App registrations and Enterprise applications
An app registration creates the global application object (the app's identity blueprint) in its home tenant, while an enterprise application is the local instance (service principal) in a specific tenant where admins manage that app's access, consent, and SSO.
In Microsoft Entra ID, an app registration creates the application object — the global identity blueprint stored in the app’s home tenant, holding its client ID, credentials, and permission scopes. When that app is added to a tenant, Entra ID provisions a corresponding enterprise application, the local service principal admins use to manage user assignment, Conditional Access, consent, and single sign-on. The exam-critical point: you never assign users to the registration itself. The registration owns the app’s definition; the enterprise application owns each tenant’s relationship with it.
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