Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204) was an Associate-level certification for engineers who build cloud applications on Azure. For years it stood alongside AZ-104 (operations) as one of the two pillars of Azure Associates, but the exam, the certification, and its renewal assessment all retired on July 31, 2026 (11:59 PM Central Standard Time), so it can no longer be taken or earned. Microsoft points to Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure) as the replacement. This article covers what AZ-204 tested, the scope of the retirement, and where to go next: AI-200, AZ-104, AZ-400, or AI-103.
The hallmark of AZ-204 is that code snippets in multiple languages — C# / Python / JavaScript / Java / Go — appear on the exam. It tests whether you can implement developer-targeted features such as App Service, Functions, Cosmos DB SDK, Service Bus, and API Management at the SDK level, making it clearly more "developer-leaning" than AZ-104. Before 2024 it was effectively the required certification for the Azure developer role, but with the July 2026 retirement that slot passed to its successor, AI-200 (Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate).
AZ-204 followed the standard Associate-tier specification (figures as of retirement). 120 minutes, 40-60 questions, passing score 700 / 1000, 165 USD / 21,103 JPY, valid for 12 months. It was offered via Pearson VUE either online with OnVUE or at a test center, in multiple languages including Japanese. The format mixes multiple-choice with questions that ask you to read a code snippet and predict behavior, and drag-and-drop ordering of API call sequences appears frequently.
AZ-204 retired on July 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM Central Standard Time. What retired was not only the exam: the Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification and its renewal assessment retired with it, and the official certification page now carries the warning "This certification and the renewal assessment are retired." It is part of the same recent reshuffling of certifications as AI-900 → AI-901 and AI-102 → AI-103, and Microsoft points to Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure) as AZ-204's replacement.
One driver is that Microsoft's developer strategy is shifting from "simple use of the Azure SDK" to "AI agent development with the Microsoft Foundry SDK." The replacement Microsoft names for AZ-204 is Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure) — as the name says, the Azure developer slot has been swapped for a certification that assumes AI. Adjacent to it sits AI-103 (Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate), the successor to AI-102 (Azure AI Engineer), which retired on June 30, 2026.
The post-retirement impact looks like this. No new attempts: no bookings possible from August 2026 onward. Existing holders keep their cert: certifications remain valid until they expire. Renewal assessment: it retired together with the certification, so renewal past the expiry date is not possible. Anyone now aiming at an Azure developer credential starts from the successor, AI-200 (Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate).
The largest-weighted domain, covering Azure's developer-facing compute features. The core is Azure App Service (PaaS web apps): deployment, scaling, and deployment slots; Azure Functions (FaaS): triggers / bindings and Durable Functions patterns; and the container family — Azure Container Apps, AKS, ACI, and Azure Container Registry (ACR). Functions trigger types (HTTP / Timer / Blob / Queue / Service Bus / Event Grid / Cosmos DB / Event Hub) and input/output binding design come up often. You also need the four Durable Functions patterns down: Function chaining, Fan-out/Fan-in, Async HTTP API, and Monitor.
This domain asks about SDK-level use of Azure storage services. The core areas are Azure Blob Storage SDK (the BlobServiceClient / ContainerClient / BlobClient hierarchy, Blob types [Block/Append/Page], metadata, access-tier changes), Cosmos DB SDK (partition key design, consistency levels, RU/s calculation, Stored Procedures, Change Feed), and basic CRUD with the Table Storage SDK. Code-writing questions appear in both C# and Python, so reading sample code in your primary language from the Azure-Samples GitHub repo is a clear advantage.
The security-implementation domain covers identity, authentication, and secret management. The core is Microsoft Entra ID authentication (OAuth 2.0 / OIDC via the MSAL library: Authorization Code Flow, Client Credentials Flow, Device Code Flow), Managed Identity (System-assigned / User-assigned), Azure Key Vault for secrets / keys / certificates, calling the Microsoft Graph API, and managing app configuration via App Configuration. Internalize the simple principle behind Managed Identity — "authenticate to Azure resources without putting any secrets in code" — and the questions in this domain become reliably winnable.
The operational-phase developer skills. Application Insights for APM (request tracking, dependency map, exception tracking, live metrics); Log Analytics for centralized log analysis with KQL queries; Azure Cache for Redis for high-speed caching; and Azure CDN / Azure Front Door for static content delivery. Expect to be able to write sample Application Insights queries and the basic Set/Get/TTL pattern for Redis Cache.
Integration of Azure services with each other and with third-party services. The core is API Management (API gateway, policies, subscriptions, products), Event Grid (event-based architectures), Event Hubs (large-scale ingestion), Service Bus (enterprise messaging — Queue / Topic / Subscription), and how it differs from Storage Queue. Knowing when to pick Event Grid (reactive, low cost), Event Hubs (large-volume streaming), or Service Bus (reliable, enterprise) is a recurring theme.
Path 1: Take the successor, AI-200. The replacement Microsoft names for AZ-204 is Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure), so redirecting AZ-204 study here is the official route. Note that as of writing AI-200 is offered in English only, and its fee, domains, and required study time are separate from AZ-204's — confirm them on the official Microsoft pages.
Path 2: Substitute with AZ-104. If you want a Japanese-language exam, or would rather shore up the operations side first, AZ-104 (Azure Administrator) is the solid pick. AZ-104 is the heart of the Azure certification map and connects to both the Architect (AZ-305) and DevOps (AZ-400) routes.
Path 3: Shift to AI-103. Pivot to the new developer role of the generative-AI era. AI-103 (Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate) is the successor to AI-102, which retired on June 30, 2026, and its home turf is AI app and agent development. It assumes proficiency with the Microsoft Foundry SDK and requires Python experience. For anyone aiming at an AI developer career, it is the most forward-looking option.
What kind of exam is AZ-204?
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204) is an Associate-level certification for engineers who develop cloud applications on Azure. 120 minutes, 40-60 questions, 165 USD, 700/1000 passing score, 12 months valid, with multi-language support including Japanese. Code snippets in C# / Python / JavaScript / Java / Go are tested, centered on developer-targeted features such as App Service, Functions, Cosmos DB, Storage SDK, Service Bus, and API Management. Long one of the two pillars of Azure Associates alongside AZ-104 (operations), the exam, the certification, and its renewal assessment all retired on July 31, 2026 (11:59 PM Central Standard Time), so new attempts are no longer possible. The successor is Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure).
Can you still take AZ-204?
No. AZ-204 retired on July 31, 2026 (11:59 PM Central Standard Time). What retired was not just the exam but the whole Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification: the official certification page now reads "This certification and the renewal assessment are retired." Existing holders keep their credential until it expires, but because the renewal assessment retired with it, no further renewals are possible. The successor is Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure); AI-200 is bookable as a current exam, though as of writing it is offered in English only.
Is what AZ-204 covered still useful?
Yes. The exam itself can no longer be taken, but its scope - App Service, Functions, the Cosmos DB SDK, Key Vault, Service Bus - is exactly the knowledge you use when building applications on Azure. If you need the credential itself, the realistic options are the successor, Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200), or AZ-104 (Azure Administrator). Existing AZ-204 holders can present their certification until it expires and are not disadvantaged. Note that AI-200's fee, domains, and required study time are entirely separate from AZ-204's, so check the official Microsoft pages.
What are the exam domains and weightings?
Five domains. Develop Azure compute solutions (25-30%) covers App Service, Functions, Container Apps, ACR, and AKS. Develop for Azure storage (15-20%) covers Blob SDK, Cosmos DB SDK, and Table Storage. Implement Azure security (20-25%) covers Entra ID authentication, Managed Identity, Key Vault, and OAuth 2.0 / OIDC. Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (15-20%) covers App Insights, Log Analytics, and caching. Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (15-20%) covers API Management, Event Grid, Event Hub, and Service Bus.
What hands-on practice is essential?
Because code-writing questions are common, hands-on experience is required even more strongly than for AZ-104. A minimum cycle: 1) write a simple C# / Python function in Visual Studio or VS Code and deploy it to Azure Functions, 2) try CRUD operations with the Cosmos DB SDK (create Container, Insert Item, Query, Delete), 3) implement OAuth 2.0 authentication against Entra ID using the MSAL library, 4) wrap a single public API with API Management, and 5) send and receive messages via a Service Bus queue. The Microsoft Learn AZ-204 learning path bundled these hands-on labs and could be completed for free, though per Microsoft's announcement the AZ-204 training retired in May 2026.
How much study time did AZ-204 take?
As a pre-retirement guide, it varied widely with background. With 3+ years of app dev experience, 100-150 hours; with some Azure but limited dev experience, 150-250 hours; with no experience, 300+ hours is the typical range. If you already hold AZ-104, the ID / Storage areas can be shortened. The standard path is 3-4 months of focused study covering the Microsoft Learn learning path (about 80 hours), the official Practice Assessment, reading and running Microsoft's official GitHub samples, and getting fluent in Visual Studio Code with Azure extensions. If your main language was Python, understanding the Java / .NET concepts at a basic level was enough to handle the exam. The study time AI-200 requires is a separate matter - check the official Microsoft pages.
How much did the exam cost?
Up to retirement it was 165 USD / 21,103 JPY (tax included), paid by credit card via Pearson VUE. Discounts or free vouchers were available through Microsoft Reactor hands-on events, Cloud Skills Challenge completion vouchers, enterprise-contract Microsoft Azure Pass, and course-completion incentives that included AZ-204. Since the July 31, 2026 retirement, the exam can no longer be booked at all. The successor AI-200 is not necessarily priced the same, so check the official Microsoft pages.
What are the alternative or successor paths to AZ-204?
The official successor is Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure). Microsoft points to this certification as AZ-204's replacement, so it is the mainline choice if you pick one - though as of writing AI-200 is offered in English only. If you want a Japanese-language exam or a broader operations footing, AZ-104 (Azure Administrator); to pivot from developer to DevOps, AZ-400 (DevOps Engineer Expert); to move toward AI app and agent development, AI-103 (Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate). Fees and domains differ from AZ-204's in every case, so check the official Microsoft pages.
Related Articles and Exam Information
AI-103 Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer: Complete Guide (2026)
Pass AI-103 — Azure AI Foundry, Agent Service, RAG, Semantic Kernel. The Associate cert that replaced AI-102.
AZ-104 vs AZ-204: Which Associate to Take First (2026)
Compare AZ-104 (Admin) and AZ-204 (Developer) — scope overlap, target audience, prep style.
Azure AI Engineer Career Roadmap (2026)
AI engineer career path — AI-900 (now AI-901), AI-102 (now AI-103), Foundry skills. The applied AI track.
Azure Functions Trigger Guide: HTTP, Queue, Event, Timer (2026)
Function trigger types — HTTP, Service Bus, Event Grid, Timer, Cosmos DB. Common architectural patterns.
Exam information in this article is based on the official Microsoft Learn AZ-204 page and the official Study Guide. This article is not an official product of Microsoft Corporation and has no affiliation or sponsorship relationship with them. Microsoft, Azure, Microsoft Entra, and Microsoft Foundry are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Information reflects officially published materials as of May 24, 2026. The retirement timeline may change with future Microsoft announcements, so always confirm the latest information on the official pages.
Practice with certification-focused question sets
View the Azure exam prep pageNicheeLab Editorial Team
NicheeLab editorial team focused on data engineering and cloud certification learning. Content is structured around practical study needs and official exam domains.
AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals: Complete Exam Guide (2026)
Pass AZ-900 — cloud concepts, Azure architecture, management...
Azure Certification Roadmap: Which Cert to Take Next (2026)
Choose your Azure certification path — Fundamentals, Associa...
AI-901 Azure AI Fundamentals: Complete Guide (2026)
Pass AI-901 — Microsoft Foundry, generative AI, responsible ...
Microsoft Entra ID Fundamentals for Azure Certs (2026)
Entra ID basics every cert candidate needs — tenants, identi...
DP-900 Azure Data Fundamentals: Complete Guide (2026)
Pass DP-900 — relational, non-relational, analytics, Power B...