Microsoft 365 offboarding checklist

In Microsoft 365, offboarding happens in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Users. Microsoft publishes its own guide for removing a former employee; follow it for current menus. Here is the order that matters.

Track it in Handover

On their last day

Block sign-in for the user.
Sign them out of all sessions and reset their password.
Remove or wipe the work data on their phone if they used one for work email.

Keep their email and files

Give a teammate access to their mailbox, or convert it to a shared mailbox.
Give a teammate access to their OneDrive files before the account is deleted.
Set an automatic reply or forwarding so customers aren’t lost.

Afterwards

Remove the license, or delete the user, once their data is handled.
Remove them from Teams, groups and SharePoint sites they owned, and make sure each has another owner.
Record what you did and when.

Menus change. For current click paths, see the official help article.

Questions

Can I keep their mailbox without paying for a license?

Often yes: converting a mailbox to a shared mailbox lets others read it without a license, within Microsoft’s size limits. Check Microsoft’s current rules before relying on it.