AZ-220 · ● Retired (July 31, 2023) · Specialist · Microsoft
RETIREMENT NOTICE: This certification exam was retired on July 31, 2023. No new candidates may take this exam. Those who earned the certification before retirement may renew it by passing the renewal assessment. Microsoft has not announced a replacement certification for IoT Developer roles.
Exam facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | $165 USD |
| Duration | 100 minutes |
| Questions | 40–60 (multiple choice, drag-and-drop, case studies, build list) |
| Passing | Scaled score (specific threshold not publicly detailed) |
| Format | Multiple choice, drag-and-drop, case studies, build list |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE (testing center or OnVUE remote) |
| Languages | English (English-only) |
| Valid | 1 year from issuance |
| Renewal | N/A (credential expired 1 year post-passing; exam retired before renewal became available) |
| Prerequisites | None; general understanding of Azure services and device types recommended; programming proficiency in Azure IoT SDK–supported languages (C#, Node.js, Python, Java) required |
| Released | February 2019 |
| Retiring | July 31, 2023 (RETIRED) |
Vendor source — Microsoft Certifications ↗ Official exam guide — Study Guide for Exam AZ-220 ↗ Exam page (archived) — Exam AZ-220: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer ↗
About
The Azure IoT Developer Specialty certification validated professionals' ability to implement, deploy, and manage Internet of Things (IoT) solutions on Microsoft Azure. Released in February 2019 as a specialty-level credential, it targeted developers building cloud and edge components of IoT systems, including device connectivity, cloud-to-device and device-to-cloud messaging, data processing, and security. The certification was retired on July 31, 2023, as Microsoft shifted focus toward role-based paths spanning developer, architect, administrator, and data analyst roles. No direct replacement exam was announced; professionals currently pursuing IoT expertise are directed to combination paths across multiple Azure certifications (AZ-104, AZ-204, AZ-305) or to Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203) for data-stream and analytics components.
Domain context — Cloud
Hyperscale public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI) and their ecosystem certifications spanning infrastructure, application development, data, and security.
Read full deep dive — Microsoft Azure Ecosystem →
Topics covered
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Set up the Azure IoT Hub solution infrastructure | 10–15% |
| Provision and manage devices (IoT Hub, DPS) | 15–20% |
| Implement IoT Edge | 15–20% |
| Implement business integration (Logic Apps, Event Grid, TSI, Power BI) | 5–10% |
| Process and manage data | 15–20% |
| Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize IoT solutions | 5–10% |
| Implement security (device, connection, data) | 5–10% |
Source: Study guide for Exam AZ-220 ↗
Common skills at Cloud · Specialist
Shared competencies for cloud platform specialists — not unique to IoT.
- Deploy and manage infrastructure-as-code (ARM, Terraform, Bicep)
- Design and implement scalable, resilient distributed systems
- Integrate multiple cloud services into cohesive architectures
- Apply principle of least privilege and defense-in-depth to cloud resources
- Monitor and optimize cloud resource costs and performance
- Implement CI/CD pipelines and DevOps workflows on cloud platforms
- Work cross-functionally with architects, data engineers, and platform teams
Recommended courses at Cloud · Specialist
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Learn | AZ-220 learning path | Free | ↗ |
| Udemy (various) | Azure IoT Developer AZ-220 Complete Course | $15–$50 | Example ↗ |
| Pluralsight | AZ-220 Microsoft Certified Azure IoT Developer Specialty | $399/year | ↗ |
| Whizlabs | AZ-220 Study Guide & Practice Tests | $49–$99 | ↗ |
| Koenig Solutions | Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Training | Contact for pricing | ↗ |
Note: Certification retired July 31, 2023; course availability may be limited. Study materials archived on platforms listed above.
Practice exams
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whizlabs | AZ-220 Practice Test | $49–$99 | ↗ |
| Tutorials Dojo | AZ-220 Practice Exam | $15 | ↗ |
| Udemy | AZ-220 Practice Exam | $15–$50 | ↗ |
| ExamTopics | AZ-220 Practice Questions (free community) | Free | ↗ |
Books
| Title | Author | Publisher | Year | ISBN | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ-220 Study Guide: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Practice Questions | IP | Amazon KDP | 2022 | 9798524886019 | ↗ |
| AZ-220 Study Guide (CloudThat) | CloudThat Training | Self-published | 2023 | N/A | ↗ |
Note: Official Microsoft press books on AZ-220 do not exist; most available study material is community-authored or vendor course resources. The certification retirement in July 2023 means new titles are unlikely.
Typical job titles at Cloud · Specialist
IoT Solutions Developer · Azure IoT Engineer · Azure IoT Architect · IoT Platform Engineer · Azure Cloud Developer (IoT focus) · Embedded Systems Engineer (Azure)
(Job titles drawn from job-board postings 2019–2023 that required or preferred AZ-220.)
Salary
| Region | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USD | $114,766 – $178,514 annually | Glassdoor ↗ · ZipRecruiter ↗ |
| GBP | £42,239 – £67,500 annually | IT Jobs Watch ↗ · Glassdoor UK ↗ |
| ZAR | R393,955 – R780,000 annually | Glassdoor ZA ↗ · Talent.com ZA ↗ |
Salary note: Ranges reflect Azure IoT Developer / Azure Engineer roles requiring this certification (or equivalent cloud IoT expertise). Data sourced 2025–2026; certification-specific breakouts unavailable post-retirement.
Skills validated
Concrete technologies and competencies this exam assessed, distinct from shared "Common skills" above.
- Azure IoT Hub architecture, device messaging, custom endpoints, and routing
- Azure IoT Hub Device Provisioning Service (DPS) for at-scale enrollment
- Azure IoT Edge runtime and module development (containerized workloads)
- Device-to-cloud and cloud-to-device message patterns and protocols
- Azure Stream Analytics for real-time telemetry processing
- Azure Time Series Insights for time-series data analysis
- Azure Digital Twins for IoT asset modeling and simulation
- Microsoft Defender for IoT (device threat detection and compliance)
- Azure Sphere for microcontroller-grade OS and security
- Device twin and module twin query and update operations
- MQTT and AMQP protocol configuration for IoT devices
- Certificate-based and symmetric-key device authentication
- RBAC and shared-access-key authorization for IoT Hub access
- Cosmos DB and Azure Blob Storage integration for IoT data persistence
- IoT Edge gateway deployment and offline capabilities
- Azure Functions for serverless edge processing
Related certifications
- Stacks with: AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator ↗ (common infrastructure skills)
- Prerequisite for: No successor yet published; historically prerequisite-building toward cloud architect roles (e.g., AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Expert ↗)
- Replaces: N/A (original certification)
- Replaced by: None as of May 2026; Microsoft announced role-specific IoT credentials in development
- Equivalents at this level: AWS Certified IoT 1.0 (retired 2021) · Google Cloud Certified: Associate Cloud Engineer (IoT focus) — no direct equivalents
- Vendor overview: Microsoft Azure Ecosystem ↗
Sources
- Microsoft Learn credentials ↗
- Study guide for Exam AZ-220 ↗
- Microsoft Community Hub - AZ-220 Retirement Announcement ↗
- Azure IoT AZ-220 Certification Replacement Q&A ↗
- Glassdoor - Azure IoT Developer Salary US ↗
- ZipRecruiter - Azure IoT Developer Salary ↗
- IT Jobs Watch - Azure Developer Salary UK ↗
- Glassdoor ZA - Azure Engineer Salary ↗
- Talent.com ZA - Azure Salary ↗
- Whizlabs - AZ-220 Preparation Guide ↗
Last verified: 2026-05-01
Parent ecosystem: Microsoft Azure Ecosystem
Parent domain: Cloud
Vendor overview: Microsoft