Adobe mid-term Product upgrades

Introduction

This article explains the Adobe mid-term upgrade capability available on the platform. It describes what the feature does, which Adobe upgrade paths are in scope, how Partners discover, preview, apply, verify, and revert an upgrade Order, how user reassignment works, and the known limitations of the integration. The intended audience is Partners and Seller teams who manage Customer Subscriptions for Adobe products on the platform.

Overview

The Platform supports Adobe mid-term product upgrades, allowing a Customer to move to an eligible higher-tier Adobe plan at any point during an active Subscription Term, instead of waiting for the Renewal window to open. Partners can view available upgrade paths, preview an eligible upgrade, and provision full or partial Subscription upgrades while Adobe's pricing, promotion, and validation rules are preserved. The platform automatically updates the existing Subscription and creates the new, upgraded Subscription based on the response returned by Adobe, keeping lifecycle data accurate and visible throughout the process.

Customers only pay the price difference between their current Product and the upgraded Product, and the upgraded Subscription keeps the original anniversary date, so the Renewal cycle is not affected. Supported upgrades can also be reverted within Adobe's cancellation window, giving Partners flexibility to correct a mistaken upgrade without waiting for the next Renewal.

Why offer mid-term upgrades

Without this capability, a Customer who wants a higher-tier Adobe plan has to wait until their Renewal date, even if their needs change earlier in the Term. Mid-term upgrades remove that wait, so Customers can get the tools and technology they need as soon as the need arises, and right-size their Product to match their actual usage instead of over- or under-buying at the last Renewal.

• Immediate access, no waiting. Customers move to a higher-tier Product the moment they need it, instead of deferring the request to the next Renewal cycle.
• Right-sized licensing. Partners can adjust a Customer's Product and Quantity to match current needs, whether that's a full move to a higher plan or a partial upgrade for part of the Quantity.
• Transparent pricing. Upgrades are processed with prorated pricing for the remaining Term, adjusted discount levels, and refund estimates, so Customers only pay the price difference and there are no surprises on either side.
• Faster upsell, less deferred revenue. Partners can act on upgrade requests as they come in rather than waiting for the next Renewal, improving engagement and revenue capture across the Customer lifecycle.
• Reversible if needed. If an upgrade turns out to be the wrong fit, it can be reverted within Adobe's 14-day cancellation window, reducing the risk of committing to a change.

What's in scope and out of scope

Mid-term upgrades can be requested at any time between Renewals and apply to both 1-year and 3-year Commitment Periods.

Adobe has publicly confirmed additional named upgrade paths, including Creative Cloud Pro for teams to Creative Cloud All Apps Edition 4 for enterprise (or Creative Cloud Pro Plus for teams), Acrobat Pro for Teams to Acrobat Studio for Teams, Acrobat Studio for Teams to Acrobat Studio for Enterprise, and Acrobat Standard for Teams to Acrobat Standard for Enterprise. See Adobe's Recommendations API documentation for the current list of eligible paths.

Step-by-step process

Placing a mid-term upgrade follows five stages: discover, preview, apply, verify, and (optionally) revert.

1. Discover upgrade paths. The platform retrieves the eligible upgrade options for a Customer's current Subscription using GET Product Switch Paths, Recommendations with GET Subscription, and Recommendations with GET All Subscriptions.
2. Preview the switch Order. Before committing, the platform previews the upgrade so the Partner can confirm pricing, Proration, and eligibility, using Create Order API | Order Type: PREVIEW_SWITCH.
3. Apply the switch Order. Once confirmed, the upgrade is submitted using Create Order API | Order Type: SWITCH. Adobe either updates the existing Subscription (full upgrade) or updates its Quantity (partial upgrade) and creates the new, upgraded Subscription.
4. Verify the switch Order. The Order status and resulting Subscriptions are confirmed using GET Order Details or GET Order History.
5. Revert the switch Order (if needed). Within Adobe's 14-day cancellation window, the upgrade can be reversed using Create Order API | Order Type: REVERT_SWITCH. See Reverting an upgrade below.

Both full and partial upgrades are supported. In a full upgrade, the entire Subscription moves to the new Product. In a partial upgrade, only part of the Quantity is upgraded: the original Subscription's Quantity is reduced and a new Subscription is created for the upgraded Quantity. If a Partner requests an upgrade Quantity higher than the current Quantity, Adobe returns an error and the request is rejected.

Reassigning users during an upgrade

The Platform will pass flag for automatic user reassignment. When an upgrade Order is submitted with the reassign-users=true flag, Adobe automatically reassigns Users from the source Subscription to the upgraded Product. Reassignment follows a last-in, first-out order, so the most recently added Users are moved first.

Reverting an upgrade

A completed switch Order can be cancelled within Adobe's 14-day cancellation policy. Cancelling performs a revert: the upgraded Subscription is suspended and the previous Subscription is reactivated using Order Type: REVERT_SWITCH.

Customer email notifications

Adobe automatically sends an order-confirmation email to the Customer whenever a mid-term upgrade is placed or reverted, closing the gap with the email coverage already provided for standard new and Renewal Orders. This gives Customers a clear record of upgrade activity directly from Adobe and reduces "did this go through" support inquiries.

• What's included: previous and upgraded Licenses, Order number, Order date, anniversary date, and a link to the Admin Console.
• What's not included: pricing, Partner reference, and discount details.

No Partner integration work is required for this notification; it is delivered directly by Adobe.

Important information

• An upgrade is only allowed with a Quantity less than or equal to the current Quantity on the source Subscription.
• Once a Subscription has been used in a switch Order, the original Order cannot be independently cancelled or returned, even after a revert. See the warning under Reverting an upgrade.
• Automatic User reassignment is not supported for Teams to Enterprise or Enterprise to Enterprise upgrades and must be completed manually.
• Mid-term upgrades are only available for the predefined upgrade paths published by Adobe; not every Product combination is eligible.

Summary

Mid-term upgrades let Partners move a Customer's Adobe Subscription to a higher-tier Product at any time between Renewals, paying only the price difference. The process runs through discover, preview, apply, and verify steps, supports full and partial upgrades, and can be reverted within Adobe's 14-day cancellation window. Passing reassign-users=true keeps User access intact during the switch, and Adobe sends the Customer an automatic confirmation email for both upgrades and reverts. The main constraint to keep in mind is that an upgraded Subscription can no longer be independently returned once a switch Order has been used.

Related content

• Adobe: Recommendations API documentation
• Adobe seller guide
• Adobe self-service APIs
• How to Place an Order for Adobe Offer?