How Much Does SC 300 Certification Cost in 2026?

The sc 300 certification cost swings by more than $2,000 based on one choice: how you prepare. A candidate who studies alone can finish for a couple hundred dollars, while the same exam wrapped in a 4-day instructor-led class runs past $2,500. The exam fee itself never moves.

This guide splits the SC-300 bill into its parts. You will see the Microsoft exam fee, what free study material covers, what live training adds, how retakes work, and what renewal costs. By the end you can pick the route that matches your budget and your calendar.

SC-300 is the exam code for the Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate credential. Microsoft proctors it through Pearson VUE, and the exam covers Microsoft Entra ID, hybrid identity, and identity governance. The role Microsoft describes is a security engineer who runs identity and access management for a company.

How much does the SC 300 certification cost in the United States?

Microsoft lists the SC-300 at $165 USD for candidates who sit the exam in the United States. The page says the price depends on the country or region where you sit the exam, so the amount changes if you travel to test. Pearson VUE runs both the test center sessions and the online proctored option.

The fee covers the exam itself. The Microsoft page shows no separate material charge, no lab fee, and no voucher add-on, and it lists renewal assessments as free. For most candidates the sc 300 certification cost breaks into two parts: one exam fee and optional study material.

That split is why the price quoted in most articles looks too low. It counts the voucher and ignores the study route you pick. Here is every part of the bill that most candidates meet.

Two rows in that table matter most for beginners. The free rows cover the theory well enough for many people. The voucher with a retake is the only line that buys a do-over, and it costs about 36 dollars more than a plain voucher.

For the wider Microsoft price picture, our Azure certification cost guide shows the 99 dollar fundamentals tier next to the 165 dollar associate tier. The SC-300 sits in the associate band, so nothing about the exam fee should surprise you.

What does the SC-300 exam cover in 2026?

The SC-300 gives you 100 minutes and is proctored. Microsoft says the exam may include interactive components, so expect some questions where you work inside a lab instead of picking an answer. The English version of the certification was updated on October 28, 2026. Microsoft asks candidates to read the study guide for the details of that refresh.

Microsoft assesses four areas on the exam. They are implementing and managing user identities, implementing authentication and access management, planning and implementing workload identities, and planning and implementing identity governance. The content covers Microsoft Entra ID, which is the identity part of Microsoft Azure, plus hybrid identity and Active Directory Domain Services.

You should be comfortable with Azure, Microsoft 365 services, Active Directory Domain Services, PowerShell, and Kusto Query Language. Microsoft lists that background on the certification page and marks the credential as intermediate level with a 12-month renewal cycle. If you are moving from help desk work into identity, plan more study time than the free path suggests. Identity platforms such as Saviynt cost far more than any class, which tells you the exam does not need them at home.

Which free Microsoft study resources can you use for the SC-300?

Microsoft gives away most of what you need. The SC-300 study guide on Microsoft Learn walks through every objective at no cost. So does the practice assessment on AI Skills Navigator. The exam sandbox shows the interface and question types, and the prep videos come from the Microsoft exam team.

Two limits are worth knowing. The practice assessment needs a sign-in to AI Skills Navigator before it opens. The sandbox is a short demo rather than a full mock exam, so it does not give you a score. If you want timed practice under pressure, buy one mock test. A 16.5 hour SC-300 course with instructor-led lab simulations on Udemy was listed at $12.99 on sale when checked. Its regular price was $79.99.

The same free list works for other Microsoft credentials. Our Microsoft AI certifications guide shows how the Learn study guides work for the AI-200 and AI-300 exams. One Microsoft account covers all of them.

What does instructor-led SC-300 training cost?

A live classroom is where the budget jumps by thousands of dollars. TC Workshop lists its 4-day SC-300T00 Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator class at $2,595, with a sale price of $2,399 for a scheduled virtual session. Other Authorized Training Partners sell the same 4-day format in other currencies, from 3,260 New Zealand dollars at Lumify Work to 2,610 pounds at Flane.

SC-300T00 is the Microsoft course code for that official class. Four days line up with the four exam domains, which is why the price sits so far above a video bundle. Here is how the routes compare once the exam fee is added.

If you are budgeting for several IT certifications this year, compare this with our ITIL certification cost breakdown before you commit to a class. Both paths start with a vendor-neutral foundation.

How much does an SC-300 retake cost and how long do you wait?

Microsoft lets you retake the SC-300 24 hours after a first failure. A 14-day wait then applies between later attempts, and you can take the exam five times within a 12-month window. Every attempt is paid for again, so one failure adds $165 to your sc 300 certification cost. That is the biggest surprise for first timers.

You can ask for a waiver of the waiting period if the session ended because of internet or equipment problems. The request must include a Pearson VUE case number, and Microsoft says waivers are not granted for other reasons. A busy week or exam nerves will not qualify.

Paying for protection up front costs less than paying twice. The Udemy voucher with retake assurance issued by Pearson VUE was listed at $201.25 against an original price of $230.00. That is about 36 dollars more than a plain voucher, and it removes the need to buy another one after a miss.

How can you cut the total SC-300 budget before you book?

The cheapest route uses the free Microsoft material and one paid attempt. Work through the practice assessment on AI Skills Navigator until your scores stop moving, then book a date. That single habit removes the most common reason for a retake.

Next, check who pays. Many large employers fund Microsoft certification through a learning budget, and a reimbursement claim turns a $165 bill into a $0 bill for you. Some also cover the $2,399 class fee, which changes the comparison completely. If the SC-300 is one step in a larger Microsoft plan, our Azure certification path breakdown maps the AZ exams around it.

Finally, remember that active certifications renew free. Microsoft renews role-based credentials by passing an online assessment on Microsoft Learn. That makes the sc 300 certification cost a one-time expense for many people rather than a yearly bill.

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