The administrator of our Outlook business account has left the company, how do we assign a new administrator?

Question

We'd like to create a new outlook email account for a new employee but our administrator is no longer with the company. How do we assign a new administrator to our non-profit business account?

Answer 1

Dear @Mark Yoss, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.  

As a moderator, I don't have the tools to investigate your specific tenant directly because this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas. However, I will try my best to guide you as clearly as possible. 

To support you better, may I ask a question to understand your exact situation: 

Currently, since the former Global Admin has left, did they leave the Global Admin account and password for you? 

Scenario 1: If yes, please help me use that account and password to perform the following steps: 

Sign in to the Admin Center via this link: https://admin.cloud.microsoft/

Go to Roles > Role assignments. 

Select Global Administrator. 

In the Assigned tab, select Add user and add the person you want to take over the Global Admin account. 

Scenario 2: If the Global Admin left without providing any information, in this case, your recovery must go through Microsoft’s Data Protection Team. They are the team that has the tools and the authority to verify your tenant; after that, they will help you assign the Global Admin role to the current successor. 

To contact the Data Protection team, please help me follow one of the two options below. 

Option 1: You might need to contact Data Protection Team via phone service number via this link: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support. The agent will be able to create a ticket for you under the affected tenant and then transfer this ticket to Data Protection team. The biggest goal is to get past the IVR (automated system) to a live agent and emphasize this critically important security factor.  

Option 2: Create a new tenant with trial subscription to access and submit a ticket in Admin Center. 

If you still can't get through to a real person for help, help me try this: 

Register for a free trial (new tenant with trial subscription) of Microsoft 365 at this link: Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans | Microsoft. The goal is to create a temporary Global Admin account so you can log in to the Microsoft Admin Center. Once you're in, you can submit a support ticket directly to Microsoft. Please remember to cancel the trial subscription once your issue is resolved to avoid any unintended charges.   

How to Submit the Support Ticket in Admin Center: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

Once you have contacted the Data Protection Team, please prepare documentation to authenticate your ownership of the tenant, such as invoices or any other relevant information. This will allow them to verify the tenant and assign the Global Admin role to the new person. 

Please help me try both options. I am standing by to assist with any information. If you have any questions or require further clarification, do not hesitate to reach out. 

Looking forward to your response!  

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Answer 2

To assign a new administrator for your Microsoft 365 business account after the previous administrator has left, you can follow these steps:

1. Verify Email Address: If you have access to the email address of the previous administrator, you can use it to perform an internal admin takeover. This involves verifying the email address to gain administrative access.
2. Create a New Account for Admin Access: If you do not have access to the previous administrator's email, you may need to create a new account for admin access. You can do this by signing up for a service like Power BI using your organization’s domain.
3. Admin Takeover Wizard: After creating the new account, you can access the admin takeover wizard. This will guide you through the process of verifying domain ownership and assigning admin privileges to the new account.
4. Assign Roles: Once you have admin access, you can assign roles to other users in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Go to Users > Active users, select the user you want to make an administrator, and manage their roles accordingly.
5. Create New Email Account: After assigning the new administrator, you can proceed to create a new Outlook email account for your new employee.

Make sure to follow the principle of least privilege when assigning roles to ensure security within your organization.

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References:

• Internal admin takeover
• Assign admin roles in the Microsoft 365 admin center