Microsoft Extended Service Terms for NCE Subscriptions

What is Extended Service Term

Extended Service Term (EST) is a new subscription type that allows customers to maintain access to their services after the original subscription expires, while deciding their next steps.

Key characteristics of EST:

• Customers retain full access to services during the extended term
• EST subscriptions are priced at the increased rate
• Available as separate offers with unique SKU IDs in the price list
• Can be cancelled at any time with prorated billing

Previous behavior (before May 4, 2026):

When a subscription had auto-renewal disabled, it would expire on the end date but customers could still access services for free during a grace period (typically 30 days).

New behavior (after May 4, 2026):

The free grace period is discontinued. Customers must choose one of three options at expiration:

1. Renew to a new term with the original subscription
2. Move to Extended Service Term (with 3% price increase)
3. Cancel at end of term (services stop immediately)

Key Implementation Dates

February 16, 2026

• New renewal options become available in Microsoft Partner Center and via API
• Subscriptions with auto-renewal disabled will be automatically converted to EST at expiration unless explicitly set to "Cancel at end of term"
• Critical: The Platform integrates the logic to change the subscription's status in the Microsoft Partner Center into "Cancel at end of term" once the Organization switches the Platform subscription's auto-renewal status into Off after February 16th. This logic serves to protect customers from unexpected EST billing.
• EST offers become available in Microsoft price lists
• EST SKUs will have unique offer IDs (e.g., "Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Extended Service Term")

Mid-December 2025 - February 16, 2026

• Microsoft begins converting existing subscriptions with auto-renewal set to false into EST-ready status

May 4, 2026

• Subscriptions meeting these criteria will automatically move to EST at expiration:
  • Purchased on or after May 4, 2025
  • Expires on or after May 4, 2026
  • Auto-renewal is not explicitly managed

Microsoft Partner Center Options

In Microsoft Partner Center, the renewal policy interface displays three options:

How the Platform manages auto-renewal

The Platform provides a dedicated Renewal Settings interface on the Subscription Form that exposes all three Microsoft renewal options as selectable tiles under End of Term Action. Each selection is translated into the appropriate Microsoft API call automatically.

The three available End of Term Action options are:

• Auto Renewal On — Subscription renews automatically at term end.
• Auto Renewal Off — Service ends at expiration; the Platform sends "Cancel at end of term" to Microsoft.
• On + Conditional Service Continuation — Service continues at the increased rate; this sets the renewal into Extended Service Term.

Auto Renewal On

Platform behavior:

• Sends renewal policy "Renews to new term" to Microsoft.
• Subscription will automatically renew with the same configuration on the expiration date.
• No EST conversion occurs.

API response includes:

{
  "autoRenewEnabled": true,
  "scheduledActions": []
}

Auto Renewal Off

Platform behavior:

• Applies when Auto Renewal Off is selected after February 16, 2026 in the Platform.
• Sends renewal policy "Cancel at end of term" to Microsoft.
• Subscription will be cancelled when it reaches the expiration date.
• Customer access stops on the expiration date.
• No EST conversion occurs — Customers are protected from the automatic 3% price increase.

API response includes:

{
  "autoRenewEnabled": false,
  "scheduledActions": [
    {
      "scheduleType": "TermEnd",
      "actionType": "Cancel",
      "effectiveDate": "2026-02-06T00:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

On + Conditional Service Continuation (Extended Service Term)

Platform behavior:

• Sends renewal policy "Renews to extended service term" to Microsoft.
• Subscription does not renew to a new term, but service continues at the increased rate.
• The Subscription can be cancelled or converted to a standard Subscription at any time.
• While in extended service mode, the Platform does not allow adding seats, upgrading, or downgrading — only assignment of existing seats or cancel/convert actions are permitted.

Scenario examples

Scenario 1: Customer wants to continue using the Subscription

• Keep Auto Renewal On selected.
• Verify the status of the Subscription in Microsoft Partner Center to ensure there is no EST-ready status enabled.
• Subscription renews normally on the expiration date.
• No action required.

Scenario 2: Customer wants to discontinue the Subscription

• Select Auto Renewal Off before the expiration date.
• Subscription cancels at end of term.
• Customer access ends on the expiration date.
• No EST charges apply.

Scenario 3: Customer wants the service to continue in extended service mode

• Select On + Conditional Service Continuation before the expiration date.
• After the term ends, the Subscription continues at the increased rate.
• The Subscription can be cancelled or converted to a standard Subscription at any time.

Scenario 4: Customer is unsure and does not take action before May 4, 2026

• If Auto Renewal On remains selected: Subscription renews to new term (safe).
• If Auto Renewal Off was selected before February 16, 2026 and was not reviewed afterwards:
  • Via the Platform: Subscription converts to EST and billing begins at 103% rate (risky).
  • Via Microsoft Partner Center directly: Subscription converts to EST and billing begins at 103% rate (risky).

Platform protection: The Platform automatically prevents EST conversion by setting "Cancel at end of term" when Auto Renewal Off is selected only if the Customer selects Auto Renewal Off after February 16, 2026.

How to recognise and edit Extended Service Term in the Platform

Extended Service Term is fully manageable in the Platform. Subscriptions that are set to renew into EST are clearly labelled on the Subscriptions grid, the Renewal Settings are visible on the Subscription Form, and every change is recorded in the Orders list and the Activity history.

Recognising EST Subscriptions on the Subscriptions grid

On the Subscriptions grid, a Microsoft Subscription that is set to move into Extended Service Term at expiration is flagged in the renewal column as "Renew To New Term" or "Renew To Extended Service Term", depending on the current setting. The row also shows the current auto-renewal state (On/Off) so the renewal configuration can be confirmed at a glance.

Renewal Settings on the Subscription Form

Opening a Subscription from the grid loads the Subscription Form. The Renewal Settings is displayed below the Subscription header and summarizes the currently selected End of Term Action (for example, "On + Conditional Service Continuation — Service continues at increased rate"). The Term ends date is shown on the right side of the section.

Editing the End of Term Action

The End of Term Action section is the control used to change the renewal behavior.

Three options are presented as tiles; exactly one is selected at any time:

Option A — Auto Renewal On

The Subscription renews automatically at term end. A green confirmation bar is displayed below the tiles: "Your subscription will automatically renew for another term at the current rate. You will be charged on the renewal date."

Option B — Auto Renewal Off

Service ends at expiration. A red confirmation bar is displayed: "Your subscription will not renew. Service will be disabled after the subscription end date." with the additional warning "After the subscription ends, users will lose access to the service immediately."

Option C — On + Conditional Service Continuation

This option sets the renewal into Extended Service Term. Service continues at the incerased rate after the original term ends. 

 

Saved changes in the Orders list

Every saved change to the End of Term Action is recorded as an entry on the Orders page. The Requested Change column shows exactly which transition was performed (for example, "Autorenewal changed to On"), together with the Order ID, the user who created the Order, the date, and the current status ("Provision started", "Provision succeeded", etc.).

Edit scenarios and limitations

Two edit paths are available on the Subscription Form: editing the Renewal Settings and editing the Subscription Form data (for example, quantity). These paths cannot be combined in a single action.

Scenario A — Changing the renewal option and the Form data in one action (not allowed):

1. On the Subscription edit page, change the renewal option (for example, select On + Conditional Service Continuation).
2. In the same edit action, change a Form data field such as Quantity.
3. A warning is displayed: the renewal option and the Form data cannot both be changed in a single action. The operations must be performed in separate edits.

Tracking changes in Activity history

Every change to the End of Term Action is also recorded in the Activity history (Activity tab). Filter by entity type Subscription and a suitable date range, then click Show results. Each entry shows the Subscription name, the action (Added, Modified), the user who performed the change, the Organization, the date, and a Changes summary such as "Auto Renewal Enabled".

Expanding a row reveals the before/after values — for example, Auto Renewal Enabled: False → True, together with the other Subscription properties (Billing cycle, End Date, Quantity, Start Date, State, Seller Markup %).

API Reference

The same renewal behavior available on the Subscription Form can be inspected and updated programmatically through the AppXite Platform APIs. Two endpoints are relevant for managing Extended Service Term:

• GET Subscription — retrieves a Subscription, including the Scheduled Action Type and the auto-renewal / EST status.
• POST Order — submits a change Order that switches the End of Term Action between Auto Renewal On, Auto Renewal Off, and On + Conditional Service Continuation (EST), exactly as the UI tiles do.

Retrieve a Subscription (GET)

Returns the full Subscription record, including the currently scheduled end-of-term action and auto-renewal flag. This is the API used to identify EST-ready Subscriptions in bulk.

Endpoint reference: Subscription v3.1 — Retrieve a Subscription

Method and path:

GET https://api.appxite.com/subscription/{id}

Path parameter:

• subscriptionId (string, required) — the Subscription ID shown on the Subscription Form (the SUBSCRIPTION ID field, e.g. 47c31b6d-a4b6-4d5b-930e-4ecf56031a36).

Sample request:

GET https://api.appxite.com/subscription/47c31b6d-a4b6-4d5b-930e-4ecf560xxxx HTTP/1.1
Host: api.appxite.com
Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: ************************
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIs...

Response body (200 OK) — key fields for renewal/EST visibility:

{
  "id": "47c31b6d-a4b6-4d5b-930e-4ecf560xxxx",
  "name": "Microsoft 365 Business Basic",
  "vendor": "Microsoft",
  "vendorSubscriptionId": "15df9f36-46ab-4aa4-df91-10c514fce62e",
  "status": "Active",
  "billingCycle": "Monthly",
  "termDuration": "1 Month",
  "quantity": 2,
  "startDate": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
  "endDate": "2026-05-13T00:00:00Z",
  "autoRenewEnabled": true,
  "scheduledActionType": "RenewToNewTerm",
  "scheduledActions": [
    {
      "scheduleType": "TermEnd",
      "actionType": "RenewToNewTerm",
      "effectiveDate": "2026-05-13T00:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

Renewal-related fields:

• autoRenewEnabled (boolean) — reflects the scheduled renewal intent. true when Auto Renewal On or On + Conditional Service Continuation is selected; false when Auto Renewal Off is selected.
• scheduledActionType (string) — the value displayed in the Scheduled Action Type column on the Subscriptions grid. One of:
  • RenewToNewTerm — equivalent to UI tile Auto Renewal On.
  • CancelAtEndOfTerm — equivalent to UI tile Auto Renewal Off.
  • RenewToExtendedServiceTerm — equivalent to UI tile On + Conditional Service Continuation (EST). Microsoft Subscriptions only.
• scheduledActions[] — array of scheduled actions; each entry has scheduleType (typically TermEnd), actionType (same enum as scheduledActionType), and effectiveDate (ISO 8601 UTC).

Change the Scheduled Action Type (POST Order)

Switching the End of Term Action in the UI creates a change Order. The same operation is exposed through the Orders v3.1 API: a POST that submits a renewal-policy change Order against an existing Subscription.

Endpoint reference: Orders v3.1 — Create Order

Method and path:

POST https://api.appxite.com/orders/

Sample request — switch to Auto Renewal On:

POST https://api.appxite.com/orders/ HTTP/1.1
Host: api.appxite.com
Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: ************************
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIs...
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "subscriptionId": "47c31b6d-a4b6-4d5b-930e-4ecf56031a36",
  "scheduledActionType": "RenewToNewTerm"
}

Sample request — switch to Auto Renewal Off (cancel at end of term, EST protection):

{
  "subscriptionId": "47c31b6d-a4b6-4d5b-930e-4ecf560xxxxx",
  "scheduledActionType": "CancelAtEndOfTerm"
}

Sample request — switch to On + Conditional Service Continuation (intentional EST, Microsoft only):

{
  "subscriptionId": "47c31b6d-a4b6-4d5b-930e-4ecf560xxxxx",
  "scheduledActionType": "RenewToExtendedServiceTerm"
}

scheduledActionType — accepted values:

• RenewToNewTerm — UI equivalent: Auto Renewal On. The Subscription renews automatically at term end.
• CancelAtEndOfTerm — UI equivalent: Auto Renewal Off. The Platform sends "Cancel at end of term" to Microsoft Partner Center, protecting the Customer from automatic EST conversion.
• RenewToExtendedServiceTerm — UI equivalent: On + Conditional Service Continuation. Sets the Subscription to roll into Extended Service Term at term end, billed at the increased rate. Accepted only for Microsoft NCE Subscriptions; rejected with 400 Bad Request for other vendors.

Response body (200/201) — key fields:

{
  "orderId": "76431",
  "subscriptionId": "47c31b6d-a4b6-4d5b-930e-4ecf560xxxxx",
  "requestedChange": "Autorenewal changed to On",
  "status": "ProvisionStarted",
  "createdBy": "test@appxite.com",
  "createdAt": "2026-04-21T11:54:00Z"
}

• orderId — the Order ID shown on the Orders page.
• requestedChange — matches the Requested Change column in the UI (e.g. "Autorenewal changed to On", "Autorenewal changed to Off", "Renewal changed to Extended Service Term").
• status — one of ProvisionStarted, ProvisionFinished, ProvisionFailed. Final state can be polled with the GET Order endpoint or by re-fetching the Subscription.

Trial Subscriptions Handling

Trial subscriptions require special handling because they are provisioned with minimum quantity (typically 25 licenses) and must have auto-renewal disabled to prevent automatic conversion to paid subscriptions.

Platform behavior for trial subscriptions:

1. During purchase, the trial subscription is created with auto-renewal enabled (Microsoft default)
2. Platform automatically sends a request to disable auto-renewal and set "Cancel at end of term"
3. This prevents the trial from automatically converting to a paid subscription with 25 licenses

If customers want to convert trial to paid subscription:

• Enable the auto-renewal checkbox on the subscription
• Adjust the quantity as needed
• The subscription will convert to a paid subscription on the expiration date

Important Considerations

EST Pricing and Cancellation

• EST subscriptions cost more than standard rates
• Can be cancelled at any time with prorated billing for the days used
• Financial risk example: A subscription portfolio worth $1.5 million USD monthly, if accidentally converted to EST for just one day, would incur approximately $50,000 USD in charges ($1,545,000 ÷ 30 days = ~$51,500 per day)
• Best practice: Review all subscriptions expiring on or after May 4 2026, and ensure auto-renewal settings are configured correctly before expiration dates

Monitoring and Prevention

• The Platform prevents EST conversions by using "Cancel at end of term" when Customer disables the auto-renewal after February 16th, 2026
• All subscription status changes are confirmed via GET API calls to Microsoft before completing orders
• Extended Service Term offers will appear in Microsoft price lists starting February 16, 2026

API Behavior

Important API note: If you manually set autoRenewEnabled: false via Microsoft API without specifying the cancellation option, Microsoft will save the value as false but may automatically convert it to true with EST after a few minutes. Always explicitly set the renewal policy to "Cancel at end of term" when disabling auto-renewal.

Converting from EST Back to Standard Subscription

According to Microsoft documentation, customers who have subscriptions on Extended Service Term can:

• Cancel the EST subscription at any time with prorated billing
• Convert back to the base subscription offer (the original SKU)
• Upgrade to other available SKUs
• These conversions can happen immediately or be scheduled to align with the end of the EST term

Limitations

Important notes about EST availability:

• EST cannot be purchased directly - Microsoft does not allow partners to purchase or convert to EST offers outright
• EST can only be set as a renewal option when a subscription reaches its expiration date
• The Platform will not offer EST as a selectable option on February 16th, 2026
• Future functionality may include EST in the upgrade paths section, but no timeline is currently available

All renewal management is handled via API:

When you manage subscriptions through the Platform, all renewal settings are automatically communicated to Microsoft via API. You do not need to manually configure anything in Microsoft Partner Center. The Platform ensures your settings are properly saved and confirmed with Microsoft before completing any changes.