Access to this page requires authorization. You can try signing in or changing directories . Access to this page requires authorization. You can try changing directories . The Direct Bill onboarding process provides a clear, step‑by‑step path to CSP authorization - from validating eligibility requirements, completing the capabilities assessment, and progressing through Microsoft’s business vetting and credit checks, to final contractual and operational enablement in Partner Center. Each phase outlines partner actions and Microsoft validations, ensuring a predictable, transparent journey from application to activation. This framework is designed to bring clarity and consistency, helping partners understand their status, required next steps, and how to prepare for successful operations once authorized. Start your Direct Bill partner application After you verify that you meet the minimum requirements , you can proceed to the application form to apply as a Direct Bill partner. Before submitting a Direct Bill application, ensure that the Partner Location Account (PLA) used in your application matches the location under which you intend to complete Direct Bill enrollment in Partner Center. The PLA associated with your Direct Bill application should align with the Partner Center enrollment record that will be used for onboarding, business verification, and authorization activities. Using a Partner Global Account (PGA) identifier in place of a PLA, or using a different PLA during enrollment than the one referenced in the application, might result in onboarding delays . After you submit the application form, your organization goes through these steps for the Direct Bill onboarding process: CSP Direct Bill authorization process Step 1: Eligibility controls After you submit your application for your organization, Microsoft validates your eligibility against the minimum criteria . Your organization must meet the eligibility requirements to qualify to enroll as a CSP Direct Bill Partner. Within 1-2 business days , you receive an email from the Microsoft Assessment Team with the outcome. If the outcome is successful, you move to the next stage: Step 2, the Capability Assessment . In stage 2, a Microsoft authorized third party conducts a Capability Assessment. Step 2: Capability assessment Purpose of the Capabilities Assessment (New or Expanding CSP Partners) The Capabilities Assessment ensures that partners have the required operational, security, compliance, and support maturity before being authorized to transact as a CSP partner on Microsoft’s behalf . When the Capabilities Assessment is required The Capabilities Assessment is required in the following scenarios: New Direct Bill partners applying for CSP authorization Existing Direct Bill partners expanding into a new CSP market/region It serves as an entry gate , validating that the partner is ready to operate safely and effectively in CSP from day one. When the Capabilities Assessment isn't required Existing Direct Bill partners expanding within the same CSP market/region aren't required to complete the Capabilities Assessment, provided they already hold the applicable authorization. What the Capabilities Assessment evaluates When required, the assessment evaluates the same set of capabilities , regardless of whether the partner is new or expanding into a new region. These assessments include: Operational readiness Ability to transact, provision, bill, and manage CSP subscriptions at scale. Operational readiness Ability to transact, provision, bill, and manage CSP subscriptions at scale. Security and compliance maturity Controls to protect Microsoft, customers, and the broader CSP ecosystem. Security and compliance maturity Controls to protect Microsoft, customers, and the broader CSP ecosystem. Support capabilities A functioning support organization with trained staff, processes, escalation paths, and SLAs. Support capabilities A functioning support organization with trained staff, processes, escalation paths, and SLAs. For new or expanding partners, Microsoft doesn't yet have sufficient Partner Center history or data signals to validate these capabilities automatically. The assessment therefore provides an evidence‑based validation to mitigate onboarding risk and protect customers and Microsoft. New Direct Bill and existing Direct Bill region expansion capabilities assessment If you meet the minimum eligibility requirements in Step 1, Microsoft refers your application to an authorized third party for a Capability Assessment. The contact listed on your application receives an email within two business days from the Microsoft Assessment Team with instructions to complete the online assessment through the third-party platform. You must finish the assessment within 10 business days of receiving the invitation. If you don't pass the capabilities assessment or don't complete the assessment within the required timeframe and it's canceled, you aren't eligible to retake the assessment or reapply for Direct Bill authorization for six months from the date of the failed or canceled assessment. The assessment uses a scoring system based on the capabilities and proficiencies required to succeed as a Direct Bill partner. Your total score is a key factor in Microsoft’s final decision. You have only one opportunity to complete the assessment, and you must provide documented evidence. Capabilities assessment sections The following table shows the capability assessment categories with objectives and sample evidence you might be asked to provide as part of the assessment. Guidance on what constitutes good evidence is as follows: Relevant - Evidence should directly address the requirement or criteria and clearly link to the specific question being validated. Credible - It comes from an authoritative, reliable source, such as system-generated reports or official documents. Objective - Fact-based, not opinion-based; demonstrates what is actually happening rather than what you intend to do. Current - Reflects your present operating model, not outdated practices. Include timestamps, version numbers, and dates where applicable. Complete - Contains all necessary components to draw a conclusion. Avoid missing sections, screenshots, or explanations that could prevent understanding. You can redact or obscure any personal data for customers or employees in the evidence you submit for your organization’s capabilities assessment. For organizational charts, ensure that roles and job descriptions remain clearly visible. For certification requirements, you can redact full names and keep initials as long as they allow the certification to be linked to the appropriate support personnel. Organizational chart with job descriptions Main page of your billing system Workflow of your billing solution API integration with Microsoft Partner Center Workflow of your provisioning system Main page of your provisioning system API integration with Microsoft Partner Center Screenshot of Service catalog or Link to Marketplace offerings Samples of Statement of Work, Contract, Customer SLA for three active managed services customers Incident monitoring system’s main dashboard scoped to internal users’ activity Customers’ cost incident monitoring system main dashboard Security, Compliance, and Identity (SC) 900 certification Organizational chart showing compliance function or job description of relevant appointed compliance function Organization's compliance policies, such as Code of conduct, Anti-bribery, and anti-corruption policy Publicly available description of partner's commitment to compliance Compliance training evidence Documented account verification process Evidence of new customer approval based on the performed credit check Documented regular account verification process of existing customers and third-party rehabilitation and offboarding policy Sales process workflow Purchase order template Statement of work Main page of your ticketing system main page with list of most recently opened Microsoft-related tickets Organizational chart with support staff job description Customer-facing system documentation or support function brochure Incident escalation path Organizational chart with job and role descriptions of all relevant support roles, including frontline support and senior support roles Certifications of relevant support staff Training and certification plan for support staff Customer-facing service function description Support KPIs report KPI dashboard from ticketing tool

Documentation of continual improvement process When you submit the Capabilities Assessment, Information Security Systems International (ISSI) sends you an email with a copy of the completed assessment. You receive the results within 5-10 business days : If you pass the Capabilities Assessment, proceed to Step 3 - Welcome email . If you don't pass wait six months before reapplying to become a Direct Bill partner. If you don't receive an update on your results within 10 business days after you submitted your Capabilities Assessment, contact the Microsoft Assessment Team for assistance. Step 3: Welcome email If you successfully pass the Capability Assessment, you receive a welcome email within 1-2 business days from the Microsoft Assessment Team confirming your eligibility to continue with CSP Direct Bill onboarding. This email outlines the next steps, including: Completing account verification and credit checks Reviewing and signing the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA), and Preparing for tenant activation Follow the instructions in the email promptly, access the enrollment link in Partner Center, and submit any required documentation within the specified timeframe. Be sure to use the link provided in the email within 5-10 business days to complete the next step in your onboarding process. If you already have an existing CSP Direct tenant If your organization already has an existing CSP Direct tenant associated with the same Partner Location Account (PLA), don't sign in by using the existing tenant credentials when you complete enrollment. If you sign in by using an existing work account, Partner Center might automatically redirect you to the existing tenant and prevent creation of the new CSP Direct enrollment. Instead: Select Create work account from the welcome link. For guidance, see [Create a work account](create-work-account.md). As part of work account creation, a billing account is created which serves as the legal entity during enrollment. Use a valid business email address. Complete the process to create a new Microsoft Entra work account and tenant. Finish enrollment by using the newly-created credentials. Steps to enroll Choose CSP Direct program in the list of programs to enroll. Choose CSP Direct program in the list of programs to enroll. Select or create a Billing Account ID (legal entity). If no BA ID exists for the tenant, you're redirected to create one. After creation, you return to CSP enrollment. If one or more BA IDs exist , select the appropriate BA ID from the list. Select or create a Billing Account ID (legal entity). If no BA ID exists for the tenant, you're redirected to create one. After creation, you return to CSP enrollment. If one or more BA IDs exist , select the appropriate BA ID from the list. Associate your Location Partner ID. Provide the location Partner ID (of type legal entity) that matches your CSP country/region as detailed in the prerequisite. A mismatch can cause enrollment issues. Associate your Location Partner ID. Provide the location Partner ID (of type legal entity) that matches your CSP country/region as detailed in the prerequisite. A mismatch can cause enrollment issues. Review legal business details (read-only). Selected organization name, address, and primary contact details are shown in a read-only mode. Review legal business details (read-only). Selected organization name, address, and primary contact details are shown in a read-only mode. Provide the Customer support contact details Provide customer support details as part of onboarding, including: Support email address and Support phone number (where applicable). Providing support contact information confirms the partner’s ability to support customers directly. Provide the Customer support contact details Provide customer support details as part of onboarding, including: Support email address and Support phone number (where applicable). Providing support contact information confirms the partner’s ability to support customers directly. Provide the company Tax ID and Billing day If your transactions are exempt from sales tax, use a State Sales Tax Registration, Seller’s Permit, or ID Number as your company tax ID. Select a day of the month for billing. Provide the company Tax ID and Billing day If your transactions are exempt from sales tax, use a State Sales Tax Registration, Seller’s Permit, or ID Number as your company tax ID. Select a day of the month for billing. Submit the form. As primary user, you get Admin agent role assignment. Step 4: Account verification Microsoft verifies your organization’s legal details, including company name, address, and primary contact information. During this process, you might receive an email from macount@microsoft.com requesting more documentation. Verification typically takes 2 to 20 business days , and you can see the results in Partner Center under Account settings > Legal Info . If your account isn't verified after 20 business days, contact support or visit https://aka.ms/vettinghelp for assistance. When verification is complete, your status shows as Authorized . Any future changes to your primary contact, business name, or company address also go through the account verification process to confirm the legitimacy of the update. To learn more about the account verification process, watch this video , or visit Understand the verification process and Verify your company profile . Step 5: Credit checks After you pass the account verification stage, you automatically move to the Credit Check phase. Within two business days, you receive an email from ucmwrcsp@microsoft.com confirming your credit limit, followed by a message from the Credit Team with your credit decision. After you complete and pass the capabilities assessment, start the support plan purchase process so it can run in parallel with the remaining onboarding steps. Starting the process early increases the likelihood that you complete and finalize the support plan by the time the onboarding process completes the Credit Check step. Don't sign or activate the support plan until your CSP credit check is approved. Before you can accept the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) and activate your Direct Bill tenant , your organization must have an active Microsoft premium support plan in place - either Premier Support for Partners (PSfP) or Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) . You can purchase a support plan at the Partner Global Account (PGA) or Partner Location Account (PLA) level. If any PLA under a PGA has a valid support plan, the entire PGA meets the support plan eligibility requirement. Support plan options: Premier Support for Partners Advanced Support for Partners Direct bill partners who are offboarded can work with their CSAM for a prorated refund on their support plan. Step 6: Enablement controls After your credit check is complete, Microsoft conducts a final review of all Direct Bill eligibility requirements . This review typically takes 1-2 business days . If you successfully pass this step, the primary contact listed for your Partner Center account receives an email from the Lifecycle Team. This email confirms that enablement controls are validated and your application for Direct Bill status is approved. To complete onboarding, sign in to Partner Center and accept the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) terms. Your organization must have a support plan in place before you can continue with the onboarding process. If you don't purchase a plan, you receive a notification from the Lifecycle Team that onboarding can't proceed until this requirement is met. When you complete all onboarding steps (including account verification, credit check, support plan validation, and agreement acceptance), the account status in Partner Center updates to Authorized within roughly 24-48 hours . When updated, you can transact under your CSP account. Direct Bill expansion scenarios What is a geo-expansion? A geo-expansion occurs when an existing active CSP partner seeks authorization for a CSP authorization type in a market or region where the partner isn't currently authorized. Adding an extra tenant within a market or region where the partner already holds the applicable authorization isn't considered a geo-expansion and doesn't require re-establishing CSP business eligibility requirements. When Geo-expansion Applies For detailed eligibility requirements applicable to geo-expansion scenarios, see Direct Bill eligibility requirements . Requests for a different CSP authorization type (for example, Distributor to Direct Bill, Indirect reseller to Direct Bill, or Direct Bill to Distributor) are evaluated against the eligibility requirements for the authorization type being requested. These scenarios aren't treated as standard same-market tenant additions. Partner account structure (PGA and PLA requirements) This guide helps partners choose the right setup path when expanding Direct Bill (DB). The first table ( Add locations under an existing Direct Bill tenant ) helps confirm whether the request is: A standard location add (new PLA) within the same CSP market region, or A new region expansion that requires additional validation. The second table ( New PLA vs. New PGA ) helps when the request might involve a structural change - such as setting up a new Partner Global Account (PGA) - which requires a new authorization and onboarding process. Add locations under an existing Direct Bill tenant Use this table to quickly decide whether a request is a new PLA under the existing DB PGA or a new-region expansion that triggers additional onboarding. New PLA vs. New PGA Use the guidance in this table to determine whether your request is for a simple location add (new PLA), a regional expansion that requires additional validation, or a true authorization change (which requires a new PGA): Was this page helpful? Need help with this topic? Want to try using Ask Learn to clarify or guide you through this topic? Additional resources Last updated on 2026-08-26