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JouniJokelainen's avatar
JouniJokelainen
Copper Contributor
Aug 12, 2025
Solved

Azure for Students - Locations now restricted by policy

I have been using Azure for Students with my students and recently i noticed that resource locations of new resources are now restricted by a policy. In addition allowed locations vary between different student accounts so you have to check allowed locations with each student.

What i recall, I did not not see any info from this change and was a quite a curve ball at first :)

 

  • Heads-up! Microsoft now enforces the “Allowed locations” policy on Azure for Students. This means students can only deploy resources in specific regions.

    Why does it vary?
    Allowed regions depend on:

    • Datacenter capacity
    • Local compliance rules
    • Microsoft’s allocation for free-tier accounts

    Impact:
    Some services (like Azure AI Foundry) only work in certain regions. If those aren’t allowed, students can’t use them.

    Workarounds:

    • Use services available in allowed regions
    • Upgrade to Pay-As-You-Go
    • Contact support for help

    How to check:
    Azure Portal → Subscriptions → Policies → “Allowed locations”

6 Replies

  • CvWyk's avatar
    CvWyk
    Copper Contributor

    I have a whole class of students who cannot create resources using their Azure for Students subscription.

    Students are trying to simply add a VM in any region but they are getting errors.

    DisplayName : Allowed resource deployment regions
    PolicyDefinitionId : /providers/Microsoft.Authorization/policyDefinitions/b86dabb9-b578-4d7b-b842-3b45e95769a1

    As far as I can see, there are no allowed regions? Please send halp Carlos_Chaves​ 

    What are the 'allowed regions'? I can't find any.  

     

     

    • Carlos_Chaves's avatar
      Carlos_Chaves
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft

      This issue frequently occurs with Azure for Students subscriptions due to stringent policy assignments that restrict resource deployment to certain regions.

      Why the Error Occurs

      The relevant policy:

      Allowed resource deployment regions PolicyDefinitionId: /providers/Microsoft.Authorization/policyDefinitions/b86dabb9-b578-4d7b-b842-3b45e95769a1

      indicates that resource creation is limited to specific regions permitted by Microsoft for student and free-tier offers. If no regions are displayed, it generally signifies either:

      • The subscription is limited to a small number of regions (typically US regions only), or
      • The subscription has not been fully activated.

      How to Verify Allowed Regions

      Execute the following command in Azure CLI or Cloud Shell:

      ```Shell

      az policy assignment list --query "[?policyDefinitionId=='/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/policyDefinitions/b86dabb9-b578-4d7b-b842-3b45e95769a1']"

      ```

      Review the output for parameters.allowedLocations.value to determine the list of permitted regions.

      Commonly Permitted Regions for Azure for Students

      • East US
      • West US
      • Occasionally Central US

      Other geographic areas (Europe, Asia, LATAM) are usually restricted to manage costs.

      Resolution / Workaround

      Deploy virtual machines in East US or West US where possible.

      If no regions appear, ensure your subscription is active and not expired.

      If the issue persists, submit a support request: Microsoft Azure Support (Select Billing/Subscription → “Azure for Students”)

      The following Azure CLI command retrieves the allowed regions for this policy:

      ```Shell

      az policy assignment list \

                        --query "[?policyDefinitionId=='/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/policyDefinitions/b86dabb9-b578-4d7b-b842-3b45e95769a1'].parameters.allowedLocations.value[]" \

                        --output tsv

      ```

      Description:

      • Filters policy assignments to locate the Allowed resource deployment regions policy
      • Extracts the values of the allowedLocations parameter
      • Outputs these values as a list

      Run this command in Azure Cloud Shell or your local CLI session (after logging in via `az login`). If no results are returned, your subscription may lack any configured allowed regions; in this case, please contact support: https://azure.microsoft.com/support/create-ticket/

  • ellisdawn's avatar
    ellisdawn
    Copper Contributor

    Who updates the skills labs on the MSLE portal for AI-900? The current instructions cause region errors for students who are trying to deploy resources to complete the lab. 

  • ellisdawn's avatar
    ellisdawn
    Copper Contributor

    Who updates the skills labs on the MSLE portal for AI-900? The current instructions cause region errors for students who are trying to deploy resources to complete the lab. 

  • Heads-up! Microsoft now enforces the “Allowed locations” policy on Azure for Students. This means students can only deploy resources in specific regions.

    Why does it vary?
    Allowed regions depend on:

    • Datacenter capacity
    • Local compliance rules
    • Microsoft’s allocation for free-tier accounts

    Impact:
    Some services (like Azure AI Foundry) only work in certain regions. If those aren’t allowed, students can’t use them.

    Workarounds:

    • Use services available in allowed regions
    • Upgrade to Pay-As-You-Go
    • Contact support for help

    How to check:
    Azure Portal → Subscriptions → Policies → “Allowed locations”

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