SecProve
AssociateVendor-specificMicrosoft· issued from US

SC-300

Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate

Entra ID deployment, conditional access, privileged access, identity governance.

Official page at Microsoft↔ Compare with another cert
Exam fee
$165
Ongoing
$0/yr AMF
Study time
60–120 hrs
Delivery
Online proctored
Validity
1 yr (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

29.0 / 40

Four-axis SecProve rubric, each 0–10. SecProve editorial assessment — each axis carries a written justification so you can push back on any single call without dismissing the whole score.

Blueprint rigor
How well-defined and rigorous the exam blueprint is.
Skills outline is explicit on Entra ID services tested.
7.5/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Case-study items with multi-step Entra ID scenarios. PBQ-style.
6.0/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
Refreshed within months of major Entra changes.
9.0/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
Common on identity-engineer postings inside Microsoft shops; weaker outside.
6.5/10

› Market signals

public, citable inputs to the recognition score

Microsoft doesn't publish per-cert counts; widely cited on Entra ID / IAM listings.

› Built for these roles

Identity & Access AdministratorEntra ID / Azure AD EngineerM365 Security Admin

› Exam format

40–60 questions over 100 minutes (case studies + MCQ), English plus several other languages. Online proctored or test center.

Passing score
700/1000 (scaled)
Retake policy
Fee: $165 per attempt
Wait: 1d between attempts

24h wait after first fail; 14 days between subsequent attempts. Max 5 attempts per 12 months.

› Recertification

Free online renewal assessment available 6 months before expiry. Pass to extend by another year — no exam fee.

› NICE Framework work roles

The NIST NICE work-role IDs this cert maps to. NICCS lookup.

DD-WRL-004IO-WRL-005DD-WRL-001
Recognition
GlobalUSEU
Exam languages
enjakozh

› Core domains covered

The 2 domains this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

A6Identity & Access Management

AuthN/AuthZ, SSO, MFA, PAM, RBAC/ABAC, identity governance, FIDO2/passkeys, plus non-human identity: service accounts, workload identity, agent / plugin identities.

A3Zero Trust Architecture

Zero trust principles, micro-segmentation, NIST SP 800-207, ZTNA, continuous verification, BeyondCorp.

› Also touched

Present in the blueprint but not the primary focus — you’ll be introduced but shouldn’t expect depth.

A5Cloud Security

AWS/Azure/GCP security controls, IAM policies, CSPM, container security, shared responsibility model.

A1Governance, Risk & Compliance

Risk frameworks (NIST RMF, ISO 31000, FAIR), policy development, audit, regulatory compliance, third-party risk.

› Prerequisites

Experience

Intermediate Entra ID experience; familiarity with M365 admin and conditional access.

Knowledge assumed
  • Entra ID (Azure AD) identity lifecycle
  • Conditional access and PIM
  • Identity governance and lifecycle workflows

› Progression

requiredrecommended

Where this cert fits in the typical learning path. Required edges are vendor-gated; recommended edges reflect de facto industry progression.

Required prereqs (0)

No vendor-gated prereqs.

Recommended priors (2)
SC-900MicrosoftAZ-104Microsoft
SC-300
Microsoft
Required by (0)

No certs require this one.

Recommended next (1)
SC-100Microsoft

› Study materials

Curated starting points. Not exhaustive — vet each against your learning style and the current exam version.

Official guides
Training providers
Practice tests
  • MeasureUp Official SC-300 Practice Test
Free / community
  • Microsoft Learn SC-300 modules (free)

› Version & lifecycle

Current version
SC-300 (current)
Released
2024-09

› Salary signal

Identity / IAM engineer (Azure AD / Entra ID), US, 3–5 years.

$110K–$155K
median $128K

Robert Half Salary Guide + Glassdoor 'Identity Engineer' aggregations · 2024 · US base only · p25–p75 range

› How it compares

vs
AZ-500

AZ-500 is the broader Azure-security cert; SC-300 is identity-specialized.

↔ Compare side-by-side
vs
Okta Certified Professional

Vendor-specific identity certs — pick by your IdP (Entra ID = SC-300, Okta = OCP).

↔ Compare side-by-side

› Careers that commonly pursue this cert

IAM / Identity Engineer

Design and operate the identity fabric that every other control inherits. Federated identity, MFA/passkeys, PAM, identity governance, and the policy glue between them.

See this cert’s domains highlighted on the interactive map, or compare it against the rest of the catalog.

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