Global Admin

Question

A former employee currently holds global admin rights in our Microsoft 365 tenant.

I am the rightful owner of the tenant and request that Microsoft revoke the former employee’s global admin rights

and assign me as the global admin.

I am prepared to provide proof of domain ownership, billing records, and organizational documentation to verify this request.

Answer 1

Dear @Mulugeta Adbaru,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. 

Thank you for your question, and I’m sorry for the situation you are facing.

I understand that you are the rightful owner of the Microsoft 365 tenant, but a former employee still holds Global Admin rights, and you now need Microsoft to revoke that access and assign Global Admin permissions back to your organization.

Please note that Microsoft Q&A is a user‑to‑user forum. Moderators here cannot access your tenant, cannot view your admin list, cannot reset roles, and cannot verify ownership.

Cases involving tenant ownership, admin rights, or account recovery must be handled directly by Microsoft Support.

This team is the only group authorized to Verify who the legitimate tenant owner is, Revoke Global Admin rights from unauthorized individuals, Assign a new Global Admin account for the rightful owner. The process is rigorous because it protects organizations from unauthorized takeover.

Please try to find the related hotline number to call the frontline let them raise a ticket for you: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support 

In some countries, this is an automated conversation: First, when you call the hotline, they will ask you what kind of problem you are struggling with. 

Answer: Authenticator. 

A: What products do you use? 

B: Office 365 for business. 

Verification: Education or company account? 

B: For companies 

A: Are you an administrator? 

B: Yes. 

A: Are there any other administrators in your organization? 

B: No. 

A: I need one.... Service request? 

B: Yes 

  If your organization's Office 365 Business 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. 

 

If you still cannot reach to agent, there is still a workaround, you might consider registering for a new tenant by signing up for a trial subscription via this link Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans | Microsoft. This would allow you to create a new tenant following the provided prompts. Once set up, you can access the admin console of the new tenant and submit a support ticket requesting to speak with the Data Protection team on behalf of your previous tenant.  

Please remember to cancel the trial subscription once your issue is resolved to avoid any unintended charges.  

I understand that this entire process can feel long and complicated, and I truly appreciate your patience while working through it. These steps are in place to protect the security of your account, so I hope you can understand why they are required. I sincerely hope you’ll be able to regain access to your account soon. If you need help at any point, or if you have any questions during the process, please feel free to reach out, I’m always here and happy to assist.  

Thank you again for your understanding and patience. 

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Answer 2

If you need to revoke a former employee's global admin rights and assign yourself as the global admin in your Microsoft 365 tenant, you will need to follow Microsoft's identity verification processes to regain administrative control. Since you mentioned that you are prepared to provide proof of domain ownership, billing records, and organizational documentation, you can initiate recovery through standard Microsoft 365 support channels.

Here are the steps you can take:

1. Confirm your account: Make sure you are using the correct account to sign in to the admin portal.
2. Submit a support request: If you cannot access your tenant, go to the Microsoft 365 support page and select "I can't sign in or access my tenant." You may be asked to verify your identity and ownership of the organization.
3. Provide documentation: Be ready to present the necessary documentation such as domain ownership and organizational records to support your request.

Keep in mind that Microsoft cannot manually recover accounts without identity verification, so it is crucial to follow their procedures carefully.