Last updated: 8 November 2026
Plan it as a proper migration. GoDaddy-provisioned Microsoft 365 is often federated to GoDaddy, so the domain may need defederating, and in some cases GoDaddy has to release the domain itself. Follow the official steps exactly.
Check how your account is set up
GoDaddy sells several mail products. Some are Microsoft 365 tenants managed through GoDaddy, others are separate mailbox services. Each needs a different route, so confirm which one you have first.
Follow the official route
Microsoft says admins who need to defederate should follow GoDaddy’s own documentation. Both vendors warn that unofficial or undocumented steps can break sign-in to Exchange Online, SharePoint and other services. If the domain is still tied to GoDaddy’s tenant, GoDaddy support may need to release it.
Prepare the new setup
- Pre-stage licences, users and policies in the new tenant.
- Lower DNS TTL values a day or two before the change.
- Check where mail is filtered, because some GoDaddy plans route mail through a filtering service.
- Test sending and receiving straight after the cut-over.
- Keep the old plan until everything is confirmed.
Consider a clean tenant move
Some businesses find it simpler to move to a fresh tenant and migrate the data across, rather than defederate. That takes more data work but avoids the federation steps.
Quick answers
Will email stop during the move?
Not if it is planned. Most of the risk is in the DNS change, which is why testing straight afterwards matters.
Can we keep our domain at GoDaddy?
Often yes. The domain registration and the Microsoft 365 service are separate, and the DNS records can point to your new tenant.
ABCOM migrates businesses from GoDaddy and other providers. Book a free 20-minute call.
Related answers and guides
Sources and further reading
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