Transfer Azure Sponsorship Billing Account Ownership from Microsoft for Startups Program

Question

I am currently using an Azure sponsorship billing account provided through the Microsoft for Startups (Founders Hub) program. I need to transfer billing ownership and/or reassign the sponsorship credits to a different account of my colleague, but the portal indicates that this billing account type cannot be transferred through the standard self-service process.

Answer 1

Hello Joseph Kobti

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A platform.

Azure Sponsorship billing accounts issued through Microsoft for Startups (Founders Hub) are not eligible for self‑service billing ownership transfer in the Azure portal.

This is by design and differs from Pay‑As‑You‑Go, EA, or MCA subscriptions. Sponsorship subscriptions are program‑managed, and standard “Transfer billing ownership” options are intentionally disabled for this billing type.

The following actions cannot be done through the Azure portal for Founders Hub sponsorships:

• Transferring billing account ownership to another user
• Reassigning sponsorship credits to another Microsoft account
• Converting the sponsorship billing account to a different agreement type
• Sharing or splitting credits across multiple accounts

Azure sponsorship benefits are applied at the account level and cannot be shared or merged.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-for-startups/benefits/azure-credits-billing

As a resolution you have below options:

Option 1: Contact Microsoft for Startups Support (only supported method)

If you need credits reassigned to a different team member’s account, the only supported approach is to raise a request with the Microsoft for Startups support team.

Credit transfers must be requested via program support, not through Azure billing self‑service.

How to raise the request (official):

• Sign in to the Microsoft for Startups Portal
• Click the ? (Help) icon
• Select Submit a Support Ticket
• Request Azure Sponsorship credit transfer / reassignment

Support link: https://aka.ms/startuphelp-mfs-portal

Approval depends on program rules and eligibility.

Option 2: Keep billing ownership, delegate access

If the goal is operational control (not billing ownership), you can:

• Add your colleague as Owner / Contributor at the subscription or resource level
• This allows full resource management without changing billing ownership

This is the recommended workaround when ownership transfer is blocked by sponsorship rules.

Option 3: Create a new sponsorship under the colleague’s account

If ownership change is mandatory:

• The colleague must activate Azure sponsorship credits under their own Microsoft account
• Resources would then need to be manually migrated to the new subscription (where supported)

Note: Sponsorship subscriptions cannot be merged, and resource moves may have service‑specific limitations.

• Azure Sponsorship billing accounts from Microsoft for Startups cannot be transferred via Azure portal
• Billing ownership change is not supported for this agreement type
• Only Microsoft for Startups Support can assist with credit reassignment
• RBAC delegation is the supported workaround

Could you please let us know if the solution shared in the comment addressed your query. If you have any other questions or need further support, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks,
Suchitra.