Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate (SC-400)

The SC-400 exam contains 40-60 questions (multiple choice, multiple select, drag-and-drop, and case studies), with a 120-minute time limit. The passing score is 700 out of 1000, and the exam fee is $165 USD. It is available at Pearson VUE test centers or via online proctoring. The exam may include lab questions requiring hands-on operations in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, such as creating DLP policies or configuring sensitivity labels.

The SC-400 exam covers three main domains: Implement Information Protection (approximately 35%, including Sensitivity Labels, auto-labeling, Azure Information Protection, encryption configuration), Implement Data Loss Prevention (approximately 30%, including DLP policy creation, Endpoint DLP, Teams/Exchange/SharePoint DLP, custom Sensitive Information Types), and Implement Data Lifecycle and Records Management (approximately 35%, including Retention Policies, retention labels, Records Management, Disposition Review). All three domains are relatively evenly weighted and require thorough preparation.

Sensitivity Labels are a core topic in SC-400. You need to master: label priority and hierarchy (parent and sub-labels), label policy publishing and scoping (users/groups, sites/groups, data assets), auto-labeling policies (automatically applying labels based on Sensitive Information Types or Trainable Classifiers), label encryption settings (user-assigned vs admin-assigned permissions, offline access settings, content expiry), and content marking (headers, footers, watermarks). You also need to understand label behavior differences across Microsoft 365 applications (Word/Excel/Outlook/Teams/SharePoint) and the Azure Information Protection unified labeling client functionality.

You should have Microsoft 365 foundational knowledge, understand basic Azure AD/Entra ID concepts, and be familiar with SharePoint Online and Exchange Online administration. Experience in information security, compliance, or data governance is very helpful. Preparation time: candidates with M365 admin experience typically need 4-6 weeks at 1-2 hours daily, while beginners should plan 6-8 weeks. Focus on hands-on practice in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, creating and configuring DLP policies, sensitivity labels, and retention policies. A Microsoft 365 E5 trial tenant is the best practice environment.

DLP (Data Loss Prevention) accounts for approximately 30% of SC-400 and covers: DLP policy creation workflow (selecting locations, defining rules, configuring actions and notifications), Sensitive Information Types (built-in types like credit card/passport numbers, custom types using regex and keywords, Exact Data Match), Endpoint DLP (monitoring and blocking file operations on devices such as copying to USB, printing, uploading to cloud services), DLP policy behavior differences across locations (Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, endpoint devices), DLP reports and alert management, and Policy Tips user notification configuration. Understanding DLP policy evaluation order and priority rules is important.

SC-400 targets the Information Protection and Compliance Administrator role. With increasingly stringent global data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA, Australian Privacy Act), enterprise demand for data protection and compliance professionals has grown significantly. Typical roles include Information Protection Administrator, Compliance Engineer, Data Governance Specialist, and GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) Analyst. This certification complements SC-200 (Security Operations) and SC-300 (Identity Management), together covering the full Microsoft security and compliance stack. The advanced path leads to SC-100 (Cybersecurity Architect Expert). Compliance professionals are particularly sought-after in Australian and European markets due to regulatory requirements.