DP-900 Exam Guide: Skills Weights and 4-Week Plan

The DP-900 exam gives you 45 minutes, and you need a score of 700 or higher to pass. It is a beginner exam, and our voucher costs $44.99 against Microsoft's $99.00 list price.

This guide covers what the exam tests, how the weights should shape your study time, and how to use the voucher. It also gives you a 4-week plan you can adjust.

What the DP-900 certification proves and who it suits

The Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals credential shows foundational knowledge of core data concepts and related Microsoft Azure data services. Microsoft lists the level as Beginner, the product as Azure, and the role as Data Engineer.

It is meant for people who are starting to work with data in the cloud. Microsoft says you should be familiar with two things:

• The concepts of relational and non-relational data.

• Different types of data workloads, such as transactional or analytical.

Azure Data Fundamentals can prepare you for the Azure Database Administrator Associate or Azure Data Engineer Associate certifications, but it is not a prerequisite for any of them.

Skills measured and how to split your study time

The official study guide lists the skills measured as of July 21, 2026. Two areas carry the most weight, so they deserve the most time.

Microsoft notes that the bullets under each skill illustrate how it is assessed, and related topics may also appear. Most questions cover generally available features. Preview features can appear if they are commonly used.

The weights add up to a clear message. Core concepts plus analytics can make up more than half of the exam. Do not spend most of your time on one database product.

Exam format at a glance

Here are the facts Microsoft publishes for this exam.

If the exam is not available in your preferred language, the study guide says you can request an additional 30 minutes. Accommodations are available too, such as extra time or support for assistive devices.

Microsoft recommends registering with a personal Microsoft account (MSA). If you register with a work or school account and later leave that organization, your exam records can be lost and cannot be recovered.

Try the exam sandbox before test day. It lets you use the same interface and question types you will see in the real exam.

Voucher price, validity and refund terms

Microsoft's official list price for DP-900 is $99.00 USD, as published by the vendor. Microsoft says the price depends on the country or region where the exam is proctored, so your local price may differ.

As of November 13, 2026, our DP-900 Azure Data Fundamentals voucher costs $44.99. That is less than half the USD list price.

Here is how the voucher works:

• Validity: 12 months.

• Redemption: through Pearson VUE.

• Delivery: the code is emailed within 12 hours of payment and also shown in your account.

• Before delivery: you can cancel for a full refund.

• After delivery: the code is non-refundable unless the test provider rejects it as invalid, already used or expired on first use.

• If a code is rejected: contact support within 14 days with your order number and a screenshot. We replace or refund the code.

Full terms are on the refund policy and delivery policy pages. Because the voucher redeems with Pearson VUE, schedule your exam there.

A 4-week study plan with weekly hours

This plan assumes about 6 hours a week, or 24 hours in total. It is a suggestion, not an official figure. Add a week if you have never seen a database.

Week 1: core data concepts (6 hours)

• Learn the three data types: structured, semi-structured and unstructured.

• Compare common file formats and datastores.

• Write down the difference between transactional and analytical workloads in your own words.

• Match each role to its duties: database administrator, data engineer, data analyst.

Week 2: relational data (6 hours)

Spend part of this week writing real SQL. Run these in any database you can reach:

SELECT CustomerName, City FROM Customers WHERE City = 'Austin';

SELECT o.OrderId, c.CustomerName
FROM Orders AS o
JOIN Customers AS c ON o.CustomerId = c.CustomerId;

UPDATE Products SET Price = 19.99 WHERE ProductId = 7;

Then learn why normalization exists. Finish by comparing Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines.

Week 3: non-relational data and analytics (6 hours)

• Compare Blob storage, Azure Files and Table storage by use case.

• Learn what Azure Cosmos DB is for and what its APIs are.

• Start the analytics area: ingestion, processing, analytical stores, Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric.

Week 4: analytics, Power BI and practice (6 hours)

• Study batch vs streaming data and the Microsoft services for real-time analytics.

• Cover Power BI: its capabilities, data models and choosing the right visualization.

• Take Microsoft's free practice assessment. Note that it is hosted on AI Skills Navigator and needs a sign-in.

• Review every wrong answer against the study guide, then run the exam sandbox once.

Worked example: reading a weak result

Say your practice result is weak on service-choice questions. Build a one-page table with three columns: workload, best Azure service, reason. Add rows such as "images and backups" (Blob storage) and "globally distributed document data" (Azure Cosmos DB). Reread the table daily until you can fill it from memory.

Mistakes that cost candidates points

These patterns are common in fundamentals exams.

• Memorizing product names without use cases. Many questions ask which service fits a scenario. Learn the reason, not just the label.

• Skipping SQL practice. Reading a SELECT statement is easier once you have written ten.

• Ignoring analytics because it feels advanced. It carries 25–30% of the exam.

• Relying on leaked question dumps. They break exam rules and can be out of date. The skills list is current as of July 21, 2026, so use the official study guide.

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

• Skipping the sandbox. Unfamiliar question types waste time in a 45-minute exam.

What to do after you pass

You can share the credential through your Microsoft Learn profile. Microsoft says connecting your certification profile lets you schedule exams and share and print certificates.

Pick your next step based on your goal:

Neither associate certification requires DP-900, so choose based on the work you want to do.

Ready to book? Get the DP-900 voucher and schedule your exam with Pearson VUE.

Sources

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals

• Study guide for Exam DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals