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Requirements to enroll as a CSP direct-bill partner

Appropriate roles: Global admin

As a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) direct-bill partner, you own the end-to-end relationship with your customer and with Microsoft.

Verify minimum requirements and capabilities

We updated enrollment requirements for direct-bill partners. The goal of these requirements is to help you accelerate your business growth with the right CSP model and strengthen your customer relationships with value-added services and support.

Note

You must transact as an indirect reseller for at least 12 months before applying to enroll as a direct partner.

Before you enroll, verify that you meet the following requirements. The following table shows the minimum requirements to be eligible to apply to enroll. Microsoft reviews all relevant information and provides applicants with a decision.

If you're already authorized as a direct bill partner in one region and you want to enroll in a new region, you aren't automatically approved for authorization in that new region. You must complete all the application, assessment, enrollment, business verification and credit approval steps for onboarding the new regional tenant.

Requirement Description
PartnerID An active membership in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) and a Partner Location Account (PLA) ID for the ___location you want to sell in.
Endorsement The authority to accept legal agreements on behalf of your organization.
Support The ability to provide the first level of cloud product support to your customers.
An active Microsoft support plan, either Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) or Premier Support for Partners (PSfP), depending on your needs. Compare support plans.
IMPORTANT: Purchase a support plan (if your company doesn’t already have one) only after the enrollment completes credit approval. You receive an email when you pass the credit check. You can then purchase the support plan as the final requirement before you accept the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) to activate the direct bill tenant.
Revenue requirement Your organization must have at least USD $1 million eligible revenue in CSP as an indirect reseller at the PGA level during the preceding 12 months. The sales that make up your USD $1 million trailing twelve-month revenue are subject to review and verification by Microsoft, in its sole discretion. You might be asked to provide additional information. The eligible revenue is based on transactional revenue from all CSP tenants under the PGA and includes perpetual software in CSP.
Security score Your organization must complete all mandatory requirements of the Partner Center security score.
- Compliance with the mandatory security requirements is validated annually during the anniversary month of the partner’s original CSP onboarding. The mandatory security requirements are:
- Enable multifactor authentication (MFA) for all administrative users in the CSP tenant
- Designate a security contact within Partner Center
- Respond to security alerts within 24 hours or less
Security score assessment is at the PGA level: For direct bill partners, all production tenants under a given Partner Global Account (PGA), are assessed. If any production tenant within the PGA fails to meet the mandatory security requirements, the entire PGA is considered at risk and may lose authorization, regardless of whether the PGA is in a single region or across multiple regions.
Solution Partner designation Your company must attain at least one (1) Solutions Partner designation in the MAICPP.
CSP eligibility requirements Your company must meet a set of capabilities standards, which are the subject of an automated assessment from Microsoft. Starting in October 2025, partners are reassessed annually to confirm that requirements and standards continue to be met.

Sell
Technical resources:


- Allocated resources with skills/certifications to provide consultancy, design, and services to customers, backed by Solutions Partner designations
- Sales force: Allocated resources that to Microsoft solutions, operating under structured process
- Billing and provisioning systems: Automated platforms based on API integration with Partner Center
- Managed services: A well-established practice to complement Microsoft cloud products
- Solution expertise: Performance, skilling, and customer success capabilities in the core Microsoft solution areas

Secure

- Data security (MFA): Multifactor authentication implemented for CSP tenants and users
- Security incident monitoring system: Fraud detection across partner and customer tenants
- Compliance function: A dedicated compliance resource delivering risk assessments and staff training
- Customer oversight: Processes in place for customer business verification and credit checks
- Deal management: Ability to obtain an End Customer Purchase Commitment.

Support

- Support function: Mature support practice with ticketing and escalation processes
- Support staff: Personnel with appropriate Microsoft certifications and expertise
- Support performance metrics: Tracking of service level agreements (SLAs) and continual improvement

Start your direct-bill partner application

After you’ve verified that you meet the minimum requirements to apply to enroll as a direct bill partner, you can proceed to the application form.

After we’ve verified that your company meets the eligibility requirements to enroll as a direct bill partner, and after you’ve completed the enrollment application, we’ll review and verify the business information you provided during the enrollment process. As part of this review, we check your company’s credit. We’ll let you know by email when your company passes the credit check.

During your application process, Microsoft reviews all required capabilities through an automated online assessment. Each applicant is contacted to complete the assessment after confirmation by Microsoft that the initial requirements are met (such as minimum TTM revenue and reseller tenure).

This assessment uses a scoring methodology based on capabilities and proficiencies required for direct bill success. The scoring total is included in Microsoft’s final decision regarding your application.

Once the application is approved following the assessment, we email your company with next steps, starting with submission of the enrollment form in Partner Center. You are notified by email if you don't receive approval.

Important

While the application is under review, you should NOT purchase a Microsoft premium support plan or attempt to submit a Partner Center enrollment. After you're approved for enrollment and complete credit review, you are notified by email that you should proceed with the purchase plan to enable the activation of their direct bill tenant.

Annual renewal of authorization

As shared previously, in October 2025, Microsoft begins requiring annual reassessments of existing direct bill partners during their CSP onboarded month as a condition of their continued direct bill authorization. The reassessment questionnaire covers the same capabilities that the pre-enrollment assessment does. Also, the following direct bill requirements must be met at that time:

If you don't meet one or more of the above requirements, you are required to transition to indirect reseller status to maintain authorization to transact as a CSP partner. If multiple authorized CSP PGAs exist for a direct bill partner, the onboarded anniversary month is calculated as the first month of the calendar year.

Understand progress towards meeting requirements to maintain CSP Direct Bill authorization

Existing direct bill partners can check the Partner Center Insights workspace to view their progress towards meeting authorization requirements.

Partners can view their authorization requirement progress in Partner Center:

  • TTM revenue can be downloaded via revenue reports at the Downloads hub in Partner Center. Distributors and direct bill partners can download the “Reseller performance” and “CSP Revenue Details “reports, respectively, to track their revenue progress. Details can be found here.
  • Security status can be found in the Security Workspace in Partner Center. Details can be found here.
  • Partners with the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) partner admin role can track progress toward attaining any Solutions Partner designation on the Solutions Partner dashboard in Partner Center.
  • Support plan status: Partners should reach out to their Microsoft support plan account manager to confirm their plan coverage.
  • Assessment: After a partner completes an assessment, they receive the results of the assessment via email.

Eligibility Requirement Progress

If applicable, Microsoft sends a series of advance notification emails regarding any incomplete requirements starting three months before the CSP onboarded anniversary month.

  • For example, if your organization hasn't met the USD1 million in TTM revenue requirement for your CSP region, your organization can use the three-month notification period to generate business sufficient to meet or exceed the revenue requirement. If your organization meets the TTM revenue requirement on the anniversary month and completes all other requirements, your organization maintains your CSP direct bill authorization in your CSP region.

Transition from direct bill to indirect reseller

See Transition from Cloud Solution Provider direct-bill partner to indirect reseller to learn more about this process. The transitioned partner must wait one year to reapply for direct bill status. The same waiting period applies to deauthorized direct bill partners for not meeting eligibility requirements, and to direct bill applicants not approved for onboarding.

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