MS-102 Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant Practice Question
You are the Microsoft 365 administrator for a company that has a Microsoft 365 E5 subscription. The company has a policy that all files stored in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business must be retained for seven years. You need to implement a retention solution that meets this requirement and ensures that users cannot permanently delete the files before the retention period expires. What should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse retention with DLP; DLP can block actions like sharing but cannot enforce retention, while retention policies preserve content even after deletion.
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 retention policy that applies to all SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts, set the retention period to seven years, and configure the policy to retain items even if users delete them.
A retention policy applied to all SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts with a seven-year retention period ensures that items are retained even if users delete them. The policy preserves copies in the Preservation Hold library, preventing permanent deletion. This meets the requirement that files must be retained for seven years and cannot be permanently deleted by users before the retention period expires.
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 retention policy in Microsoft Purview that retains content in SharePoint and OneDrive for seven years and locks the policy.
Why it's wrong here
A retention policy can retain content for seven years and can be locked to prevent changes, but it does not prevent users from deleting files. When a user deletes a file, it moves to the recycle bin; the retention policy preserves a copy for the retention period. However, the user can still delete the file from their view, and the policy ensures it is retained in a preservation hold library. The requirement is to ensure users cannot permanently delete, which is achieved by retention, but the policy does not block deletion actions.
- ✗
Configure a data loss prevention (DLP) policy that blocks deletion of files in SharePoint and OneDrive for seven years.
Why it's wrong here
DLP policies can block actions like sharing or copying, but they do not block deletion. DLP is designed to prevent data leakage, not to enforce retention. Even if a DLP policy could block deletion, it would not retain the files for seven years; it would simply prevent the action. Retention requires a retention policy or label, not DLP.
- ✓
Create a retention policy that applies to all SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts, set the retention period to seven years, and configure the policy to retain items even if users delete them.
Why this is correct
A retention policy applied to all SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts with a seven-year retention period ensures that items are retained even if users delete them. The policy preserves a copy in the Preservation Hold library, preventing permanent deletion. This meets the requirement that files must be retained for seven years and cannot be permanently deleted by users before the retention period expires.
- ✗
Create a retention label that retains items for seven years and configure a retention label policy to publish the label to all SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts.
Why it's wrong here
Publishing a retention label allows users to apply it manually or automatically, but it does not prevent users from deleting files. Retention labels can be configured to trigger a disposition review or to retain content, but unless the label is applied, the files are not protected. To ensure all files are retained, you need an auto-apply policy or a retention policy that applies to all content.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
SharePoint Permission Inheritance
Key term
Retention policy
A retention policy is a set of rules that determines how long an organization keeps its data and what happens to it when the retention period expires.
Key term
SharePoint Online
SharePoint Online is a cloud-based collaboration platform from Microsoft that lets teams create, store, organize, and share content securely from anywhere.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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