Microsoft 365
Updated: March 18, 2026

Microsoft 365 Cross-tenant User Data Migration

Move tenant data with fewer steps and clearer workflows: Effective March 5, 2026, Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 Cross-tenant User Data Migration – an add-on license for customers undergoing mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

What is Microsoft 365 Cross-tenant User Data Migration?

Microsoft 365 Cross-tenant User Data Migration is an add-on license that enables structured, cross-tenant user data migration in Microsoft 365. The technical component that performs the migration is called the Microsoft 365 orchestrator. The orchestrator allows administrators to schedule and batch the migration of Exchange Online mailboxes, OneDrive content, Teams meetings, and Teams chats through PowerShell (see limitations below). It centralizes migration logic and ensures that dependencies across workloads are managed in the correct order.

The feature is designed for organizations undergoing mergers, acquisitions, or tenant reorganizations and provides a Microsoft-supported approach that keeps all data inside the Microsoft compliance boundary.

Licensing

Per-user licensing: Microsoft offers the Cross-Tenant User Data Migration as a separate add-on license. Each user who will be migrated needs one license, which can be assigned either to the source tenant user or the target tenant user. It is a one-time license, not a recurring subscription.
Coverage: You need the add-on license whenever you move a user’s mailbox or OneDrive, because these workloads require paid migration. Teams chats and Teams meetings can be moved without an extra license during the preview phase. However, meeting migration still depends on the mailbox moving, so in most real migrations you will still need the add-on.
Prerequisites: The add-on is available for a wide range of Microsoft 365 plans, including Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium, Microsoft 365 F1/F3/E3/E5, Office 365 F3/E1/E3/E5, Exchange Online, SharePoint in Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and Education It can be purchased through Enterprise Agreement (EA), Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), Web Direct, and Education channels.
Compliance: Before starting any migration batch, verify that every user in that batch has the required license. Proper licensing helps to avoid failed migrations, especially because mailbox moves are required for Teams meeting migration.

Workload coverage

Exchange Online mailboxes (user-visible content only)
OneDrive files and folders with redirect link left in source tenant
Teams chats with conversation continuity for target users
Teams meetings with dependency on successful mailbox migration

Key capabilities

Batching and scheduling of migrations via PowerShell

Mailbox, OneDrive, Teams chats, and Teams meetings migration
Order-aware sequencing to reduce dependency failures
Identity mapping requirements for accurate mapping
Support for multiple migration models including phased and single-event

Limitations to consider

Shared Teams and SharePoint content is not migrated: Only personal user data moves to the target tenant. Shared assets such as Teams channels or SharePoint sites remain in the source tenant and must be handled through separate migration processes.
Mailboxes on hold cannot be migrated: If a user mailbox is under any type of legal, compliance, or litigation hold, the migration is blocked. Organizations must review and resolve these holds before scheduling the move.
Identity mapping configuration is required before migration: The orchestrator needs a correct mapping between each source user and their corresponding target user. Without proper identity mapping, workloads cannot be matched or migrated reliably.
OneDrive and SharePoint migration concurrency limits apply: Microsoft enforces limits on how many OneDrive accounts or SharePoint-related migrations can run at the same time. These limits impact scheduling and may slow down large migration batches.
The source mailbox is removed after migration and converted to a MailUser: Once the mailbox migration is completed, the original mailbox is deleted and replaced with a MailUser object to maintain mail routing. The mailbox itself can no longer be accessed, although some underlying metadata may continue to exist depending on the organization’s retention policies.

Is Microsoft 365 orchestrator relevant to my organization?

Yes, if your organization has use cases relating to mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations. It provides a structured, Microsoft-backed method to move user data with fewer risks and significantly less manual effort.