By David,
Azure Government has three US Gov regions open to eligible customers, US Gov Virginia, US Gov Texas and US Gov Arizona, plus two US DoD regions reserved for the Department of Defense. It's a separate cloud from global Azure: physically isolated US datacenters and networks, its own portal (portal.azure.us), its own Microsoft Entra authority (login.microsoftonline.us) and its own service endpoints (*.usgovcloudapi.net). Only US government entities and their partners can use it, after Microsoft validates eligibility.
The short version: For new work, Microsoft recommends the US Gov regions over the DoD regions. US Gov Virginia is the only Azure Government region Microsoft lists with availability zones. All three US Gov regions hold a FedRAMP High P-ATO and DoD IL2, IL4 and IL5 authorizations. Azure Virtual Desktop is available in Azure Government; our AVD in GCC High guide covers what's different for desktops.
Azure Government regions
The US Gov regions, from the same dated data as our Azure regions directory (transcribed from Microsoft's Azure Government overview, last checked on 2026-11-08):
| Region | Programmatic name | State | Availability zones | Paired region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Gov Virginia | usgovvirginia | Virginia | Yes | US Gov Texas |
| US Gov Texas | usgovtexas | Texas | No | US Gov Arizona |
| US Gov Arizona | usgovarizona | Arizona | No | US Gov Texas |
Microsoft publishes a state for each region, not a datacenter location. Note that the pairs aren't all mutual: US Gov Virginia pairs with US Gov Texas, while US Gov Texas and US Gov Arizona pair with each other.
The US DoD regions
Microsoft's DoD overview describes two more regions, US DoD Central and US DoD East. They "are reserved for exclusive DoD use", are "physically separated" from the US Gov regions, and sit on the same isolated network with the same identity model. Microsoft's recommendation for new deployments is to "choose US Gov regions", and it encourages DoD customers to move existing workloads from the DoD regions to them. Microsoft doesn't publish zone or pair details for the DoD regions on these pages, so they aren't in the table.
Who can use Azure Government
"Azure Government customers (US federal, state, and local government or their partners) are subject to validation of eligibility." The datacenters and networks are "located in the US only", with access to systems that process customer data limited to "screened US persons" (Azure Government overview). If you're unsure whether you qualify, Microsoft says to consult your account team.
How Azure Government differs from global Azure
| Global Azure | Azure Government | |
|---|---|---|
| Portal | portal.azure.com | portal.azure.us |
| Microsoft Entra authority | login.microsoftonline.com | login.microsoftonline.us |
| Resource Manager endpoint | management.azure.com | management.usgovcloudapi.net |
| Storage endpoints | *.core.windows.net | *.core.usgovcloudapi.net |
| Key Vault | *.vault.azure.net | *.vault.usgovcloudapi.net |
| Azure CLI cloud name | AzureCloud | AzureUSGovernment |
Sources: compare Azure Government and global Azure, connect with the portal.
Not every service is there. "Certain services and features that are in specific regions of global Azure might not be available in Azure Government." Check each service you plan to use before you design around it.
Identity. If your organization runs Microsoft 365 GCC High or DoD, it already has a Microsoft Entra Government tenant, which is what Azure Government workloads typically use. Organizations on Microsoft 365 commercial or GCC use Microsoft Entra in the public cloud (identity planning).
Compliance in Azure Government
From Microsoft's FedRAMP audit scope and compliance pages:
- FedRAMP High. The US Gov regions hold a FedRAMP High P-ATO issued by the JAB.
- DoD impact levels. IL2, IL4 and IL5 provisional authorizations issued by DISA. Some services need extra configuration for IL5 isolation. "Azure Government regions support only unclassified data up to and including IL5"; IL6 belongs in Azure Government Secret.
- ITAR. "There's no ITAR compliance certification; however, both Azure and Azure Government can help you meet your ITAR compliance obligations" (ITAR).
- CJIS. Microsoft has signed CJIS agreements with every state and the District of Columbia except Delaware, Louisiana, Ohio, South Dakota and Wyoming, and notes that "the FBI doesn't certify cloud services" (CJIS).
A cloud's authorizations cover Microsoft's side of the shared-responsibility model. Your own configuration still has to meet the controls.
Azure Virtual Desktop in Azure Government
"Azure Virtual Desktop is also available in sovereign clouds, such as Azure for US Government" (AVD prerequisites), and Microsoft's audit scope lists AVD for FedRAMP High and IL2, IL4 and IL5 in Azure Government. Session hosts reach Government endpoints such as *.wvd.azure.us and login.microsoftonline.us rather than the commercial ones (required endpoints). Microsoft doesn't publish a single list of AVD feature differences in Azure Government, so check each feature's documentation. Our AVD in GCC High guide covers the differences in identity, endpoints, clients and CMMC scoping.
Atlas AVD and Azure Government. Atlas AVD runs in Azure commercial today. GCC High support is coming soon: join the GCC High waitlist and we'll contact you when it opens.
FAQ
What are the Azure Government regions?
US Gov Virginia, US Gov Texas and US Gov Arizona, available to eligible US government customers and partners, plus US DoD Central and US DoD East, reserved for the Department of Defense.
Which Azure Government regions have availability zones?
Microsoft lists availability zone support for US Gov Virginia only, as of 2026-11-08.
Who can use Azure Government?
US federal, state and local government entities and their partners, after Microsoft validates eligibility.
Is Azure Virtual Desktop available in Azure Government?
Yes. Microsoft lists Azure Virtual Desktop as available in Azure for US Government, in scope for FedRAMP High and DoD IL2, IL4 and IL5.
Is Azure Government ITAR certified?
No cloud is. Microsoft says there's no ITAR compliance certification, but that Azure Government can help you meet your ITAR obligations.
Region and cloud details are from Microsoft Learn: the Azure Government overview (regions last checked on 2026-11-08), the DoD overview, compare Azure Government and global Azure, identity planning, the FedRAMP audit scope, ITAR, CJIS, AVD prerequisites and required endpoints, as of November 2026.