Transfer Microsoft 365 Family or Personal to a different Microsoft account

Step 1. Turn off recurring billing for your existing Microsoft 365 subscription

You can turn off recurring billing for your existing subscription so it doesn't renew on your existing Microsoft account.  You'll continue to have access to Microsoft 365 until the end of your subscription term. Exactly how long depends on if the subscription is paid monthly or annually, and where you are in the billing cycle at the time of cancellation.

For more help with cancelling, see Cancel a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Step 2: Decide what services you want to use before you purchase the new subscription (if appropriate)

If you're using any of the services or features below, there are steps you may need to take depending on what you're using, and who might be affected by your planned subscription transfer. For example, if you have Microsoft 365 Family on your existing subscription and you are sharing it with others, you'll need consider purchasing the same subscription on the new Microsoft account so you can re-share the subscription.  Below are some services you'll want to check to see if you are using them:

• Family Safety: Microsoft 365 Family is automatically shared with members of Family Safety, so if you previously set that up, you'll need to ensure that the new Microsoft account is an "organizer" in your Family group.  Once that is confirmed, all members of your Family should automatically get access to the new Microsoft 365 Family subscription you purchase on the new Microsoft account.  

• For more information about creating and managing a family group, see Microsoft Family Safety.

• Subscription sharing (Microsoft 365 Family only): For individuals you're sharing with who aren’t part of Family Safety, be sure to let them know that they’ll receive a new invitation for Microsoft 365 Family from you after you purchase the subscription on the new Microsoft account. Or, if you don't plan to share the new subscription with these individuals, let them know they’ll need to buy their own subscription or find someone else to share with them.

• For help with sharing, see Share Microsoft 365 Family and Stop sharing Microsoft 365 Family.

• OneDrive: Once you cancel (or don't renew your subscription when it expires), your OneDrive benefit of additional cloud storage will reduce back to the default 5GB size.  If you have used more than 5GB of existing files and photos, you won't be able to add any new files to your cloud storage, and your outlook.com email account may not be able to send or receive email. For more information about being over your cloud storage quota, see this article - What does it mean when your OneDrive account is frozen?

• If you'd like to move these files from the cloud storage for the old account to the new account, you can share the files and folders to the new account using the information in Step 4 below.

• Outlook.com: For emails and contacts in an Outlook.com account that you’d like to save or transfer, see Export mailbox and delete search history in Outlook.com.

• To export messages from the desktop version of Outlook, follow the steps in Export or backup email, contacts, and calendar to an Outlook .pst file.

Step 3: Set up a new Microsoft 365 subscription with the Microsoft account you want

This step involves purchasing a new Microsoft 365 subscription on the Microsoft account you want to move to. This could be another individual or yourself:

• Another individual: If your plan is to have someone else assume ownership of the subscription, for example a family member or a friend, make sure that individual has their own Microsoft 365 subscription, and that it’s activated using their Microsoft account.

• Important: If the individual you want to transfer the subscription to hasn't purchased it yet and they're also currently sharing your subscription, (for example, they're a member of your Microsoft Family), make sure you stop sharing with them before they activate the new subscription.

• Yourself: Simply log in to the new Microsoft account you want the subscription to be associated with, and complete the purchase and activate Microsoft 365 using this new Microsoft account.

• Buy Microsoft 365

Step 4. Move your files and folders from your old OneDrive cloud storage account to your new account (if appropriate)

If you have files and folders in your other Microsoft account that you want to move over to the cloud storage on the new account, then follow the steps below.

1. Follow the steps in this article -Share files and folders in OneDrive.

2. Once the files are shared, then follow this article to add these shared folders to your new cloud storage - Add and sync shared folders to OneDrive.

Step 5. Close your old Microsoft account (if appropriate)

This final step may not be necessary. However, if you also want to close your Microsoft account, there could be extra steps to take because your account might be associated with more than just Microsoft 365. For example, are you also using this account with Xbox, Skype, or other Microsoft services?

Before closing this account permanently, see How to close your Microsoft account for a list of other things to take care of.