M365 service account expiration email notifications to start in July
In 2025, the UW-Madison Microsoft 365 (M365) service team developed a new lifecycle process for service accounts. All service accounts will now require annual renewal to remain active. Service accounts will begin receiving expiration notifications in July.
Quick refresher: What is a service account?
A service account is an account created in M365. These accounts are typically used by applications or for shared/changing roles (billing office, webmaster, etc.) rather than by a person. They are also used with other campus services such as Zoom and Google. For more information about service accounts, see our KnowledgeBase article: Microsoft 365 – Getting started with service accounts.
If you use service accounts, read on to learn more about the lifecycle process and how to prepare.
Key changes to account management
Starting July 2026, all M365 service accounts will receive expiration notifications and will be required to renew annually.
- Annual notifications: Every service account must be renewed once per year. We will send expiration notification emails annually.
- Six-month notification window: Account owners will have six months from the initial email notice to renew the account.
- Monthly reminders: Automated notification emails will be sent monthly throughout the six-month window until the account is renewed.
- Account deletion: If an account is not renewed by the deadline, it will be automatically deleted. This includes the permanent removal of all associated emails, files and calendar events.
If an account is no longer needed, you can simply ignore the notifications and the system will automatically delete the account after the six-month window.
How to prepare
By default, renewal notification emails are sent directly to the service account email address itself. To ensure these emails are seen by the appropriate people, please take the following steps:
- Take an inventory: Review the M365 service accounts used by you and your group.
- Check access: Ensure the appropriate people in your organization have access to the service account inbox. Ask the Authorized Administrators or Domain Administrators of the service account to confirm who has mailbox permissions to the account.
- Update notification email: Make sure the correct people will receive the expiration email notifications. Contact the Authorized Administrators or Domain Administrators for the service account and ask them to confirm who is set as the Renewal Notification Recipient. More information on who can receive renewal notifications can be found in our KnowledgeBase article: UW-Madison – Service Account Lifecycle Process.
Unsure who the Authorized Administrator or Domain Administrator is for your service account? Contact the DoIT Help Desk.
Want to avoid annual renewals?
If you don’t want to keep track of annual renewals, there is an alternative. Consider requesting to convert your service account into a Shared Mailbox.
Shared mailboxes are very similar to service accounts but with one major perk: they do not require annual renewal. They are an excellent replacement if your team only accesses the account via mailbox permissions or if the account is simply used to forward mail to another email address. Service accounts that are used with other services such as Google Workspace or Zoom should not be converted to shared mailboxes.
Why this matters
Through this new lifecycle process, we will retire accounts that are no longer needed. The lifecycle ensures that UW–Madison’s digital campus remains secure and that we continue to provide high-quality support for your organization’s collaborative efforts.
Additional resources
For detailed information on the renewal process, please visit the following KnowledgeBase articles: