How to Move Microsoft 365 Off GoDaddy (Without Losing Email)

By Justin N. · Updated 2026-10-22 · This page may contain affiliate links

If you bought Microsoft 365 through GoDaddy, GoDaddy is the reseller that controls your subscription, and you can't just switch billing over in the Microsoft admin center. Moving to Microsoft directly (or to another Microsoft reseller) is a process GoDaddy runs. Done in the wrong order, it can lock you out or leave you with a second, empty tenant. This guide walks through it in the order GoDaddy and Microsoft describe.

Who this is for: a small business whose Microsoft 365 email was bought from GoDaddy and that wants to buy from Microsoft or another reseller instead. Everything below was checked against Microsoft's and GoDaddy's own help pages on 2026-10-22. GoDaddy owns this process and can change it, so read GoDaddy's article before you start.

Use the official process only

Microsoft's page on this (it calls it "defederation") points to GoDaddy's article. It warns that Microsoft and GoDaddy don't support steps published on unauthorized non-Microsoft sites, and that unofficial steps can lead to problems like being unable to sign in to SharePoint or mailboxes. For problems during the move, Microsoft says to contact GoDaddy support (Defederation process for Microsoft 365 admins using GoDaddy).

That rules out the do-it-yourself scripts and "unfederate your domain in PowerShell" walkthroughs you'll find in forums.

What to know before you ask

GoDaddy lists these points (GoDaddy: Move my Microsoft 365 email away from GoDaddy):

Your tenant stays the same. The move doesn't release your domain from your Microsoft tenant. The tenant also can't be combined with another existing tenant.
Don't buy anything from Microsoft yet. GoDaddy says buying new mailboxes from Microsoft or another reseller before the move is finished creates a new tenant that can't be merged with yours.
Don't delete mailboxes before the move.
Your GoDaddy plans don't come with you. You buy new licenses from Microsoft or the new reseller. GoDaddy says its plans are subject to its Refund Policy, and that plans and pricing elsewhere might not match GoDaddy's.
It's one-way. GoDaddy says the organization can't move back to GoDaddy, and GoDaddy can't support it after the move.
All domains in the organization move together.
Email add-ons are deleted. That includes GoDaddy's Email Backup (provided by ConnectWise): GoDaddy says those backups are removed and can't be restored afterward. Email Archiving (Barracuda) needs extra steps with Barracuda before the move, and Advanced Email Security (Proofpoint) users need to point MX records back to Microsoft first.

Sort out backup before you start. If GoDaddy's Email Backup add-on is your only backup, it goes away with the move. Have a replacement running first. My Microsoft 365 backup guide compares the options, including Microsoft 365 Backup and third-party services.

Step 1: Get ready

From GoDaddy's requirements (GoDaddy):

Change your GoDaddy account's contact email if it's on a domain that's moving. GoDaddy resets admin passwords and sends the temporary password to that address, so it has to be somewhere else, like a personal address.
Make sure the email plans are active, not suspended or in a failed billing state, and that they don't expire within 5 business days.
Check you can sign in as an admin, including MFA.
Release any Proofpoint-quarantined mail you want to keep, and update MX records if you use Advanced Email Security.
Decide what happens to archiving, if you have it.
Write down which Microsoft products you have through GoDaddy, including extras like Visio, Planner, Power BI or Microsoft 365 Copilot. GoDaddy says you'll need to replace those too.

Step 2: Ask GoDaddy to start the move

GoDaddy says to contact a GoDaddy Guide, who reviews a set of "move questions" with you and creates a ticket. GoDaddy then sends a temporary password to your GoDaddy account's email address, usually the next business day (GoDaddy).

Sign in at Microsoft directly with the temporary password. You can no longer use GoDaddy's sign-in page for Microsoft 365.
GoDaddy says every admin address gets the same temporary password, and that the temporary password doesn't change MFA or security defaults.
Once signed in, admins set new passwords for all the other users. GoDaddy says all passwords in the organization must be changed. Tell your staff before this happens.

Step 4: Buy and assign new licenses

Wait for GoDaddy's email saying it's time to buy. GoDaddy says it notifies you when to buy new plans, and that it suspends its plans in your organization 7 days after your email addresses are deleted from its database.
Buy only from Microsoft or another Microsoft reseller. GoDaddy warns you might still see an option to buy from GoDaddy during this time. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, buying is done from the Marketplace page (Try or buy a Microsoft 365 subscription). If you're unsure which plan to pick, see Business Premium vs E3.
Assign the new licenses under Billing > Licenses (Assign Microsoft 365 licenses to users). If the new plan is different from the GoDaddy plan, GoDaddy says to remove the GoDaddy license from the user before assigning the new one.

Step 5: Clean up

Remove the GoDaddy plans from your GoDaddy account if you don't need them. GoDaddy says it can't remove itself as the reseller on your tenant until all its subscriptions expire, but you can manage the tenant through your new provider in the meantime.
Review partner access. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, Settings > Partner relationships lists the partners you work with. You can select a partner and choose Remove roles to take away its admin roles. Microsoft notes that removing roles doesn't end the relationship; it says to contact the partner to do that (Manage partner relationships).
Turn on the security you were missing. If you moved to get Business Premium, this is the moment to read Security defaults vs Conditional Access and the Conditional Access starter policies.
Check your DNS. GoDaddy's move article covers your Microsoft 365 subscription, not domain registration or DNS hosting, so if GoDaddy hosts your DNS, check that your Microsoft 365 records are still right afterward. While you're there, check SPF, DKIM and DMARC: see SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Microsoft 365.

Sources

Where to get help: GoDaddy's move article and, for backup before the move, my backup guide. These are ordinary links, not affiliate links.

Accuracy note: Microsoft changes admin center menus and licensing often. Paths and prices were checked against Microsoft documentation on 2026-10-22. If something has moved, tell me at [email protected].