AZ-305 Exam Guide: Design Skills and 6-Week Plan

Exam AZ-305, Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions, is the exam for the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification. You need a score of 700 to pass. It tests design decisions, not button clicks.

This guide gives you the skills and weights, the price, a 6-week plan, a lab, a worked design example and the mistakes to avoid.

What AZ-305 proves and who should take it

Passing shows you can turn business requirements into Azure designs. Those designs follow the Azure Well-Architected Framework and the Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure. The official exam page describes the role as designing cloud and hybrid solutions across compute, network, storage, monitoring and security.

Microsoft expects candidates to have advanced experience in IT operations. That includes networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms and governance. You should also have experience with Azure administration, Azure development and DevOps processes.

In practice, this fits cloud engineers, administrators and developers who now make design calls. If you have never deployed anything in Azure, build some hands-on time first. The exam is part of the requirements for the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, and the page lists no related exams.

Skills measured and their weights

The English version of the exam was updated on April 17, 2026. The official study guide lists four areas.

Infrastructure is the biggest block. Identity, governance and monitoring is second. Together they make up more than half of the exam.

Nearly every bullet in the study guide starts with "Recommend" or "Evaluate". Expect questions that ask you to pick the best option for a scenario and a set of constraints.

Exam facts at a glance

Localized versions can lag behind English. If you test in another language, read the study guide for the current skills list. Check the exam duration and question count on the official exam page before you book.

What the exam costs: list price vs our voucher

Microsoft says its price depends on the country or region where the exam is proctored. It also says prices can change and do not include taxes. Check the final amount with the exam provider before you register.

We email the voucher code within 12 hours of payment, and it also appears in your account. You can cancel an order for a full refund before delivery. Replacement and refund rules for a rejected code are on our refund policy and delivery policy pages.

A 6-week study plan with weekly hours

This plan assumes about 8 hours a week, 48 hours total, and some Azure experience. Add a week or two if you are newer to the platform. Hands-on time should be at least half of each week.

Microsoft points to a new Practice Assessment on AI Skills Navigator that matches the exam experience more closely. The older Learn version is no longer updated. You can also watch the AZ-305 prep videos, try the exam sandbox and take the instructor-led course AZ-305T00, Design Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions.

These commands set up a small lab for weeks 1 and 2. Run them in a test subscription. The last two lines clean up everything you created.

az group create --name rg-az305-lab --location eastus
az account management-group create --name mg-az305-lab
az monitor log-analytics workspace create --resource-group rg-az305-lab --workspace-name law-az305-lab
az group delete --name rg-az305-lab --yes --no-wait
az account management-group delete --name mg-az305-lab

If your goal is DevOps or security next, our AZ-400 guide and AZ-500 guide cover those exams.

Worked example: turning requirements into a design

Scenario: a retailer runs an order database and a web tier. The business says it can lose at most 15 minutes of data and must be back within 4 hours. Staff want the lowest cost that still meets those targets.

Work through it in four steps:

1. Write the targets down. 15 minutes is the recovery point objective (RPO). 4 hours is the recovery time objective (RTO).

2. Split the workload. The database and the web tier need different recovery methods.

3. Match each part. For the database, look at geo-replication options in a second region. For the web tier, look at a replication or redeploy approach that fits a 4-hour window.

4. Rule out extremes. A full active-active setup in two regions likely costs more than the stated need. Backups alone may be too slow for a 15-minute RPO.

The exam rewards this habit. Find the constraint that eliminates options, then pick the cheapest answer left. This matches the study guide goal to "recommend a recovery solution for Azure and hybrid workloads that meets recovery objectives".

Common mistakes and what to do after you pass

Common mistakes:

• Memorizing service lists. Questions ask which service fits a scenario, so practice comparing options.

• Ignoring weights. Infrastructure and identity together are the largest share of the exam. Do not spend half your time on a 15–20% topic.

• Skipping the study guide. The official skills list is the best checklist you have. Tick off each "Recommend" bullet honestly.

• Relying on leaked questions. Dumps go out of date after exam updates. They also teach answers without the reasoning you need.

• Registering with a work account. Microsoft recommends a personal Microsoft account so your records stay with you.

After you pass:

Microsoft associate, expert and specialty certifications expire annually. You renew by passing a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn. Connect your certification profile to your Microsoft Learn profile so you can schedule and renew exams and print certificates.

If you want broader cloud coverage, see our cloud certification category.

Ready to book? The AZ-305 voucher is $44.99 and arrives by email within 12 hours.

Sources

• Exam AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions

• Study guide for Exam AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions