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The rapidly growing demand for cloud-based solutions and services provides many opportunities for Microsoft partners of all sizes to build profitable cloud solution businesses. Partners can enroll in Microsoft's Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program as Indirect Resellers when they:
- Are ready to enter the market, but don't want to manage multiple vendors.
- Don't have an end-to-end customer relationship management infrastructure in place.
As an Indirect Reseller in CSP, you work with indirect providers (also known as Distributors) who have a direct relationship with Microsoft. They can provide you with customer support, pricing, and billing to help ensure your success. In the provider-reseller (two-tier) model, the provider buys cloud solutions and services from Microsoft. You then resell them to customers.
Different Distributors offer various support and services. Evaluate the Distributors in your area to determine which ones best meet your needs. Generally, most Distributors:
- Provide you with technical training and assistance.
- Help you market your products and services.
- Help you establish financing and credit terms.
If you're not already working with a provider (also known as a distributor), you can search the list of official Microsoft providers to find one.
As an Indirect Reseller, you must meet the requirements to enroll in the CSP program and continue meeting those requirements annually to maintain your CSP Indirect Reseller authorization.
New Indirect Reseller eligibility requirements
| FY26 Indirect Reseller Authorization | Where you can validate this information in Partner Center |
|---|---|
| An active membership in the Microsoft Cloud AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) and a Partner Location Account (PLA) ID for the location business address associated with the reseller tenant you want to sell in in Partner Center. For more information, review the Cloud Solution Provider program global markets. | To validate that you have an active MAICPP agreement, go to the Legal Agreements page in Partner Center and verify that the MAICPP agreement is marked as Active and Signed. To confirm that your MAICPP membership is active and that your Partner Location Account (PLA) ID is correctly listed for the CSP region where you transact, go to Partner Center > Settings > Account Settings > Legal Info. Confirm the PLA ID listed aligns to the business address and CSP market region you intend to sell in for the IR tenant. |
Indirect Reseller annual requirements
We have updated enrollment requirements for Indirect Reseller partners. Eligibility requirements are assessed against all new Indirect Reseller applicants and on an annual basis. Every Reseller Partner Location Account (PLA) is subject to eligibility criteria on the CSP onboard month for that PLA.
For more information on how to sell in the CSP program as an Indirect Reseller, see Get started as an indirect reseller on the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.
| FY26 Indirect Reseller Authorization | Where you can validate this information in Partner Center |
|---|---|
| An active membership in the Microsoft Cloud AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) and a Partner Location Account (PLA) ID for the location business address associated with the reseller tenant you want to sell in in Partner Center. For more information, review the Cloud Solution Provider program global markets. | To validate that you have an active MAICPP agreement, go to the Legal Agreements page in Partner Center and verify that the MAICPP agreement is marked as Active and Signed. To confirm that your MAICPP membership is active and that your Partner Location Account (PLA) ID is correctly listed for the CSP region where you transact, go to Partner Center > Settings > Account Settings > Legal Info. Confirm the PLA ID listed aligns to the business address and CSP market region you intend to sell in for the IR tenant. |
| At least USD $1,000 in CSP transactional revenue during the preceding 12 months at the reseller Partner Local Account (PLA) tenant level. You can work with your Distributor to generate new business sufficient to exceed USD $1,000 in TTM revenue for that tenant. | Indirect Resellers don't have their own direct revenue reports in Partner Center. Indirect Resellers may request their revenue details from their Distributor, who can pull CSP revenue reports that reflect TTM revenue at the IR’s PLA. Eligible TTM revenue is based on CSP transactional revenue, which includes perpetual software, and excludes non-transactional revenue from Claiming Partner of Record (CPOR), Digital Partner of Record (DPOR), and Partner Admin Link (PAL) status. |
| Complete all mandatory requirements of Partner Center security score. The mandatory security requirements are: - Enable multifactor authentication (MFA) for all administrative users in the CSP tenant - Designate a security contact within Partner Center |
Indirect Resellers can validate their compliance for Multifactor authentication (MFA) compliance through their tenant administration tools (Entra ID security settings). Indirect Resellers can validate their designated security contact in: Partner Center > Settings > Account Settings > Organization Profile > Security Contact |
| Acceptance of the CSP Indirect Reseller Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) | To validate the MPA agreement signed in Partner Center navigate to Legal Agreements under Account settings. You'll see a list of agreements your organization accepts along with the version and acceptance date. |
Download the reseller frequently asked questions for more details on the revenue requirement and its enforcement. Partner sign-in is required.
At risk of not meeting authorization requirements
Microsoft sends notification emails to an organization’s Global Admins and Billing Admins from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com where the organization doesn't meet CSP authorization eligibility requirements and action is required. Notifications begin at T 90 (90 days before the organization’s earliest CSP anniversary month) and may be sent in each subsequent month the organization remains non qualified.
Eligibility is evaluated monthly, and each evaluation is independent of prior months. Notifications may be sent at approximately T 90, T 60, and T 30. Receipt of one notification doesn't guarantee receipt of subsequent notifications. Notifications are sent only for months in which the organization is non qualified. If eligibility is met for a given month, no notification is sent. Notifications may resume in later months if the organization again becomes non qualified.
Important
To ensure the right contacts receive courtesy notifications, partners should regularly review and update their Global Admin and Billing Admin assignments in Partner Center.
If any authorization requirements remain unmet on the anniversary of your CSP onboard month (T 0), you'll receive an email from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com informing your organization that you have 30 days to resolve one or more outstanding issues.
Failed authorization requirements
If you don't meet the authorization requirements within 30 days after the anniversary of your CSP onboard month (T+30), deauthorization proceedings will begin. Review the detailed steps for this process by authorization type. Indirect Resellers should connect with their Distributors to work together on meeting the revenue requirement and upgrading their security capabilities as needed.