How to cancel the purchase of a license

Hi @Nurlain Bava,

Good day and thank you for sharing the details of your situation.

To answer your question, Microsoft 365 subscriptions are typically managed by cancellation rather than deletion, as subscription records are retained for billing, audit, and service continuity purposes.

If the subscription is no longer needed, you may stop any further charges by canceling it through the admin center.

With that in mind, to help guide you further, please review the guidance below to proceed:

1/ To cancel the subscription in the admin center

• Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your admin account and go to Billing > Licenses > Subscription.

• Choose Manage subscription details

• Under Subscription status > choose Cancel subscription

For reference: Cancel your Microsoft business subscription in the Microsoft 365 admin center | Microsoft Learn.

If the cancel option is not available (for example, outside the cancellation period), you may consider turning off recurring billing to ensure that no further charges are applied. For guidance on turning off recurring billing, please refer to: Manage recurring billing in the Microsoft 365 admin center | Microsoft Learn.

2/ Contact Microsoft Support

Since billing situations can vary depending on the subscription type and timing, after attempting to cancel the subscription or turn off recurring billing, it would be advisable to submit a support request so the Billing team can review your account in detail and help confirm whether the cancellation was successful, or assist further with cancellation and any available refund options if needed.

To open a support ticket, you can follow the steps below:

• In the Microsoft 365 admin center > Help & support

• Turn off Support Assistant

• After entering your issue, select the blue arrow and scroll down to access the Contact Support option.

• For the billing-related request, it may be helpful to clearly reference your intent to cancel and request a refund so the case can be routed efficiently. For example, you could use a ticket title such as: “Billing Support Request: Cancellation and Refund for Office 365 E5”

As moderators, our primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While we do not have access to internal systems or the administrative tools required to review account-specific or billing matters, we truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations. We genuinely hope the information we share helps point you in the right direction, and we're always here to assist as much as we can within our scope.

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To avoid being charged and remove the unwanted Office 365 E5 licenses, use the Microsoft 365 admin center and then contact Billing Support if needed.

1. Verify permissions and billing type
   • Confirm the billing account type (MCA or MOSA) and that the account used is a Billing account owner/contributor (MCA) or at least a Billing Administrator (MOSA). See Find out what type of billing account you have.
2. Unassign any licenses from users (if assigned)
   • In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Billing > Licenses.
   • Select the Office 365 E5 product.
   • Select any users who have these licenses assigned.
   • Select Unassign licenses, then Unassign to confirm.
3. Remove the extra licenses from the subscription
   • Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
   • If using Simplified view, select Subscriptions; if using Dashboard view, go to Billing > Your products.
   • Select the Office 365 E5 subscription.
   • On the subscription details page, select Remove licenses.
   • Under New quantity in Total licenses, enter the total number of licenses you actually want (for example, 0 if you want to remove all 25, or a smaller number if you only need a few).
   • Select Save. A bill will be generated that includes any credits due, typically within one to two days.
   • Note: Licenses can only be removed during a limited time window after purchase/renewal or after adding more licenses, and only when recurring billing is turned on.
4. Cancel the subscription or turn off recurring billing (if you do not want the E5 subscription at all)
   • In the admin center, go to Billing > Your products.
   • On the Products tab, find the Office 365 E5 subscription.
   • Select the three dots (more actions) > Cancel subscription.
   • In Cancel subscription, select a reason and optionally add feedback, then Save.
   • If the cancellation option is limited (for example, outside the grace period), follow the prompts to turn off recurring billing so it will not charge again.
5. If cancellation or license removal is not available
   • If the Cancel or Remove licenses options are not available, or the system still shows a pending charge, contact Microsoft Billing Support:
     • Go to Contact Microsoft Support.
     • Sign in with the same admin account used for the subscription.
     • Choose Microsoft 365, describe the billing/licensing issue, and select Contact Support to start a chat or request a callback.
   • If the subscription was purchased through a third party (for example, a reseller, Google Play, Apple App Store), cancellation and refund must be handled with that provider.
6. Requesting a refund
   • After canceling or reducing the licenses, eligibility for a refund depends on timing and the Microsoft Store Terms of Sale. For detailed refund guidance, see the steps in How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription and follow the instructions after signing in.

References:

• Buy or remove licenses for a Microsoft business subscription
• Buy or remove licenses if you have an MCA billing account type
• Cancel your subscription in the Microsoft 365 admin center
• Manage self-service purchases and trials (for users)
• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Unable to cancel your Microsoft subscription
• cancel subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A
• refund please - Microsoft Q&A
• How to connect with Help and Support - Microsoft Q&A
• i have been charged twice - Microsoft Q&A