Can you pass on your Microsoft account when you die?
Microsoft reviews requests about a Microsoft account after a death case by case. While alive, the account holder can use authorized users.
Protecting Microsoft accounts while the account is active
No beneficiary designation, lifetime transfer options for accounts, and 9-step plan.
How to protect your Microsoft account while you are alive →Someone died. Handling Microsoft accounts after a death
Transfer is handled on a case-by-case basis, 6-step process, and 8 required documents.
What happens to a Microsoft account when someone dies →A Microsoft account is the gateway to Outlook.com email, OneDrive cloud storage, Microsoft 365 subscriptions, the Xbox gamertag and its digital game library, Microsoft Store purchases, an account balance from redeemed gift cards, Microsoft Rewards points, and Windows device licenses.
Microsoft decides what happens to a Microsoft account after a death case by case; its terms promise no transfer. While the account holder is alive, Microsoft allows authorized users.
What happens to Microsoft at death
- Case by case
Microsoft reviews deceased-user requests case by case, and only after legal process: in the United States it must first be formally served with a valid subpoena or court order before it considers releasing a deceased user's information.1
Naming who acts after a death
- Designation
Microsoft offers no legacy contact or inactive-account manager, so there is no way to name in advance who acts on the account after a death.1
Other companies and product lines involved3
- Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd
Service of non-criminal subpoenas and court orders for requests in Europe1
Mailing address: 70 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Microsoft Advertising
Live advertising campaigns run under the account, which keep spending after death until someone pauses them3
Sources3
- 1.Accessing Outlook.com, OneDrive and other Microsoft services when someone has died
- 2.Share your Microsoft 365 subscription
- 3.Microsoft Services Agreement, Published July 30, 2025; effective September 30, 2025
Microsoft publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: Accessing Outlook.com, OneDrive and other Microsoft services when someone has died; a written request goes in through Microsoft's support ticket system. There is no way to name a beneficiary or successor on a Microsoft account.
Sources
Data sourced from Microsoft Corporation primary sources (8 pages reviewed). How we research.
Microsoft customer support
Microsoft Support
Phone
Website
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