- A
Create a new Azure Policy assignment at the marketing subscription scope with the 'Allowed Locations' initiative set to 'Audit' instead of 'Deny' and include North Europe in the allowed list.
Why wrong: Creating a new assignment at the subscription scope would not override the deny effect from the parent management group. Policy effects are additive, and a deny effect from a higher scope cannot be overridden by an audit effect at a lower scope. This would not grant the permission to deploy in North Europe.
- B
Create an Azure Blueprint that includes the 'Allowed Locations' policy and assign it to the marketing subscription.
Why wrong: An Azure Blueprint can include policy assignments, but it would still apply the deny effect to the marketing subscription since the root management group assignment is still in effect. This does not provide an exception; it only duplicates the restriction.
- C
Create an Azure Policy exemption for the marketing subscription with 'Exempt' category and specify the policy definition and effect to be excluded.
Azure Policy exemptions allow you to mark a scope as exempt from a specific policy assignment. This excludes the marketing subscription from the 'Deny' effect of the 'Allowed Locations' initiative, enabling resource creation in North Europe without altering the original policy assignment for other scopes.
- D
Assign a custom RBAC role to the marketing subscription that bypasses the policy.
Why wrong: Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) controls who can perform actions on resources, not whether resources can be created. Azure Policy is independent of RBAC; custom roles cannot bypass policy effects. Only exemptions or modifications to the policy itself can grant exceptions.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to create an Azure Policy exemption for the marketing subscription with the 'Exempt' category, specifying the policy definition and effect to be excluded. This works because an Azure Policy exemption allows you to bypass a policy’s effect at a specific scope—here, the marketing subscription—without altering the original assignment at the root management group. The 'Exempt' category is designed for scenarios where a resource must be allowed despite a deny policy, and it does not extend permissions to other scopes. On the AZ-900 exam, this concept tests your understanding of how exemptions differ from exclusions or overrides; a common trap is confusing an exemption with modifying the assignment or using a different effect like 'Audit'. Remember the memory tip: "Exempt is for exceptions, not edits"—you leave the original policy untouched while granting a targeted waiver.
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 management group hierarchy with a root management group that contains all subscriptions. The governance team assigns a built-in Azure Policy initiative 'Allowed Locations' to the root management group with the 'Deny' effect, restricting resource deployment to East US and West US only. After six months, a new regulatory requirement forces the marketing department's subscription (placed under the root) to deploy resources in North Europe for a specific pilot project. The governance team must allow this exception without changing the original policy assignment and without allowing any other subscription to deploy to North Europe. What should the governance team do?
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
Create an Azure Policy exemption for the marketing subscription with 'Exempt' category and specify the policy definition and effect to be excluded.
Option C is correct because Azure Policy exemptions allow you to exclude a specific scope from the effect of a policy assignment without modifying the original assignment. By creating an exemption with the 'Exempt' category on the marketing subscription, the governance team can allow resource deployment to North Europe for that subscription only, while the 'Deny' effect remains enforced for all other subscriptions under the root management group.
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.
- ✗
Create a new Azure Policy assignment at the marketing subscription scope with the 'Allowed Locations' initiative set to 'Audit' instead of 'Deny' and include North Europe in the allowed list.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a new assignment at the subscription scope would not override the deny effect from the parent management group. Policy effects are additive, and a deny effect from a higher scope cannot be overridden by an audit effect at a lower scope. This would not grant the permission to deploy in North Europe.
- ✗
Create an Azure Blueprint that includes the 'Allowed Locations' policy and assign it to the marketing subscription.
Why it's wrong here
An Azure Blueprint can include policy assignments, but it would still apply the deny effect to the marketing subscription since the root management group assignment is still in effect. This does not provide an exception; it only duplicates the restriction.
- ✓
Create an Azure Policy exemption for the marketing subscription with 'Exempt' category and specify the policy definition and effect to be excluded.
Why this is correct
Azure Policy exemptions allow you to mark a scope as exempt from a specific policy assignment. This excludes the marketing subscription from the 'Deny' effect of the 'Allowed Locations' initiative, enabling resource creation in North Europe without altering the original policy assignment for other scopes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Assign a custom RBAC role to the marketing subscription that bypasses the policy.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) controls who can perform actions on resources, not whether resources can be created. Azure Policy is independent of RBAC; custom roles cannot bypass policy effects. Only exemptions or modifications to the policy itself can grant exceptions.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse policy exemptions with policy overrides or RBAC bypasses, mistakenly thinking a new assignment or role can negate a 'Deny' effect, when in fact only an exemption can exclude a scope without altering the original assignment.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy exemptions use the 'Exempt' category to exclude a scope from policy evaluation, which is recorded in compliance data but does not change the underlying policy definition or assignment. The exemption can be applied at the subscription, resource group, or individual resource level, and it supports specifying a time-bound expiration for temporary exceptions. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for handling regulatory pilot projects without weakening the overall governance posture.
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Create an Azure Policy exemption for the marketing subscription with 'Exempt' category and specify the policy definition and effect to be excluded. — Option C is correct because Azure Policy exemptions allow you to exclude a specific scope from the effect of a policy assignment without modifying the original assignment. By creating an exemption with the 'Exempt' category on the marketing subscription, the governance team can allow resource deployment to North Europe for that subscription only, while the 'Deny' effect remains enforced for all other subscriptions under the root management group.
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.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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