Account Register

Question

Hope Foundation is an NGO in Nepal whose website is www.hXXX-XXX.org. We want to register a non-profit Microsoft account, but they couldn't accept my domain (hXXXX-XXX) and suggested that I only use standard characters. How can I register it? Could you suggest a possible solution?

Thank you and hope for your positive response.

Answer 1

Dear @Shatrudhan Singh

Thank you so much for contacting Microsoft Q&A Forum. 

Please understand that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to cover your organization domain name in the description. Please notice to hide these personal or organization information next time you post error or some information to protect personal data. 

Based on your description, I would like to clarify that Microsoft's system may reject domains with non-standard characters like hyphens "-" during the initial registration or setup of your Microsoft 365 tenant. This is a known issue when trying to use custom domains in the nonprofit registration portal. Therefore, I have several suggestions that may help you: 

1.Register with a Temporary Microsoft Domain:  

During the initial registration, Microsoft assigns a default domain like yourorg.onmicrosoft.com. You can use this to complete the eligibility verification process. 

2.Add Your Custom Domain Later: 

Once your organization is approved: 

• Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center 
• Navigate to Settings > Domains. 
• Click Add domain. 
• Enter hXXX-XXX.org and follow the steps to verify ownership via DNS records (usually through your domain registrar). 

This allows you to use @hXXX-XXX.org for email and login, even if it wasn't accepted during initial registration.

Please kindly consult in these articles for more details: 

• Add a custom domain name - Microsoft Support 
• Change your email address to use your custom domain - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 
• Domains Frequently Asked Questions | Microsoft Learn 

3.Update Organization Profile (if needed): 

If your organization’s profile still shows the default or old domain: you can contact Microsoft Nonprofit Support to request a domain update. 

I hope this information can help you to finish it successfully. 

Wish you a pleasant day!

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