Study guide for Exam MS-102: Microsoft 365 Administrator

Purpose of this document

This study guide should help you understand what to expect on the exam and includes a summary of the topics the exam might cover and links to additional resources. The information and materials in this document should help you focus your studies as you prepare for the exam.

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Updates to the exam

Our exams are updated periodically to reflect skills that are required to perform a role. We have included two versions of the Skills Measured objectives depending on when you are taking the exam.

We always update the English language version of the exam first. Some exams are localized into other languages, and those are updated approximately eight weeks after the English version is updated. While Microsoft makes every effort to update localized versions as noted, there may be times when the localized versions of an exam are not updated on this schedule. Other available languages are listed in the Schedule Exam section of the Exam Details webpage. If the exam isn't available in your preferred language, you can request an additional 30 minutes to complete the exam.

Note

The bullets that follow each of the skills measured are intended to illustrate how we are assessing that skill. Related topics may be covered in the exam.

Note

Most questions cover features that are general availability (GA). The exam may contain questions on Preview features if those features are commonly used.

Skills measured as of April 25, 2025

Audience profile

If you’re an administrator who deploys and manages Microsoft 365 and performs Microsoft 365 tenant-level implementation and administration of cloud and hybrid environments, this exam is designed for you.

As a Microsoft 365 administrator, you:

• Function as the integrating hub for all Microsoft 365 workloads.

• Coordinate across multiple Microsoft 365 workloads.

• Work with architects and other administrators responsible for workloads, infrastructure, identity, security, compliance, endpoints, and applications.

As a candidate for this exam, you have functional experience with all Microsoft 365 workloads and Microsoft Entra ID and have administered at least one of these. You should also have a working knowledge of the following:

• Networking

• Active Directory Directory Services

• DNS

• PowerShell

To become a Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert, you must earn at least one of the following: Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate, Microsoft 365 Certified: Messaging Administrator Associate, Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate, Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate, Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate certification.

Skills at a glance

• Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant (25–30%)

• Implement and manage Microsoft Entra identity and access (25–30%)

• Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR (30–35%)

• Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview (10–15%)

Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant (25–30%)

Implement and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant

• Create a tenant

• Implement and manage domains

• Configure org settings, including Security & privacy and Organizational profile

• Monitor the health of Microsoft 365 services by using Service Health, including configuration of notifications

• Configure and review Network connectivity insights

• Configure and monitor software updates by using the Microsoft 365 admin center

• Monitor Microsoft 365 adoption and usage

• Configure and manage Microsoft 365 Backup

Manage users and groups

• Create and manage users in Microsoft Entra, including external users

• Create and manage contacts in the Microsoft 365 admin center

• Create and manage groups, including Microsoft 365 groups and shared mailboxes

• Manage and monitor Microsoft 365 licenses, including group-based licensing

• Perform bulk user management, including PowerShell

Manage roles and role groups

• Implement and manage roles in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Entra

• Manage role groups in Microsoft Defender XDR, Microsoft Purview, and Microsoft 365 workloads

• Manage delegation by using administrative units

• Manage Microsoft Entra roles in Microsoft Entra privileged identity management (PIM)

Implement and manage Microsoft Entra identity and access (25–30%)

Implement and manage identity synchronization with Microsoft Entra tenant

• Prepare for identity synchronization, including IdFix

• Implement and manage directory synchronization by using Microsoft Entra Connect Sync or Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync

• Monitor synchronization by using Microsoft Entra Connect Health

• Troubleshoot synchronization, including Microsoft Entra Connect Sync and Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync

Implement and manage authentication

• Implement and manage authentication methods

• Implement and manage self-service password reset (SSPR)

• Implement and manage Microsoft Entra Password Protection

• Investigate and resolve authentication issues

Implement and manage secure access

• Plan for identity protection

• Implement and manage Microsoft Entra ID Protection

• Plan Conditional Access policies

• Implement and manage Conditional Access policies

• Implement and manage multi-factor authentication (MFA) by using conditional access policies

Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR (30–35%)

Review and respond to security reports and alerts generated by Microsoft Defender XDR

• Review and respond to threats by using Exposure Management, including the Microsoft Secure Score

• Review and respond to incidents and alerts generated by Microsoft Defender XDR, including guided hunting

• Review and respond to issues identified in Microsoft Defender XDR reports

• Review and respond to threats identified by Threat intelligence

Implement and manage email and collaboration protection by using Microsoft Defender for Office 365

• Implement threat policies and rules in Microsoft Defender for Office 365

• Configure alert policies in Microsoft Defender for Office 365

• Investigate and respond to email and collaboration threats by using Microsoft Defender for Office 365

• Manage attack simulations, including training campaigns

• Manage restricted entities, including blocked users

Implement and manage endpoint protection by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

• Onboard devices to Defender for Endpoint

• Configure endpoint settings

• Review and respond to vulnerabilities identified in the Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management dashboard

Implement and manage Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

• Configure the app connector for Microsoft 365

• Configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps policies, including triggering alerts

• Interpret activity log

• Configure Cloud App Discovery

• Review and respond to issues identified in Cloud App Discovery

Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview (10–15%)

Implement Microsoft Purview information protection and data lifecycle management

• Implement and manage sensitive information types by using keywords, keyword lists, or regular expressions

• Implement retention labels, retention label policies, and retention policies

• Implement sensitivity labels and sensitivity label policies

• Monitor label usage by using Content explorer, Activity explorer, and label reports

Implement Microsoft Purview data loss prevention (DLP)

• Configure DLP policies for Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams

• Configure Endpoint DLP

• Review and respond to DLP alerts, events, and reports

Study resources

We recommend that you train and get hands-on experience before you take the exam. We offer self-study options and classroom training as well as links to documentation, community sites, and videos.

Study resources	Links to learning and documentation
Get trained	Choose from self-paced learning paths and modules or take an instructor-led course
Find documentation	Microsoft 365 documentation Microsoft 365 admin center help Tenant management for Microsoft 365 for enterprise Microsoft Entra ID documentation Microsoft Defender products and services Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager documentation Microsoft Purview compliance documentation
Ask a question	Microsoft Q&A | Microsoft Docs
Get community support	Microsoft 365 - Microsoft Tech Community
Follow Microsoft Learn	Microsoft Learn - Microsoft Tech Community
Find a video	Exam Readiness Zone Browse other Microsoft Learn shows

Change log

The table below summarizes the changes between the current and previous version of the skills measured. The functional groups are in bold typeface followed by the objectives within each group. The table is a comparison between the previous and current version of the exam skills measured and the third column describes the extent of the changes.

Skill area prior to April 25, 2025	Skill area as of April 25, 2025	Change
Audience profile		Minor
Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant	Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant	% of the exam increased
Implement and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant	Implement and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant	Minor
Manage users and groups	Manage users and groups	Minor
Manage roles and role groups	Manage roles and role groups	Minor
Implement and manage Microsoft Entra identity and access	Implement and manage Microsoft Entra identity and access	No change
Implement and manage identity synchronization with Microsoft Entra tenant	Implement and Manage identity synchronization with Microsoft Entra tenant	Minor
Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR	Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR	% of the exam increased
Manage security reports and alerts by using the Microsoft Defender portal	Review and respond to security reports and alerts generated by Microsoft Defender XDR	Minor
Implement and manage email and collaboration protection by using Microsoft Defender for Office 365	Implement and Manage email and collaboration protection by using Microsoft Defender for Office 365	Minor
Implement and manage endpoint protection by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	Implement and Manage endpoint protection by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	Minor
Implement, and manage Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps	Implement and Manage Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps	Minor
Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview	Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview	% of the exam decreased