SLA Credit Claim Builder
Service credits are not automatic: you have to claim them, on time, with the right information. After the Microsoft 365 outage that began on 12 November 2026 (Service health incidents EX1550543 for Exchange Online and MO1550821 for the wider suite), this builder works out the date Microsoft must receive your claim by, checks your evidence against what its SLA requires, and drafts a claim you can edit. It works for other providers too, with the deadline rule from your own agreement. Read what we know about the outage in our Microsoft 365 outage briefing.
1. The provider and the incident
Incidents (times in UTC)
Use the incident IDs from the Microsoft 365 admin center, Service health. Enter when the outage started and ended for your users, in UTC. Overlapping windows are counted once.
2. Impact (goes into the claim)
How many people could not use the service.
Blank = from the incident windows.
Enter an incident start time to see the date Microsoft must receive your claim by. Nothing you type is sent to us.
4. Evidence checklist
Items marked Required by the SLA are the information Microsoft's SLA lists for a claim; claims without it are rejected. The rest is good practice that helps you prove it. Tick what you have; ticked items are listed in the draft.
5. Draft claim message
Edit it here before you send it through Microsoft support (in the Microsoft 365 admin center). It asks the provider to review the service level; it does not say a credit is owed, because the provider decides that. Fill in anything in [brackets].
The claim pack holds the deadline, downtime, evidence status, the draft and what credits do not cover.
6. What credits do not cover
- Lost revenue or sales you could not make while the service was down.
- Staff time and lost productivity, overtime and contractor costs.
- Indirect or consequential losses: missed deadlines, penalties you owe your own customers, reputational damage.
- Anything above the fees for the affected service: a credit is a share of what you pay for that service for that month, at most one credit per service per month, and never more than that service's monthly fees.
- Downtime that does not meet the service's own definition of Downtime (for example a service that was slow but usable), or that falls under the SLA's exclusions.
Under Microsoft's SLA, credits are the sole remedy, Microsoft typically decides within 45 days of receiving the claim, and its outage notices do not confirm that a credit is owed. Open and Open Value purchases are credited in service days. Source: Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services (WW), November 1, 2026 (read 2026-11-13). Check the current edition before you file.
To put a figure on the business losses credits do not cover, try the Microsoft 365 Outage Cost Calculator.
TL;DRWhat this builder does
4 points
- Pick Microsoft 365 or another provider, tick the services affected, and enter each incident ID with its start and end time in UTC.
- For Microsoft 365 you get the date Microsoft must receive your claim by (the end of the month after the month of the Incident, per its SLA) and the days left. For another provider, enter the rule from your own agreement.
- An evidence checklist separates what Microsoft's SLA lists as required claim information from good practice, and a draft claim message you can edit on the page. It asks for a review; it never says a credit is owed.
- It also lists what credits do not cover. Free to use, signed out too. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent to us. Copying the draft and the downloads are available with a paid plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline to claim a Microsoft 365 SLA credit?
Under the Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services (November 1, 2026 edition), for services other than Azure Microsoft must receive the claim, with all required information, by the end of the month after the month in which the Incident happened. The SLA's own example: an Incident on February 15 needs the claim by March 31. For an Incident in November 2026, that is December 31, 2026.
How do I submit a Microsoft 365 SLA credit claim?
Open a request with Microsoft support (from the Microsoft 365 admin center) and include what the SLA asks for: a description of the Incident, the time and duration of the downtime, the affected resource names, the number and locations of affected users, and the errors seen. Claims missing that information are rejected. Adding the incident IDs from Service health helps support match your claim to their record.
Will Microsoft give us a credit for the November 2026 outage?
Nobody can say in advance. Microsoft decides whether a service level was missed for your tenant, typically within 45 days of receiving the claim, and its outage notices do not confirm that a credit is owed. Uptime is measured per service per calendar month, so a short outage for part of your users may not drop below the 99.9% level. The claim is how you ask.
What evidence do I need for an SLA credit claim?
For Microsoft, the required items are the Incident description, time and duration of downtime, affected resource names, number and locations of affected users, and errors seen. Good practice on top: incident IDs from Service health, every timestamp in UTC, logs, helpdesk tickets, screenshots and business impact notes.
Do SLA credits cover lost revenue?
No. Microsoft's SLA says credits are the sole remedy and do not compensate lost revenue, operational costs or indirect losses. A credit is a share of the fees for the affected service for that month, at most one per service per month, and never more than that service's monthly fees.
How are credits paid on Open or Open Value licenses?
Microsoft's SLA says purchases through Open and Open Value are credited in service days rather than as a share of fees. The draft adds a line about this when you choose Open or Open Value.
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