- Microsoft’s official pages show no planning tool like Google’s or Apple’s.
- After a death, Microsoft generally has to be formally served with a valid subpoena or court order before it will even consider releasing data.
- Outlook.com and OneDrive accounts are frozen after just 1 year without a sign-in, and the email and files are deleted shortly after.
- Without the login details, cancel Microsoft subscriptions by stopping the card or bank payment.
A Microsoft account usually holds Outlook.com or Hotmail email, OneDrive files and any Microsoft 365 subscription. It may also hold the recovery key for an encrypted Windows laptop. Microsoft’s process after a death is short and strict, and the deadlines are tighter than most people expect.
Set it up now
Microsoft has no equivalent of Google’s Inactive Account Manager or Apple’s Legacy Contact on the official pages we checked. That isn’t proof that no such feature exists, but you can’t count on one. Planning ahead therefore means doing the work yourself.
- Keep the recovery code safe. Microsoft advises you to print your account recovery code and keep it somewhere safe, not on a device you use to sign in. Generating a new code cancels the old one, so keep the printed copy current.
- Record where your sign-in details are. A password manager with emergency access is the cleanest way to let one trusted person reach the account if you die.
- Think about the laptop. When you set up Windows with a Microsoft account, Device Encryption is switched on and the recovery key is attached to that account. If nobody can sign in to it, the files on the laptop may be lost for good. Our page on accessing a deceased person’s computer explains this.
List the account in your digital asset inventory so your executor knows it exists.
If someone has died
Microsoft’s official page is called “Accessing Outlook.com, OneDrive and other Microsoft services when someone has died”. It says Microsoft is generally unable to provide information to people who aren’t the account holder.
Getting the data
Microsoft says it must first be formally served with a valid subpoena or court order before it will consider whether it can lawfully release a deceased user’s information. Even then, it says this doesn’t guarantee it can help.
- Subpoenas and court orders in non-criminal cases must be served on Microsoft’s registered agent. Faxed or emailed requests are not accepted.
- For customers in Europe, orders are served on Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd, 70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland.
- Elsewhere, orders go to Microsoft’s registered agent in your state or region.
Two countries are exceptions. In Germany, heirs can contact support with the death certificate, the deceased’s ID, proof of inheritance (an Erbschein) and their own ID. In China, there is a support route using proof of death, proof of relationship, ID and a signed statement.
There is no UK-specific route on the page. Getting a court order is a significant step, and a solicitor can confirm whether it is worth it for your situation.
Closing the account
If you already know the login details, Microsoft points you to its normal account closure steps. Once closed, the account is kept for 60 days, during which it can be reopened, and then permanently deleted with its data.
Signing in with a dead person’s password is a grey area. In the UK, the Computer Misuse Act 1990 makes unauthorised access to data an offence, and lawyers have questioned whether an executor who knows a password is authorised. We found no reported prosecution of a relative for this, but treat it as an untested legal risk rather than a formality.
Stopping subscriptions
If you don’t have the login details, Microsoft says to make sure any Microsoft subscriptions are cancelled, and that you can stop them by closing the person’s bank account or credit card, revoking the authorisation or telling the bank. That covers Microsoft 365 and other subscriptions. Our page on subscriptions and recurring payments covers how banks handle this.
The deadline is one year, not two. Microsoft says Outlook.com and OneDrive accounts are frozen after 1 year of inactivity and the email and files are deleted shortly after. The whole Microsoft account expires after 2 years. If the family wants anything from OneDrive or the mailbox, act within months.
Microsoft’s page doesn’t cover Xbox accounts, and the process can change, so check the official Microsoft page before you act.