Forced release

Question

My domain is stuck in a closed Microsoft 365 tenant (DCI Engineers). I need a forced domain release. I can add a TXT record to prove ownership

Answer 1

Dear @Wade Younie,
Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. I understand that your domain is currently stuck in a closed Microsoft 365 tenant (DCI Engineers), and you need a forced domain release.

Typically, your domain is still linked to the old tenant, even though that tenant is no longer active. Because of this, Microsoft 365 does not allow you to add the domain to your new tenant. This is expected behavior, and the only solution is a manual release by Microsoft.

Therefore, I recommend you contact the Data Protection Team directly. Contacting Microsoft Data Protection team by phone support - Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support.

Microsoft Data Protection team has only required permission to reset your account on the backend. They are the only responsible and privileged support team for account questions.

During the phone call, you will be required to provide the information associated with your subscription - such as your company name, billing details, phone number, and alternate email address, domain ownership - to verify ownership of the company’s tenant. This verification will assist the Data Protection Team in granting you access to the administrator account or remove your domain from your old tenant.

Please carefully follow this instruction to ask for Microsoft Data Protection team support:   

Depending on your country or region. For some countries, when calling the support number, although there are about 30 seconds opening as something "you can visit the link...." But you can ignore this opening and wait until the option, then "1" as a business email user, "1" again for technical help.   

• For some countries, it will be an automated conversation like:    
• First, when you call the hotline, it asks what kind of problem you are worried about.   
• Answered: Account.   
• A: What kind of product are you using?   
• B: Office 365 for business.   
• A confirmation: education or company account?   
• B: For companies   
• A: Are you an administrator?   
• B: Yes.   
• A: Do you have the other admin in your organization?   
• B: No.   
• A: You need one.... Service request?   
• B: Yes   

If your organization's Office 365 Business/Education subscription is from a partner or reseller, and the global administrator is unable to open a service request on your end, contact the reseller's support provider to help open a service request on behalf of you instead.   

Note: Please understand that as forum moderators, our primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While we don’t have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend issues, we truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations. We genuinely hope the information we share helps guide you in the right direction, and we're always here to assist as much as we can within our scope.  

Alternatively, you can submit your support request via your current tenant

1. Access Admin Center: Sign in at https://admin.microsoft.com.
2. Open Support: In the left menu, select Support > Help & support.
3. Submit a ticket: Clearly state your current situation. Include: Admin account email (old tenant), Tenant domain name, Error messages, Issue details, Confirmation you are the administrator
4. Track your request: Submit and note the ticket number.

Important notes:  

• The current tenant won’t give access to your original tenant’s data or settings; it’s only for contacting Microsoft support.
• Support may require identity and admin rights verification for the old tenant.
• Resolution could take longer because you’re contacting from a different tenant.

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

I truly appreciate your patience and understanding. If you have any further questions or need further clarification, please feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

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Answer 2

To release a domain that is stuck in a closed Microsoft 365 tenant, you will need to prove ownership of the domain by adding a TXT record to your DNS settings. Here are the steps you can follow:

1. Add a TXT Record: You need to create a TXT record in your DNS hosting provider's settings. The value for this TXT record will be provided by Microsoft 365 when you attempt to verify your domain. The typical format for the TXT record is:
   • TXT Name: @
   • TXT Value: MS=ms######## (replace ms######## with the specific value provided by Microsoft 365)
   • TTL: 3600
2. Verify Domain Ownership: Once the TXT record is added, go back to the Microsoft 365 admin center and select Verify. It may take some time for the changes to propagate, so be patient and check back after a while.

If you encounter issues or if the domain is still not released, you may need to contact Microsoft support for further assistance in the forced release of the domain.

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References:

• Add a domain to a client tenancy with Windows PowerShell for Delegated Access Permission (DAP) partners
• Add DNS records to connect your domain

Answer 3

I created the TXT record