💡 Our Technical Review in summary
Summary
- Message ID: MC1156361 (Published September 20, 2025).
- Core Change: Microsoft is introducing a new, no-cost subscription titled “Microsoft Entra ID Free” that will be automatically added to all active tenants.
- Purpose: As part of Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative (SFI), this subscription serves as a formal link between a Microsoft Entra tenant and a billing account to improve ownership tracking, inventory management, and recovery options in the event of lost administrative access.
- Timeline: Rollout begins in early to mid-October 2025 and will proceed in phases globally.
Impact
- Visibility: IT Administrators and Billing Administrators will see a new entry “Microsoft Entra ID Free” under Billing > Your Products in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and within Cost Management + Billing in the Azure portal.
- Financial Impact: There is zero cost associated with this subscription. It will not affect existing billing cycles, invoices, or credit card charges.
- Functional Impact: There is no change to existing Entra ID features, user permissions, or license assignments. This is purely an administrative/billing layer change.
- Restrictions: This subscription cannot be modified, cancelled, or deleted by the customer while the tenant remains active.
Action Required
- No Technical Action: There is no configuration or setup required by IT Administrators; the rollout is automated.
- Internal Communication: We recommend informing your Billing or Procurement teams that this item will appear in the dashboard. This will prevent unnecessary inquiries regarding “unauthorized” or “new” subscriptions being added to the tenant.
- Review: While no compliance issues are expected, organizations with strict auditing requirements for new service entries should note this update in their internal change management logs.
Microsoft Official Update
Service: N/A
Category: stayInformed
Severity: normal
We’re pleased to announce the rollout of the Microsoft Entra ID Free subscription, an initiative designed to enhance Microsoft’s service offerings and improve your experience with Microsoft.
What is Microsoft Entra ID Free?
Microsoft Entra ID Free is a no-cost subscription that represents the Entra Tenant you own and use to access Microsoft products and services. Over the coming weeks, this subscription will appear under Billing > Your Products in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, and Cost Management + Billing > Products + services > All billing subscriptions in the Microsoft Azure portal. This subscription cannot be modified or deleted while you’re an active customer with Microsoft.
No action is required from you.
Why are we doing this?
As part of Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative, we’re improving how ownership of Microsoft Entra tenants is tracked. By linking tenant ownership to a Microsoft billing account, customers can clearly see which tenants they own. The Microsoft Entra ID Free subscription will manage new tenants under the same billing account, helping customers keep an inventory and prove ownership if administrative access is lost.
If you have questions or need help, contact support.
[When this will happen:]
General Availability (Worldwide): The rollout is scheduled to begin early to mid-October and will be completed over phases.
[How this will affect your organization:]
A new no-cost subscription, Microsoft Entra ID Free, will appear underneath your account. There is no impact to your billing, or existing functionality.
[What you need to do to prepare:]
There is no action required.
[Compliance considerations:]
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
