Microsoft Entra ID Governance: Azure subscription required to continue using guest governance features
Versions captured by this deployment. Earlier versions and notices may be missing; first observed is not first published.
Rollout
- Ends
- 31 Dec 2026
Rollout dates are often only in the text. When Microsoft moves them, the change shows under "What changed".
- Microsoft's start date
- 30 Jan 2026
- Last changed by Microsoft
- 16 Apr 2026
- First seen here
- 19 Oct 2026
- Versions seen
- 1
What the notice says
Microsoft's text, with its sections, lists and tables; source markup removedIntroduction
Beginning January 30, 2026, Microsoft Entra ID Governance will require all tenants to have a linked Azure subscription to continue using Identity Governance features for guest users. This change ensures accurate billing for governance actions performed by guests and supports continued access to advanced governance capabilities.
When this will happen
General availability and enforcement begin on January 30, 2026.
How this will affect your organization
Who is affected
- Organizations using Microsoft Entra ID Governance features for guest users (userType = Guest).
- Admins managing lifecycle workflows or Entra ID Governance features in entitlement management for external or guest identities. Access reviews will be included by March 31, 2026.
What will happen
- If your tenant does not have a linked Azure subscription, creation or updates of policies scoped to guest users using premium Entra ID Governance capabilities will be blocked.
- The following actions will be unavailable:
- Existing policies will continue to run, but no new guest-governance actions can be authored without billing enabled.
- Once a subscription is linked, normal guest governance usage and billing will begin under the Monthly Active User (MAU) model.
What you can do to prepare
- Before January 30, 2026, link a valid Azure subscription to your tenant:
- Confirm your account has at least the Contributor role to enable subscription linking.
- Review any guest-scoped workflows, reviews, or entitlement policies that may require updates after subscription linking.
- Communicate this change to support teams or internal governance admins.
- Update internal documentation regarding:
Learn more: Microsoft Entra ID Governance licensing for guest users | Microsoft Learn
Compliance considerations
| Question | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? | Guest-governance actions require a linked Azure subscription; creating or updating guest-scoped governance actions is blocked without subscription linkage. |
| Does the change modify admin controls? | Admins must link an Azure subscription to enable guest governance billing and can turn guest governance on or off in the Entra ID Governance dashboard. |
| Does the change allow a user or admin to enable or disable the feature? | Guest governance features can be enabled or disabled through the Guest Governance panel in the Entra ID Governance dashboard. |
What changed
Between the versions this installation saw, newest firstThis installation has seen one version of this notice, first on 19 Oct 2026. Later changes will show here.
Linked documentation
Microsoft pages the notice links to- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/id-governance/microsoft-entra-id-governance-licensing-for-guest-users Checked 19 Oct 2026
This site links to Microsoft's pages instead of copying them. Installations inside an organization can keep a copy for comparison.
Not confirmed here
What this page cannot tell you- Whether your tenant is affected: this is Microsoft's notice, not a check of your settings.
- Versions before 19 Oct 2026: this installation first saw the notice after Microsoft posted it.