No Admin Access

Question

Our company lost it's IT person and we have no access to admin rights. How do we gain admin rights when we can not contact anyone with Microsoft unless we have admin rights?

Answer 1

Hi Blaine Heath, 

In cases where an organization is unable to access the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for administrative purposes due to a tenant lockout, the organization will need to raise a support ticket with the Data Protection Team to request further assistance. 

There are two methods to raise this request. Please see them below: 

1/ Please locate the appropriate support phone number for your country or region and contact Microsoft Support so the frontline team can raise a service request on your behalf: Customer service phone numbers      

 When calling the support number, the experience may vary depending on your country or region:     

• In some regions, you may hear an automated message for approximately 30 seconds. You can ignore this message and wait for the prompt, then select “1” for Business email user and “1” again for technical support.     
• In other regions, you may be guided through an automated conversation similar to the following:     
  • The system asks what issue you are experiencing > Tenant Lockout    
  • Product in use > Microsoft Office 365    
  • Account type > Company account     
  • Administrator status > Yes     
  • Are there other administrators in the organization? > No     
  • Proceed to create a service request > Yes

2/ If you are unable to reach support by phone, you may create a temporary trial tenant to submit a support request for the block access tenant through the Microsoft 365 admin center. You can start with a trial license here: Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365

To raise a support ticket, you can follow the below: 

• Go to the admin center
• On the bottom right side of the page, select Help & support.
  • 

Please note that as Microsoft Q&A forum moderators, I am the same as end users without access to tenant-level information and are therefore unable to assist directly with tenant lockout situations. I sincerely apologize for having to redirect you to another team. However, this will ensure that you receive the appropriate support to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you are able to login.

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Answer 2

To regain admin control when no one in the organization has admin access, use Microsoft’s tenant access recovery and support processes. The exact path depends on what access is still available.

1. Confirm there is truly no admin
   • Ask internally who originally purchased or set up Microsoft 365; by default that person is an admin.
   • Typical admins:
     • Universities/schools: central IT / technical support team.
     • Large businesses: internal help desk or IT department.
     • Small businesses: owner/co‑owner or external IT consultant.
   • If you can identify that person, ask them to sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and either:
     • Perform the needed admin actions, or
     • Assign admin rights to a current staff member.
2. If the admin account exists but the password is unknown
   • Use the standard password reset flow for work/school accounts:
     • If self‑service password reset is enabled, go to https://passwordreset.microsoftonline.com/ and follow the wizard.
     • Otherwise, another existing admin must reset the password. If there is no other admin, proceed to step 4 (tenant access recovery via support).
3. If the admin is gone and no one knows the admin credentials
   • This is a “loss of tenant access” scenario. Microsoft requires identity verification before granting new admin access.
   • Typical causes: staff turnover, outdated credentials, or the original global admin leaving the organization.
4. Start tenant access recovery with Microsoft 365 support
   • Go to the Microsoft 365 support page (for example, via the public Support site) and choose the option related to sign‑in issues such as “I can’t sign in or access my tenant.”
   • When prompted, indicate that:
     • The organization has lost access to its Microsoft 365 tenant.
     • There is no current global admin available.
   • Be prepared to provide verification such as:
     • Official business documentation.
     • Domain ownership proof.
     • Publicly listed registration data (for nonprofits or registered entities).
   • All tenant ownership and access decisions are handled through Microsoft 365 support; other programs (such as Microsoft for Nonprofits) cannot bypass identity verification or directly grant access.
5. If absolutely no admin sign‑in is possible to open a ticket
   • Use public Microsoft support entry points (phone or web) and select options for business/enterprise support and “can’t sign in or access my tenant.”
   • Clearly state that:
     • The company has an existing Microsoft 365 tenant.
     • The only global admin left the organization.
     • No one has admin credentials.
   • Ask for escalation to the Data Protection / Tenant Recovery team. They will guide through identity verification and, once verified, can help restore admin access.
6. If a partner or reseller manages the tenant
   • If the subscription was purchased or set up through a Microsoft partner, contact that partner’s support team and ask them to open a Microsoft 365 support request on behalf of the organization for tenant access recovery.

Key points:

• There is no way to “self‑promote” to admin without an existing admin or Microsoft support involvement.
• Microsoft support must verify organizational identity before granting or restoring admin rights.
• Use business/enterprise support channels and explicitly request tenant access recovery / Data Protection assistance.

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References:

• How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin?
• Find the administrator for your work or school account
• Tenant access recovery
• Forgot password to sign in to Microsoft 365, Intune, or Azure