Vendor SLA directory / Exchange Online
Exchange Online SLA credits: tiers, downtime and the claim deadline
The clauses below are quoted word for word from the Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services (dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026). The summary cards and the downtime minutes are this site's reading and arithmetic. Microsoft decides every claim, and a credit lowers a later bill or adds days of service; it is not cash. Not legal advice.
Credit tiers & minimum downtime minutes
The minutes below assume every user is affected. If only half your users are down, the minutes double.
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| SLA uptime tier | Service credit | 28-day month (Feb) | 30-day month (Apr/Jun/Sep/Nov) | 31-day month (Jan/Mar/May/...) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uptime below 99.9% “< 99.9%” | 25% of fee | 41 min | 44 min | 45 min |
| Uptime below 99% “< 99%” | 50% of fee | 404 min (6h 44m) | 433 min (7h 13m) | 447 min (7h 27m) |
| Uptime below 95% “< 95%” | 100% of fee | 2,017 min (33h 37m) | 2,161 min (36h 1m) | 2,233 min (37h 13m) |
Per-user formula: User Minutes = (days in month x 1,440) x total users; Downtime User Minutes = sum of affected users x minutes down. The table columns above show whole-tenant downtime when 100% of users are affected; if half of your users are affected, double the minutes.
Who cannot claim & what is excluded
- Bought through a reseller such as GoDaddy
- Your provider, or the partner they buy from, asks Microsoft for you. Pick that in the statement.
- Open and Open Value licences (bought through Microsoft volume licensing)
- The credit is days of service, not money off the fee.
- Trials, previews and betas
- Not covered.
- Free plans
- Not covered.
- Personal and Family plans
- We found no credit term for Personal and Family plans. These plans are not under this business SLA. Not verified in Microsoft's consumer terms.
Verbatim clauses from the agreement
Every quotation below is reproduced word-for-word from Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services (dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026).
Uptime & availability formula
“where Downtime is measured in user-minutes; that is, for each Applicable Period, Downtime is the sum of the length (in minutes) of each Incident that occurs during that Applicable Period multiplied by the number of users impacted by that Incident.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“User Minutes” means the total number of minutes in an Applicable Period, less all Scheduled Downtime, multiplied by the total number of users.
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“For other services, (e.g. M365 E3) “Applicable Period” means the calendar month in which a Service Credit is owed.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
Downtime definition
“Downtime: Any period of time when users are unable to send or receive email with Outlook Web Access. There is no Scheduled Downtime for this service.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
Service credit terms & caps
“Service Credit” is the percentage of the Applicable Service Fees credited to you following Microsoft’s claim approval.
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“Applicable Service Fees” means the total fees actually paid by you for a Service that are applied to the Applicable Period in which a Service Credit is owed.
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“Service Credits apply only to fees paid for the particular Service, Service Resource, or Service tier for which a Service Level has not been met.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“The Service Credits awarded in any billing month for a particular Service or Service Resource will not, under any circumstance, exceed your monthly service fees for that Service or Service Resource, as applicable, in the Applicable Period.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“If we determine that a Service Credit is owed to you, we will apply the Service Credit to your Applicable Service Fees.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
Claim filing deadline
“For claims related to all other Services, we must receive the claim by the end of the Applicable Period following the month in which the Incident occurred. For example, if the Incident occurred on February 15th, we must receive the claim and all required information by March 31st.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
Reseller & partner filing rule
“For claims related to all other services, credit requests must be submitted within one month from the end of the billing month in which the incident occurred.”
Microsoft Partner Center, dated 16 June 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
Exclusions & eligibility clauses
“Credit requests are accepted only from CSP direct and indirect providers. Requests aren't accepted from indirect resellers.”
Microsoft Partner Center, dated 16 June 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“Services purchased through Open, Open Value, and Open Value Subscription volume licensing agreements, and Services in an Office 365 Small Business Premium suite purchased in the form of a product key are not eligible for Service Credits based on service fees.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“preview, pre-release, beta or trial versions ... (as determined by us) or to purchases made using Microsoft subscription credits”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
“service tiers provided free of charge are not included or eligible for SLA claims or credits.”
Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, dated 1 November 2026, last checked 12 November 2026.
Ready to calculate your Exchange Online credit?
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