Forgotten the administrator password

Rushin Panchal 20 Reputation points
2026-10-05T05:09:46.47+00:00

I am the only Global Administrator for our Microsoft 365 tenant. I have forgotten the administrator password. Self-service password reset says that the password cannot be changed because this is an administrator account. There is no other Global Administrator in the tenant. I need to recover the administrator account.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For business | Other
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Answer accepted by question author
Darren Bruce 1,935 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-10-05T05:14:34.3633333+00:00

Dear Rushin Panchal,

If you are the only Global Administrator and cannot reset the password through Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR), this is unfortunately a tenant access recovery scenario.

Since there are no other Global Administrators available to reset your password, the account cannot be recovered through the Microsoft 365 admin tools. In this situation, you will need to contact Microsoft Support and request a tenant administrator account recovery.

You might need to contact Microsoft Support team via phone service number: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support. The agent will be able to create a ticket for you under the affected tenant and then transfer this ticket to Data Protection team who could help you to regain access.   

To help you navigate the automated phone system (IVR), here's an example of what the conversation might look like:

IVR: What kind of problem are you worried about?

You: Admin account locked

IVR: What kind of product do you use?

You: Office 365 for business

IVR: Does it count for education or business?

You: For Business

IVR: Are you an admin?

You: Yes

IVR: Do you have another administrator in your organization?

You: No

IVR: Need a service request?

You: Yes

This should help you connect with a live support agent who can help you directly.

If you can't create a support ticket during the call, I recommend creating a temporary tenant account and submitting the support request from there. To create a new tenant, follow these steps:

  1. Visit Office 365 E3 - Enterprise Collaboration and Productivity | Microsoft    
  2. Select any plan and click Try for free.    
  3. Complete the setup to create a new tenant.    
  4. Ticket support: In the Microsoft 365 admin center>support>help & support. You can create a support ticket: https://admin.microsoft.com/#/support/requests     

Important: Please remember to cancel the trial subscription once your issue is resolved to avoid any charges.

I understand that this issue may take some time to resolve and could impact your workflow. However, the following solutions have been effective in resolving Microsoft Authenticator issues.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes". If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

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