Everything that goes with The Lowdown Lab’s SC-500 book and video course: the exam as it stands today, the free hands-on labs, corrections, and how to report a mistake.
It changes when Microsoft changes the exam, so it’s worth bookmarking.
The exam today
Objective weighting
Book and video course
Both cover the same exam objectives. The book comes as a PDF and as a paperback.
- Video courseComing soon
- Book — PDFComing soon
- Book — paperbackComing soon
Want to know the day these are out? Join the waitlist
Hands-on labs
The SC-500 labs are coming soon. To see how they’ll work, look at the AZ-900 and AZ-104 labs already in the free MSFT-Training repository on GitHub.
Expect SC-500 labs to need more than a free Azure trial. Several objectives, including Privileged Identity Management, Defender for Cloud plans and Security Copilot, depend on paid licences or plans. Each lab will say what it needs before you start.
What’s changed since publication
When Microsoft revises the SC-500 skills outline after the book is out, the changes and the parts of the book they affect are listed here. The panel at the top of this page shows when the outline has moved on.
Nothing yet.
Errata
Corrections to the book, the course and the labs. Page numbers are for the paperback; the PDF has the same section headings.
| Where | It says | It should say | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | No corrections yet. |
Report an error
Email info@thelowdownlab.com. Problems with the labs go to the same address. Include:
- Which format: PDF, paperback, video course or lab, and its edition or version.
- Where: the chapter and section, plus the page number, the video timestamp, or the lab number and step.
- What’s wrong, and what you think it should say. A link to Microsoft’s documentation helps.
Confirmed corrections go into the errata table above.
Microsoft’s official resources
- SC-500 study guide: the skills outline this page tracks.
- Certification page: where you schedule the exam.
- Practice assessment: not available yet (checked 24 September 2026). Microsoft says practice assessments usually arrive within eight weeks of an exam leaving beta; the certification page will link it when it does.
- Exam sandbox: try the exam interface before the real thing.
- Passing score: 700 or more on Microsoft’s scaled score.
- Renewal: Associate certifications expire after a year. You renew free by passing a short, open-book online assessment on Microsoft Learn during the six months before it expires.
Where SC-500 fits
Microsoft expects SC-500 candidates to have practical experience administering Azure and hybrid environments, and strong familiarity with Microsoft Entra ID.
- Before: AZ-104, Azure Administrator, or the same hands-on experience.
- Next: SC-100, Cybersecurity Architect Expert. It requires prerequisite certifications; check which ones count on its certification page.