How to Apply a Retention Label for Regulatory Records
Your organization uses Microsoft Purview Records Management to manage high-value records that must not be deleted. You need to apply a label that marks content as a regulatory record. What label type should you use?
Quick Answer
The answer is a retention label configured for regulatory records. This is correct because Microsoft Purview Records Management uses retention labels with a specific disposition type—regulatory records—to mark content as unalterable and non-deletable, even by administrators, ensuring compliance with strict legal or regulatory requirements. On the SC-900 exam, this question tests your understanding of the distinction between retention labels (which manage record disposition) and sensitivity labels (which handle classification and protection but not record locking). A common trap is confusing retention labels with sensitivity labels or data loss prevention policies; remember that only a retention label with the regulatory record setting can permanently lock content from deletion. For a quick memory tip, think “regulatory = rigid”—once applied, regulatory records are rigidly protected against any deletion or modification, unlike standard retention labels that allow some flexibility.
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'record' with 'regulatory record,' assuming both offer the same immutability, but only regulatory records provide a locked, unchangeable label that prevents any deletion or modification.
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 for regulatory records
A retention label configured for regulatory records is the correct choice because it locks the label so that no user, including an administrator, can remove it or reduce the retention period. This meets the requirement to mark content as a regulatory record that must not be deleted, as regulatory records provide the highest level of immutability in Microsoft Purview Records Management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Data loss prevention policy
Why it's wrong here
Data loss prevention policies detect and block sensitive data in motion, such as sharing credit-card numbers externally; they neither classify content as a record nor prevent deletion over time. A DLP policy would be correct when the requirement is stopping exfiltration of sensitive information, not retaining records.
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Retention label configured for regulatory records
Why this is correct
A retention label configured for regulatory records locks content so it cannot be deleted or modified, even by administrators, and records the declaration in the audit log, satisfying the requirement that high-value records remain undeletable.
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Retention label configured for record
Why it's wrong here
A standard record label permits removal of the label by users with sufficient privileges, so it cannot enforce the immutability a regulatory record demands. Retention labels do mark records, but only the regulatory record variant locks the label permanently; that configuration is chosen when legal statute forbids any removal.
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Sensitivity label
Why it's wrong here
Sensitivity labels classify and protect content through encryption and access restrictions, but they do not declare an item a record or block its deletion. Sensitivity labels suit scenarios requiring confidentiality markings and protection, whereas regulatory record status requires a retention label configured for regulatory records.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure Resource Locks: ReadOnly and Delete
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
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on SC-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. Your organization uses Microsoft Purview Records Management to manage high-value contracts. You need to ensure that once a contract is declared as a record, it cannot be modified or deleted by any user, including administrators. Which type of record should you use?
medium- A.Disposition review
- B.Event-based retention policy
- C.Retention label with default settings
- ✓ D.Regulatory record
Why D: Regulatory records provide the highest level of protection and cannot be modified or deleted by any user, including administrators. Option A is wrong because disposition review is a process for reviewing content before deletion, not a record type that locks content. Option B is wrong because event-based retention policies apply retention based on a trigger event, but they do not prevent modification or deletion once declared a record. Option C is wrong because a retention label with default settings does not lock the record; it only applies retention settings without regulatory protections.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SC-900 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 SC-900 exam.