Sign your volume licensing agreement

2025-05-30

When you sign a volume licensing (VL) agreement with Microsoft, there are three signature options available: Adobe Sign Electronic (Simple), Adobe Sign Digital, Adobe Sign Physical Signature, and Adobe Sign Digital.

Note

The person who signs the contract doesn't have to be the same person who administers the VL agreement in the VL section of the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Before you begin

You must have the authority to sign a VL agreement on behalf of your organization.
Signing an agreement doesn't automatically result in access to the agreement in the Microsoft 365 admin center, unless you're assigned a VL role.

Ensure you can receive the Agreement Signature email

As part of the VL agreement signature process, you receive one or more emails from Microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com.

To ensure that you receive the email to your inbox, you might have to adjust your email settings or contact your IT administrator to ensure the email address and email domain are recognized as safe senders for your organization.

Check your Spam and Junk folders for email from Microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com
In your email settings, under Safe Senders Settings, add "Microsoft-noreply@microsoft"

For more information, see Add recipients to the Safe Senders List in Outlook - Microsoft Support.

Microsoft's volume licensing signature policy

Microsoft VL contracts are signed using Adobe Sign, Microsoft's preferred Electronic Signature Solution. This signature policy applies to the following VL agreement types:

Enterprise
Enterprise Subscription
Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE)
Select Plus
Select
Open Value
Open Value Subscription
Open Value Subscription Education Solution (OVS-ES)
Open Value for Academic
Academic
Campus
Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA)

To avoid unnecessary delays, we recommend that you consider your organization's signature requirements before the preparation of your agreement package.

Understand Volume License Agreement Contract signature methods

This section describes the types of signature methods available to sign your VL agreement.

Adobe Sign Electronic (Simple)

Adobe Sign Electronic (Simple) is the default signing method for both customer signature and for Microsoft counter-signature of VL agreement contracts.

Adobe Sign Physical Signature

Adobe Sign lets you use a physical signature. If you choose this option, you still receive an electronic Adobe Sign envelope when your partner submits the VL agreement for your signature.

Within the Adobe Sign portal, you can download your agreement document, print and physically sign it, and then upload it for Microsoft's countersignature all via Adobe Sign.

By default, Microsoft's counter-signature is a simple electronic signature via Adobe Sign. If this counter-signature is insufficient, notify Microsoft or your Microsoft partner (Software Advisor / Reseller / Distributor) via email before the agreement package is prepared that you require a physical (wet) Microsoft countersignature.

Adobe Sign Digital Qualified Signature

The Adobe Sign Digital Qualified Signature option contains increased signer identity authentication and signature encryption, and is typically required in highly regulated industries/regions.

If you opt for the digital/qualified method, be aware of the following requirements:

You must inform Microsoft or your Software Advisor or Reseller before they create the VL agreement package for your signature.
You must know who your Digital ID Trusted Services Provider is.
Microsoft's countersignature on the agreement isn't a digital/qualified signature.
Microsoft doesn't currently have the ability to sign via the digital / qualified method.

Decide how to sign your volume licensing agreement contract

Before you sign your VL agreement, identify which signature method you want to use.

If the default Adobe Sign Electronic (Simple) option isn't acceptable, you must inform Microsoft and/or your Microsoft partner (Reseller / Software Advisor / Distributor) before they prepare your agreement contract for signature.

If an agreement sent for your signature has the wrong signature method, decline it via Adobe Sign and contact your Microsoft partner (Software Advisor or Reseller / Distributor) who created the agreement package.

Use Adobe Sign Electronic (Simple) method to sign a volume licensing agreement contract

The assigned signature contact receives an email from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com.
In the body of the email, select the Review and sign button.

Important

To ensure correctness, you must review the documents in their entirety. Any changes required after this point might require a re-signature.
In the Adobe Sign portal, follow the prompts and sign on the signature placeholder. You can choose from the following signature options:
- Type: Type your name. The font is converted to the Adobe Sign standard font for electronic signatures.
- Draw: Use your mouse, stylus, or finger to draw your signature. You must also type your name. The typewritten name appears under the drawn signature and is used as the recipient's name in the Adobe Sign portal.
- Image: Select an image, like a scanned signature, to appear as your signature. You must also type your name. The typewritten name is used as the recipient's name in the Adobe Sign portal.
- Mobile: Enter your mobile number. Adobe Sign texts a link to your mobile device. After you select the link, you can draw or capture your signature directly from your device.
For every signature type, a date stamp is added next to Signature Date.

Important

Customers in China who use an Adobe electronic signature where the designated signatory email address provided is a public or noncompany domain email address, must complete a Microsoft End User Email Authorization Letter, affixed with official company stamp/chop, included by their partner in the VL agreement package.
To submit the agreement to Microsoft for processing, select the Click to Sign button. You see an on-screen confirmation of signing completion.

Use Adobe Sign Digital/Qualified method to sign a volume licensing agreement contract

The assigned signature contact receives an email from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com.
In the body of the email, select the Review and sign button.

Important

You must review the documents in their entirety to ensure correctness. Any changes made after this point might require a re-signature.
In the Adobe Sign portal, follow the prompts and sign on the signature placeholder.
In the signature field, you see a badge icon that indicates it's a digital/qualified signature.

Important

If you don't expect to see the digital/qualified signature badge, select the Options menu, then select Decline to sign and immediately inform your Microsoft partner. The partner can withdraw the package and resend the documents via the simple electronic format.
Select the signature field. In the Choose how to apply the digital signature dialog, select Cloud Signature, then select Next.
Select the appropriate Digital ID Trusted Services Provider based on your company's requirements.
Follow the instructions on the screen to log into the Digital ID provider's site and complete the digital signature.
When the process is finished, you receive an on-screen confirmation that the signature is complete.

Use Adobe Sign Physical Signature to sign a volume licensing agreement contract

The assigned signature contact receives an email from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com.
In the body of the email, select the Review and sign button.
In the Adobe Sign portal, select the Options menu, then select Print, sign and upload.
Before you download the form, you can add information like Job Title electronically.
Select Continue to proceed to the download process.
Read the Consumer Disclosure, then select Next.
To download the agreement, select Download.
When the download is finished, find the document in your Downloads folder.
After you review the agreement, print the agreement.
Sign the agreement with a pen, then scan it and save it to your computer.

Important

Customers in China who use the Print, sign, and upload option in Adobe Sign, must affix an official company stamp/chop on physical documents in place of a physical signature. Hand-written signatures are no longer accepted.

To return to the Adobe Sign portal, open the Adobe Sign email that you received, and select the Upload to submit button.
Locate and select the scanned agreement, then double-click the file to upload it.

Important

The document package downloaded from, and uploaded to, the Adobe Sign portal must match. If the documents don't match, Adobe Sign displays an error that indicates you must upload the correct document. If an error occurs, you must correct the issue and reupload the document.

When the document is uploaded successfully, you receive an on-screen confirmation.

Use another e-signature tool

Microsoft strongly encourages the use of Adobe Sign to provide electronic signatures because it provides a seamless VL agreement signature process for customers, partners, and Microsoft. If necessary, it's possible to sign your agreement by using another third-party electronic signature tool, like DocuSign.

You must submit the agreement package for signature by using the Adobe Sign Electronic (Simple) option.
In the body of the email you received from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com, select the Review and sign button.
On the Adobe Sign portal, select the Options menu, then select Print, sign and upload.
Download your agreement documents, sign them using the alternative signature tool, then save them to your computer.
To return to the Adobe Sign portal, select the Upload to submit button in the Adobe Sign email.
To continue processing, upload the signed document back into Adobe Sign.

Troubleshoot server errors when uploading a document with another e-signature tool

Customers who sign with an e-signature tool other than Adobe, such as DocuSign, might get the following error message:

"Unprocessed Error. We encountered an error while processing your request. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please reload the page and try again. If you continue to encounter this error, please contact our support team."

You can resolve the Unprocessed Error without contacting support by completing the following steps to flatten a PDF in Windows with Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Open the signed version DocuSign PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Select File > Print, select Adobe PDF as the printer, then select OK.
When you're prompted to save the new file, use a different file name.
Don't touch anything while the document is printing, as doing so can cause errors.
Upload the new file instead of the original PDF in Adobe Sign.

When this process is finished, Adobe Sign retains the DocuSign signature while previewing and after all parties sign the final document.

View volume licensing agreements submitted for your signature

An assigned signature contact who signed the VL agreement can sign in to the Adobe Sign portal to view a previously signed agreement up to 13 months after the signature takes place.

To sign in to the Adobe Sign portal, retrieve the original email from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com and select the Click to sign button again.

An on-screen notification indicates that the document was already signed.
To view your agreements and their status (in progress, waiting for you, completed, canceled, expired, and draft), select Manage.
Filter by completed status and find the agreement you want to view.
Hover over the agreement title to Open, Download, or Add Notes.

Tip

Only the signatory contact can view the signed documents. Therefore, customers might want to download signed documents and store them in an accessible place.

Use an existing Adobe Acrobat account

If you already use Adobe Sign to sign other documents, you can use your existing Adobe account to sign in and view your Microsoft VL agreements, or to sign a new agreement.

To find your agreements, use the following steps:

Go to AdobeID.
Sign in with your email address, then select Continue.
Select the Manage tab.
Select Your agreements, then select Completed.
Select Download PDF.
Download and print the agreement.

Next steps

After you electronically sign a VL agreement, you must wait for it to become active. Next, your reseller must submit an order to Microsoft for licenses under that agreement. After these two steps are finished, those licenses are available to view or manage in the VL pages of the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Note

Resellers typically place orders soon after a VL agreement becomes active, but this isn't always the case.

After the agreement is activated, the people named on the agreement receive a welcome email from Microsoft inviting them to register the agreement in the admin center to access and manage the agreements. For more information, see Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (volume licensing).

Remember, the person named on the agreement by the reseller to manage licenses in the admin center might, or might not be the same person who signed the agreement.

Contact volume licensing support

For support with volume licensing e-signature process work with your Microsoft partner or seller, or Contact volume licensing support.