migration had

Question

Hello, good day.
I have a question about Microsoft 365 licenses. We currently have our licenses contracted through a provider that manages everything from their admin panel (TENAN).
We are in the process of becoming independent and contracting all our infrastructure directly with a new provider/migrator. However, our current provider indicates that the licenses cannot be migrated, while the new provider assures us that it is possible.
We would like to confirm if it is possible to migrate Microsoft 365 licenses from one TENAN to another or to our own admin account, and what the correct procedure would be to do so (transfer, reassignment, or new subscription).
Furthermore, we want to ensure that we do not lose any information or affect user data during the migration process (emails, files, Drive, settings, permissions, etc.). I would appreciate your guidance in resolving this situation appropriately and in accordance with Microsoft policies. I look forward to your response.

Answer 1

Hi @Julio Torres,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I would like to provide you with the following information:

There are two possible scenarios:

1/ If the current tenant and its licenses are owned by you, and you are only asking Provider 1 to assist with managing this tenant.

2/ If you purchased the licenses from Provider 1 and are using their tenant, where they assist you with management.

First, please note that licenses cannot be transferred directly from one tenant to another.

However, if you fall under scenario 1, you can change your service provider. You will still continue using the current tenant, since it belongs to you and you are only relying on Provider 1 for management support.

Regarding migrating data to another tenant, you can fully migrate all data without any data loss.

You may choose to:

• Ask your service provider to assist with the migration, or
• Contact Microsoft Technical Support to receive assistance with migrating all data to the new tenant. Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn

These actions do not violate or affect your personal information.

I hope this information is helpful.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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Answer 2

Migration of Microsoft 365 user data (mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint, etc.) between tenants is supported, but the licenses themselves are not “migrated” between tenants in a technical sense. Instead, the new tenant must have its own subscriptions and, where applicable, specific migration licenses.

From the available information:

1. Cross-tenant data migration
   • Microsoft supports cross-tenant migration of Exchange Online mailboxes and OneDrive, and more broadly cross-tenant migration scenarios as part of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
   • These scenarios require planning and the right migration method (native cross-tenant migration, third‑party tools, or FastTrack services).
   • FastTrack can assist eligible customers (typically with 150+ qualifying licenses) with guidance and data migration services for Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive. See the FastTrack notes under “Data Migration” and “Cross-Tenant Migration”.
2. Licensing for cross-tenant migrations
   • Cross-tenant mailbox and OneDrive migrations require a Cross Tenant User Data Migration add‑on license on a per‑user, one‑time basis. This license can be assigned on either the source or the target user object.
   • This add‑on is available for Microsoft 365 Business (Basic, Standard, Premium), Microsoft 365 F1/F3/E3/E5, Office 365 F3/E1/E3/E5, Exchange Online, SharePoint in Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and EDU.
   • If the required migration license is not present on either the source or target user, the migration fails with an error indicating that no Cross-tenant User Data Migration license was found for the source or target recipient.
3. What happens to data and how to avoid data loss
   • When using supported cross-tenant mailbox migration, the mailbox is moved from the source tenant to the target tenant. After migration, eDiscovery and similar operations apply to the mailbox in the target tenant, because the mailbox no longer exists in the source.
   • If a copy of the mailbox must remain in the source tenant for historical or compliance reasons, the source admin can copy the contents to an alternate mailbox before migration.
   • For OneDrive, the same Cross Tenant User Data Migration license covers the migration, and there are prerequisites such as:
     • Source OneDrive accounts must be read/write (not read‑only).
     • Service encryption with Microsoft Purview Customer Key must not be enabled on the source tenant for OneDrive migrations.
4. Role of FastTrack and third‑party tools
   • FastTrack can provide guidance and, for eligible customers, data migration services for mail and file data into Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive), including cross‑tenant scenarios.
   • Third‑party migration tools can also be used to move mailbox data between tenants. In that case, the target tenant must have sufficient licenses for all users being migrated.
5. Practical implications for the scenario described
   • Licenses themselves are not “moved” from one partner’s tenant administration to another tenant; instead, the new tenant must have its own subscriptions and, for cross‑tenant migrations, the appropriate Cross Tenant User Data Migration licenses.
   • To avoid data loss or impact to users:
     • Ensure all required migration licenses are in place before starting.
     • Plan mailbox and OneDrive migrations using supported cross‑tenant migration or a third‑party tool.
     • If historical copies must remain in the source, copy mailbox contents to an alternate mailbox before migration.
     • Coordinate DNS, Autodiscover, and client profile changes as part of the cutover so Outlook and other clients connect to the new tenant after migration.

This approach aligns with Microsoft’s documented cross‑tenant migration and licensing requirements and is the supported way to move user data between tenants without losing information.

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References:

• Cross-tenant mailbox migration
• Cross-tenant OneDrive migration
• An overview of tenant-to-tenant migration with orchestrator in Microsoft 365
• Data Migration
• Cross-Tenant Migration
• How to migrate mailboxes from one Microsoft 365 or Office 365 organization to another
• Use PowerShell to perform a cutover migration to Microsoft 365