Manage self-service license requests in the Microsoft 365 admin center

Note

The information in this article only applies to self-service purchased products and services. To learn more, see Self-service purchase FAQ.

If you turn-off self-service purchases in your organization, you can set up license requests in the Microsoft 365 admin center to manage the license request process for your users. When a user tries to make a self-service purchase for a product that you've blocked, they can submit a request for a license to you, the admin. When they make a request, they can add the names of other users who also need licenses for the product.

Note

If you block users from making self-service purchases, Microsoft doesn't send them marketing emails. Also, if they're using a trial version of a product, they don't see prompts to buy it. To learn more, see Manage self-service purchases (Admin).

To see and manage license requests, use the Requests tab on the Licensing page in the admin center. The list shows the name of the product requested, name of the person requesting a license, date requested, and status of the request. You can filter the list to show requests that are pending or completed. Requests are held for 30 days.

Before you begin

You must be a global admin to perform the tasks in this article. For more information, see About admin roles.

Note

If you're the person who signed up for the subscription, you're automatically a global admin.

Use your own request process

If your organization has its own request process, you can use it instead. You create a message to display to users when they request a license.

Important

If you use your own request process, no requests are displayed on the Requests tab. Existing requests from before you added your message continue to appear until you approve or decline them.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, select the Navigation menu, then select Billing > Licenses.
2. On the Licenses page, select the Requests tab.
3. Select Use your existing request process instead.
4. In the Use your request process pane, select the Use my organization's request process check box.
5. In the Message box, type the message you want users to see when they request a license. If you want to also include a link to your organizations policy or other documentation, enter the URL in the Link to documentation (optional) text box.
6. Select Save.

When you return to the Requests list, you see the message You're using your own license request process. To make changes to the message that is displayed to users, select Use your existing request process instead.

Stop using your own request process

1. In the admin center, select the Navigation menu, then select Billing > Licenses.
2. On the Licenses page, select the Requests tab.
3. Select Use your existing request process instead.
4. In the Use your request process pane, clear the Use my organization's request process check box.
5. Select Save.

Approve or deny a license request

1. In the admin center, select the Navigation menu, then select Billing > Licenses.
2. On the Licenses page, select the Requests tab.
3. Select the row that contains the request you want to review. The details pane shows details about which users want licenses to the product.
   • To deny the entire request, select Don't approve, and in the dialog box, select Don't approve.
   • To deny some users but approve others, select the X by the name of the users that you want to remove. Their names are moved under Do not assign to these users.
4. If you have more than one product, under Select a product, select the one that you want to use to assign licenses for.
5. To deny users access to certain apps and services, expand Turn apps and services on or off, then clear the check boxes for the ones that you want to exclude.
6. At the bottom of the pane, type an optional message in the text box.
7. When you're finished, select Approve. The details pane shows the details of the request.
8. Close the details pane. Users receive an email that says their request was approved or denied.

Share a license request by email

If you don’t have the authority within your organization to make decisions about who can receive a license for a particular product or service, you can share a license request via email with someone in your organization who does. You can only share one request at a time. The person who receives the license request email doesn’t need access to the Microsoft 365 admin center to review the request. They simply respond to the email and indicate whether the person should be given the license they requested, and then you approve or deny the request.

1. In the admin center, select the Navigation menu, then select Billing > Licenses.
2. On the Licenses page, select the Auto-claim policy tab.
3. Select the Share request tab, then select a request to share.
4. In the request pane, select Share request.
5. In the Share license request details pane, type an email address, then select the recipient name.

   Note

   You can select more than one recipient, but if the email that you entered doesn’t resolve into a user name, you can’t share the request.

6. To personalize the email, select the Include a personalized message check box. Type a Subject and Message in the corresponding fields.
7. When you’re finished, select Share request.

Related content

Assign licenses to users (article)
Move users to a different subscription (article)
Buy or remove subscription licenses (article)
Self-service purchase FAQ