mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
Conditional Access MFA Exclude Trusted Location
Contoso uses Microsoft Entra ID P1 licenses and has a dedicated corporate office with static public IP addresses. The company wants to require MFA for all users, but exempt users when they connect from the corporate office. Which configuration should the administrator implement?
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to create a Conditional Access policy that targets all users, requires MFA as a grant control, and excludes the corporate office location from the policy. This works because Microsoft Entra ID P1 supports named locations based on static public IP ranges, allowing you to define the corporate office as a trusted location. When a user connects from that IP range, the policy’s exclusion rule triggers, bypassing the MFA requirement while still enforcing it for all other connections. On the MS-102 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Conditional Access evaluates policy components in order: exclusions are processed before grant controls, so a trusted location exclusion effectively exempts users without needing separate policies. A common trap is assuming you can simply disable MFA for a location, but Conditional Access requires explicit exclusion logic. Memory tip: think “Exclude the exception” — if you want to skip MFA for the office, exclude that named location from the policy that demands MFA.
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'include' and 'exclude' in Conditional Access conditions, mistakenly thinking that including the office location will exempt it, when in fact excluding the location is required to bypass MFA for that trusted network.
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 a Conditional Access policy that targets all users, grant access requiring MFA, and exclude the corporate office location from the policy.
A Conditional Access policy can target all users, require MFA as a grant control, and exclude the corporate office location (defined by static public IP addresses as a named location). This ensures MFA is enforced for all connections except those originating from the trusted corporate network, aligning with the requirement to exempt users at the office.
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 Conditional Access policy that targets all users, grant access requiring MFA, and include the corporate office location as a condition.
Why it's wrong here
Including the corporate location as a condition would also require MFA from that location, which is not desired.
- ✓
Create a Conditional Access policy that targets all users, grant access requiring MFA, and exclude the corporate office location from the policy.
Why this is correct
Excluding the corporate office location ensures users connecting from those trusted IPs bypass MFA, while everyone else must satisfy the MFA requirement.
- ✗
Configure a Per-User MFA policy and add the corporate office IPs to a list of trusted IPs in the MFA settings.
Why it's wrong here
Per-User MFA with trusted IPs is a legacy approach and does not offer the granularity of Conditional Access. The question implies the use of modern Conditional Access.
- ✗
Create a Conditional Access policy that targets the corporate office location and grant access with MFA for all other locations.
Why it's wrong here
This would only apply MFA to users not in the corporate office, but the policy must target all users to enforce MFA globally, then exclude the location.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Microsoft 365 Tenant Setup
Key term
MFA
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a security method that requires a user to verify their identity using two or more different types of evidence, such as a password plus a code from a phone, before they can access an account or system.
Key term
Policy
A policy is a set of rules or guidelines that defines how an organization manages, secures, and operates its IT systems and services.
About these practice questions
One of 241 original MS-102 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on MS-102
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. An organization uses Microsoft Entra ID P2 licenses. They want to implement a policy that forces users to perform multi-factor authentication (MFA) only when they sign in from an untrusted location. The trusted locations include the corporate office IP range. Which type of policy should they create?
medium- A.Identity Protection user risk policy
- ✓ B.Conditional Access policy
- C.MFA registration policy
- D.Authentication methods policy
Why B: Conditional Access policies in Microsoft Entra ID allow administrators to enforce MFA based on conditions like location. By configuring a policy that targets all users and cloud apps, with a condition excluding trusted IP ranges (corporate office), MFA is only triggered when sign-ins originate from untrusted locations. This is the precise mechanism for location-based MFA enforcement.
Variation 2. An organization with Microsoft Entra ID P2 licenses wants to require multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users but allow them to register their authentication methods before being forced to use MFA. Which configuration should they implement?
medium- ✓ A.Conditional Access policy with MFA grant and a registration campaign
- B.Security defaults
- C.Per-user MFA
- D.Identity Protection user risk policy
Why A: Conditional Access policies can include a registration campaign for combined security info registration, allowing users to preregister MFA methods before the policy requiring MFA is enforced. This provides a smooth user experience. Security defaults enforce MFA immediately without a pre-registration period. Per-user MFA requires enabling MFA per user and does not include a registration campaign. Identity Protection user risk policy triggers MFA based on risk, not a blanket requirement.
Variation 3. An organization uses Microsoft Entra ID P2 licenses. They need to require multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users accessing a critical financial application, but they must exclude a set of service accounts that are members of the 'Service Accounts' group. Which policy should they create?
medium- ✓ A.Conditional Access policy with a grant block requiring MFA and an exclude assignment for the 'Service Accounts' group.
- B.An Identity Protection user risk policy configured to require MFA for high-risk users.
- C.Per-user MFA enforced on all users, then disabled for the service accounts individually.
- D.Conditional Access sign-in risk policy requiring MFA for risky sign-ins.
Why A: A Conditional Access policy allows you to grant access only when MFA is completed, and you can exclude specific groups like 'Service Accounts' from the policy. This ensures all users except the excluded service accounts are prompted for MFA when accessing the critical financial application. The grant block requiring MFA is the appropriate control for this scenario.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MS-102 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 MS-102 exam.