Microsoft Education
Microsoft for Education provides your institution with special access to Microsoft’s education-focused services, tools, and pricing. This allows you to unlock benefits designed specifically for educational environments, including:
Discounted pricing on Microsoft 365 Education licenses.
Access to specialized educational tools and features, along with SKUs for Microsoft 365, Dynamics, and Intune.
Enhanced security and compliance tools designed specifically for educational institutions.
Student-focused features that improve learning and collaboration in educational settings.
To learn more about the benefits, features, and value that Microsoft offers to educational institutions, see Microsoft Education.
Why is the qualification process necessary?
If you want to order Microsoft 365 Education subscriptions, your CSP tenant must be eligible. The academic eligibility is verified by Microsoft.
Without this verification, you won't be able to order subscriptions at academic prices through the Marketplace Platform.
What documents are needed to confirm eligibility?
Microsoft requires the following documents to verify your institution’s eligibility:
Accreditation certificate - Official documentation from your regional or national accrediting body.
Institutional authority letter - An official letter from your educational governing body confirming your institution's academic status.
Domain ownership verification - Documentation proving control of your institution's official website domain.
Organizational profile - A detailed overview of your institution, including mission, student population, and educational programs offered.
Best practices for document submission
When submitting your documents, keep these points in mind:
Ensure that all documents reflect current information and haven't expired.
Use official institutional letterhead for any custom documentation.
Maintain consistent naming conventions across all documents, matching your legal entity name.
Provide documents in standard formats, such as PDF or high-quality scanned images.
Provide English translations for documents in other languages.
What is the qualification process?
The qualification process depends on whether your institution already has a Microsoft tenant.
For institutions without a tenant
If your institution doesn't have a Microsoft tenant, you can either enroll directly with Microsoft or choose the SoftwareOne-assisted qualification process.
Direct enrollment with Microsoft (recommended) - This approach allows you to set up a new tenant and manage the eligibility process directly with Microsoft. For instructions on setting up a new tenant, see this page or contact Microsoft support for business tenants using the phone numbers listed at Customer service phone numbers.
SoftwareOne-assisted qualification - Choose this approach if you prefer guided support through SoftwareOne.
For institutions with an existing tenant
If you already have a Microsoft tenant, the qualification process involves upgrading your existing environment to education status rather than creating a new one.
In such cases, the following options are available:
Direct support request with Microsoft (recommended) - This approach allows you to raise a support request directly in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for your existing tenant. To do this:
Sign in to your Microsoft 365 Admin Center with Global Administrator credentials.
Select Support > New service request.
Select Billing and subscriptions > Education qualification.
Upload the required documents.
Describe your educational institution status and qualification needs.
SoftwareOne-assisted qualification - Choose this approach if you prefer SoftwareOne to review your current tenant, advise on eligibility gaps, and submit the qualification request.
Microsoft typically processes existing tenant qualification requests within 10 business days, similar to new tenant timelines.
How do I submit an eligibility request to SoftwareOne?
For SoftwareOne-assisted qualifications, gather your documents and share them with Marketplace Platform Support.
You can contact us by email or create a support case through your Marketplace account. For details, see Contacting Marketplace Platform Support.
What happens next?
Generally, Microsoft evaluates qualification requests within 10 business days. You can track the status in the Microsoft 365 admin center. For instructions, see the Microsoft documentation.
When your request is processing, it can have one of these statuses:
In review - Indicates that Microsoft is evaluating your documents. If your application takes longer than the standard Microsoft timeline, contact Microsoft Support for Business.
Approved - Your education status is approved, and you have full access to education pricing and products.
Denied - Your application doesn't meet Microsoft's current educational licensing requirements. For the next steps, see My Application for Microsoft Education is Denied. Alternatively, contact Marketplace Platform Support.
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