MS-102 Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview Practice Question
A compliance officer needs to preserve all communications (email and Teams messages) for employees in the legal department for a minimum of 7 years. Additionally, any deletion (by users or system) must be blocked, and after the retention period, the items must be disposed of automatically. The solution must also ensure that the communications are marked as 'records' to prevent tampering. Which Microsoft Purview solution should the officer configure?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse Litigation Hold (which preserves indefinitely without automatic deletion) with a retention label that includes both a fixed retention period and record marking, failing to recognize that Litigation Hold does not meet the 'dispose automatically after 7 years' requirement.
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
✓
retention label configured with 'Mark items as a record' and a retention period of 7 years, then delete automatically
A retention label with 'Mark items as a record' enforces immutability (prevents tampering) and, when configured with a 7-year retention period followed by automatic deletion, meets the compliance officer's requirements for preservation, blocking deletion, and automatic disposal. This label can be applied to both Exchange Online mailboxes (email) and Teams messages via auto-labeling policies, covering all communications for the legal department.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Litigation hold on the legal department's mailboxes and Teams
Why it's wrong here
Litigation hold on legal department mailboxes and Teams preserves content in-place to prevent deletion during eDiscovery, but it does not classify messages as records. It holds items indefinitely until manually released, with no built-in expiry after 7 years, so it cannot schedule automatic deletion. Additionally, it only preserves legal mailboxes and Teams, not all communications, and does not mark items as immutable records.
- ✓
retention label configured with 'Mark items as a record' and a retention period of 7 years, then delete automatically
Why this is correct
A retention label configured with 'Mark items as a record' makes content immutable: after application, users and administrators cannot edit or delete the item until the retention period expires. Setting the retention period to 7 years and selecting 'delete automatically' ensures the communication is preserved for the full regulatory period and then automatically purged. This is the only option that combines record immutability, a fixed 7-year timeframe, and automatic deletion, which matches the compliance officer's exact requirement.
- ✗
Preservation hold library in SharePoint Online
Why it's wrong here
The Preservation Hold library is a system-generated library in an eDiscovery case that stores copies of SharePoint and OneDrive content when a hold is applied to those workloads. It does not apply to Exchange mailboxes or Teams messages, so it cannot preserve all communications under a single configuration. It also keeps content as preserved copies without any built-in deletion policy, meaning there is no automatic expiration or deletion after 7 years, making it unsuitable for time-based records disposal.
- ✗
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy with retention action
Why it's wrong here
A DLP policy inspects emails and files for sensitive information and can enforce protective actions like blocking transmission or showing user tips, but it is not a records-management mechanism. DLP policies do not mark content as records, do not provide immutability, and do not contain a retention-period field to define when data should expire. Even when DLP applies labels, those are sensitivity labels for classification and encryption, not retention labels, so they cannot automate deletion after 7 years.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Microsoft 365 Tenant Setup
Key term
Retention label
A retention label is a tag applied to emails, documents, or files in Microsoft 365 that tells the system how long to keep the item and what to do with it when the time is up.
Key term
Exchange Online
Exchange Online is Microsoft's cloud-based email, calendar, and contact hosting service that is part of the Microsoft 365 suite, allowing organizations to manage corporate messaging without maintaining their own mail servers.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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