but they cannot inspect the location parameter during the resource creation. Azure Policy is designed for this kind of property-based enforcement.
- ✗
A resource lock on each resource group that prevents the creation of any resource in disallowed regions.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Resource locks only prevent deletion or modification of a resource group or resource; they cannot prevent creation of new resources based on properties like region. Also, a resource lock applies uniformly to a scope and cannot be selectively applied to specific resource types like VNets.
- ✗
Azure Blueprints by defining a blueprint that only includes VNets in West Europe and assigning it to all resource groups.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Azure Blueprints are used to deploy and manage standardized environments (resource groups, policies, role assignments, etc.). However, they do not enforce ongoing compliance against future deployments outside the blueprint. To block non-compliant resources, a policy with 'Deny' effect is required.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Policy with RBAC or resource locks, thinking RBAC can restrict by region or that locks can prevent creation, when in fact only Azure Policy can enforce location-based rules with exemption capabilities.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy evaluates resource creation against policy rules at the time of deployment, using the 'Deny' effect to block non-compliant resources before they are created. Policy exemptions can be applied to resource groups with specific conditions (e.g., for disaster recovery testing) and are tracked in the policy compliance logs, allowing auditability. This approach is more granular and manageable than RBAC or locks because it directly targets the resource property (location) and supports exclusion without changing the policy definition.
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 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
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Describe Azure management and governance — This question tests Describe Azure management and governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect assigned to the subscription, and create policy exemptions for the resource groups that need to deploy VNets in other regions. — Azure Policy with the 'Deny' effect can enforce a rule at the subscription scope that blocks VNet creation in disallowed regions. Policy exemptions allow specific resource groups to be excluded from the policy without modifying the original rule definition, meeting the compliance team's requirement for selective exemption.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 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 →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on AZ-900
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 needs to ensure that all Azure resources in a subscription are created only in specific approved regions. Which Azure feature should they implement?
hard- A.Azure Resource Locks
- B.Azure RBAC
- ✓ C.Azure Policy with 'Allowed locations' policy
- D.Azure Blueprints
Why C: Azure Policy with the 'Allowed locations' policy definition is the correct choice because it enforces organizational compliance by restricting the Azure regions where resources can be deployed. This policy evaluates all resource creation requests against a defined list of approved regions and denies any request that does not match, ensuring that all resources in the subscription are created only in the specified approved locations.
Variation 2. A company wants to ensure that all Azure resources are created within a specific set of approved regions. They want to automatically block any resource creation that is not in an approved region. Which Azure Policy effect should they use?
easy- ✓ A.Deny
- B.Append
- C.Audit
- D.DeployIfNotExists
Why A: The Deny effect is correct because it actively blocks any resource creation or update that does not comply with the policy rule. In this scenario, the policy would evaluate the location property of the resource against the approved list, and if the region is not approved, the Deny effect prevents the deployment entirely, returning a 403 Forbidden error. This ensures that only resources in approved regions are created, meeting the company's requirement to automatically block non-compliant deployments.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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