Authorization Letter for Marketplace Resale as a reseller.

Question

Dear Microsoft Support Team,

I hope you are doing well.

I am reaching out to seek clarification regarding a request from Walmart Marketplace, which requires a formal Letter of Authorization confirming that World IT Center, Inc. is authorized to resell Microsoft products.

We are an active Microsoft Partner (Reg No: 471996394) and procure all products through authorized distributors, including MA Labs and D&H.

However, we understand that Microsoft operates through a distribution-based authorization model, and such reseller authorization letters may not be issued directly by Microsoft.

Could you please confirm:

1. Whether Microsoft provides any form of authorization letter for marketplace resale, and
   1. If not, whether procurement through authorized distributors serves as sufficient validation of reseller authorization
   If there is any official documentation, certification, or verification process that can support our compliance with marketplace requirements, we would greatly appreciate your guidance. Thank you for your support and clarification. Best regards, Kailash Chintamani CEO, World IT Center, Inc.

Answer 1

Microsoft commercial marketplace and Partner Center documentation in the provided context does not describe any process where Microsoft issues a custom “Letter of Authorization” for a specific reseller to satisfy a third‑party marketplace (such as Walmart).

In the marketplace resale model described in the context, authorization and reseller status are established and managed inside Partner Center and Microsoft Marketplace via:

1. Resale enabled offers / Authorized Partner model
   • A software development company (ISV/offer owner) authorizes a resale partner / Authorized Partner in Partner Center to resell its existing Marketplace offers in specified customer markets.
   • This authorization is represented as a resale enabled offer authorization in Partner Center, not as a separate letter.
   • After authorization, the resale partner can create and sell private offers (customer private offers or multiparty private offers) to customers through Microsoft Marketplace.
   • Microsoft invoices the customer and pays the resale partner according to Marketplace payout policies; the resale partner then settles commercially with the ISV outside Marketplace.
2. Distribution / indirect channel model
   • Under the Microsoft Publisher Agreement, Microsoft may make products available through indirect channels and resale partners.
   • In these models, Microsoft (or an ISV) grants Microsoft and its resale partners the rights to distribute products through multiple tiers of distribution.
   • Pricing, billing, and licensing relationships are defined contractually (Publisher Agreement, Resale Terms, etc.), not via individual authorization letters for each downstream reseller.
3. What this implies for the request
   • The context does not describe any Microsoft process to generate a bespoke “authorization letter for marketplace resale” for a specific partner.
   • Instead, reseller/authorized partner status is evidenced by:
     • Enrollment and status in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and Partner Center.
     • The existence of resale enabled offer authorizations (if acting as an Authorized Partner for Marketplace resale).
     • The contractual framework of the Microsoft Publisher Agreement and any applicable Resale Terms between ISVs and Authorized Partners.
   • The context does not explicitly state that “procurement through authorized distributors” alone is treated by Microsoft as formal proof of reseller authorization for external marketplaces; that relationship is outside what is documented here.
4. Recommended next step for formal confirmation
   • Because the documentation does not define a letter‑issuance process or explicitly equate distributor procurement with formal reseller authorization for third‑party marketplaces, the appropriate path is to open a support request through Partner Center for Microsoft Marketplace/Partner Center support.
   • In that support request, provide:
     • Partner Center organization details and PartnerID/registration number.
     • The Walmart Marketplace requirement text.
     • A request for official guidance on what evidence Microsoft can provide (for example, confirmation of partner status, Marketplace seller/Publisher ID, or resale enabled offer authorizations) that can be shared with Walmart.

This will allow Microsoft Partner Center support to confirm what official documentation or verification (if any) can be provided for marketplace compliance in the specific scenario.

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References:

• Resale enabled offers for resale partners
• Resale enabled offers overview
• Transacting on Microsoft Marketplace
• Microsoft Publisher Agreement 8.0 September 2025 update
• Microsoft Publisher Agreement CORRECTED 8.0 July 2023 update
• Microsoft Publisher Agreement version: 2.0 May 2020