Is it possible to request access for certain regions on my Azure for Students subscription?

Hong, Avery 0 Reputation points
2026-09-29T23:45:32.03+00:00

Hi, I'm a student trying to create a database for a group project, and I get restricted from creating one due to the regions/locations I have access to.

In my policy assignments, it displays these parameters as my allowed locations:
["northcentralus","denmarkeast","belgiumcentral","mexicocentral","norwayeast"]

However when I try to create my database using any of these regions it doesn't work cause I think I'm also restricted to using US locations, but even with supposedly having access to North Central US, it doesn't let me create it either.

I ended up asking a group member to test if they could also create one, and they managed to do it but only because their parameters included West US. Which makes me wonder why I don't have access to West US?

That being said is it possible to request for more locations on my current subscription, or confirm that the locations I have are true? I'm not sure why others that also run the student subscription gain different locations from others.

Azure Policy
Azure Policy

An Azure service that is used to implement corporate governance and standards at scale for Azure resources.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-29T23:45:50.91+00:00

    Yes. Azure for Students subscriptions can have different allowed deployment regions, and the allowed regions can vary per subscription. The locations shown in the Allowed resource deployment regions policy assignment are the regions that subscription is allowed to use.

    For Azure for Students, a common pattern is that the subscription is restricted to a small set of regions, typically five, and those can differ from another student’s subscription. That explains why another group member might have West US while this subscription does not.

    If deployments still fail even when using one of the listed allowed regions, there are two likely causes supported by the documentation:

    1. The service has its own regional availability limits Some services are not available in every Azure region or might not be activated on all subscriptions.
    2. The subscription offer has additional region restrictions Azure Program offerings, including Azure for Students, have access to a limited set of regions for some services.

    For the current case:

    1. In Azure Policy → Authoring → Assignments, open Allowed resource deployment regions.
    2. Use only the regions listed in Allowed locations for deployment attempts.
    3. If the database service still fails in those regions, submit a support request in the Azure portal.
      • In How can we help you? enter region access.
      • Select Service and subscription limits (quotas).
      • Create a support request for the affected subscription.
    4. If the target region is a restricted region, request access through the support request flow:
      • Issue Type: Service and subscription Limit (quotas)
      • Quota type: Other Requests
      • In the description, request access for the specific Azure region and include the planned resource usage.

    Also note that Microsoft guidance for Azure Program offerings says that if access to certain regions is needed, an access request can be submitted, but for some services the guidance is also to consider an alternate region.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Marcin Policht 109.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-29T23:53:42.05+00:00

    The following might help:

    https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/discussions/microsoft-learn-for-educators/sku-quota-and-policy-restrictions-on-azure-for-students-and-free-subscriptions/4525160

    Azure for Students VM Troubleshooting Checklist

    Quick Student Guide

    Use this checklist when your Azure VM deployment fails.

    Step 1 — Confirm You Are Using an Allowed Region

    Your student subscription only works in certain Azure regions.

    Check allowed regions:

    1. Open Azure Portal
    2. Search for Policy
    3. Go to:
      • Authoring → Assignments
      1. Open:
        • Allowed resource deployment regions
        1. Write down your allowed regions

    Only deploy VMs in those regions.

    Step 2 — Try Another Allowed Region

    Even allowed regions may fail temporarily due to Azure capacity shortages.

    If deployment fails:

    • Try another allowed region
    • Test several approved regions

     Some students only succeed after changing regions multiple times.

    Step 3 — Use Recommended VM Sizes

    Some older VM sizes are restricted or retired.

    Recommended VM sizes:

    • Standard_B2ats_v2
    • Standard_B2ts_v2
    • Standard_B2als_v2

    Avoid:

    • B1s
    • older B-series VM sizes

    Step 4 — Do NOT Select Availability Zones

    Availability Zones can block VM creation on student subscriptions.

    Best practice:

    • Leave zone selection on default
    • Use:
      • “No infrastructure redundancy required”

    This avoids:

    • “Unsupported availability zone”
    • “SKU unavailable in selected zone”

    Step 5 — Check VM Quotas

    You may hit VM quota limits even with free credit available.

    Check quotas:

    1. Go to:
      • Subscriptions → Usage + quotas
      1. Look for:
        • Total Regional vCPU quota
          • VM family quotas

    Common error:

    • “Total Regional Core quota exceeded”

    Step 6 — If No VM Sizes Appear

    Possible causes:

    • region capacity exhausted
    • restricted subscription
    • unsupported VM family
    • temporary Azure capacity issue

    Try:

    Another allowed region Another Bsv2 VM size Removing Availability Zones Trying again later

    Step 7 — Use CLI to Check Available VM Sizes (Advanced)

    The Azure Portal sometimes shows incomplete information.

    Azure CLI command:

    Shell

    az vm list-skus \

    --location <region> \

    --resource-type virtualMachines \

    --output table

    Show more lines

    Example:

    Shell

    az vm list-skus \

    --location denmarkeast \

    --size Standard_B \

    --all

    ``

    Show more lines

    This shows which VM sizes are actually available for your subscription

    Important Reality Check

    Azure for Students subscriptions can behave differently between students because:

    • allowed regions differ
    • VM capacity changes dynamically
    • some VM sizes are restricted
    • region availability is not always consistent

    A deployment that works for one student may fail for another student with the same subscription type.

    If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

    hth

    Marcin

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