Can Reserved Instances be transferred across subscriptions?

Question

Can Reserved Instances be transferred across subscriptions?

Norris WU 0

We want to transfer from a PAYG account to an account under CSP, but I don't see any restrictions written about this in the documentation, so I want to know if such a transfer can be done?

Himanshu Shekhar 3,270 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T03:03:20.2033333+00:00

@Norris WU

The Microsoft Learn documentation you referenced applies only to transfers between CSP partners, where the Azure subscription is already under a CSP Azure plan.

Direct PAYG (Web) Azure subscriptions cannot be transferred into CSP using Partner Center. To move from PAYG to CSP, Microsoft requires creating a new CSP subscription and migrating workloads, as PAYG subscriptions have no CSP partner association.

This is why the documentation does not list PAYG as a supported source it is outside the scope of the transfer feature

Microsoft documentation for reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/customers/transfer-azure-subscriptions-under-azure-plan?wt.mc_id=knowledgesearch_inproduct_azure-cxp-community-insider#considerations
Himanshu Shekhar 3,270 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T04:54:07.0066667+00:00

@Norris WU - Just checking if provided response was helpful! please let me know if you have any queries.
Norris WU 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T05:18:29.5466667+00:00

@Anonymous

Understanding the need to add subscriptions under CSP, my current approach is to migrate resources across subscriptions using Azure Resource Mover. However, based on the official documentation, it is not clear whether virtual machines covered by Reserved Instances (RI) can be migrated to a new subscription. Could you please help confirm whether RI-associated VMs are supported in this scenario?

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Himanshu Shekhar 3,270 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T03:03:20.2033333+00:00

@Norris WU

The Microsoft Learn documentation you referenced applies only to transfers between CSP partners, where the Azure subscription is already under a CSP Azure plan.

Direct PAYG (Web) Azure subscriptions cannot be transferred into CSP using Partner Center. To move from PAYG to CSP, Microsoft requires creating a new CSP subscription and migrating workloads, as PAYG subscriptions have no CSP partner association.

This is why the documentation does not list PAYG as a supported source it is outside the scope of the transfer feature

Microsoft documentation for reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/customers/transfer-azure-subscriptions-under-azure-plan?wt.mc_id=knowledgesearch_inproduct_azure-cxp-community-insider#considerations
Himanshu Shekhar 3,270 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T04:54:07.0066667+00:00

@Norris WU - Just checking if provided response was helpful! please let me know if you have any queries.
Norris WU 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T05:18:29.5466667+00:00

@Anonymous

Understanding the need to add subscriptions under CSP, my current approach is to migrate resources across subscriptions using Azure Resource Mover. However, based on the official documentation, it is not clear whether virtual machines covered by Reserved Instances (RI) can be migrated to a new subscription. Could you please help confirm whether RI-associated VMs are supported in this scenario?

Answer 1

@Norris WU

Virtual machines can be migrated from Pay‑As‑You‑Go (PAYG) to Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) subscriptions even if they are currently covered by Reserved Instances (RIs).

However, the Reserved Instance itself does not move with the VM.

Azure Reserved Instances are billing constructs, not VM properties.
Because of this, VM migration is fully supported, and RIs do not restrict or block the move.

Important distinction

PAYG > CSP is not a subscription transfer.
CSP requires a new Azure subscription, meaning billing constructs like RIs and Savings Plans cannot be carried over.

What happens to the existing RI

The PAYG Reserved Instance remains active in the original subscription.
If no eligible resources remain, the RI simply goes unused until expiration.
Microsoft does not support converting PAYG RIs into CSP.

After migration

Migrated VMs in CSP will be billed at pay‑as‑you‑go rates
A new RI must be purchased under CSP to regain reservation benefits.

Best practice we recommend:

Migrate workloads first (Azure Resource Mover).
Validate functionality and billing in CSP.
Purchase new RIs under CSP aligned to the desired scope.

Why doesn’t documentation mention this directly https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/customers/transfer-azure-subscriptions-under-azure-plan?wt.mc_id=knowledgesearch_inproduct_azure-cxp-community-insider#considerations

The Partner Center article applies only to CSP‑to‑CSP transfers, where subscriptions and reservations move together.
Since PAYG subscriptions are outside the CSP model, RI behavior in this scenario is not documented there.

If you have any further queries, let me know. If the information is helpful, please click on Upvote and Accept Answer on it.

Norris WU 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T07:51:07.35+00:00

So my understanding is that the workloads can be migrated, but the existing Reserved Instances will remain in the original subscription. After the migration, the workloads in the new subscription will be billed at pay-as-you-go rates, and new Reserved Instances will need to be purchased separately if reservation benefits are required, am I correct?
Himanshu Shekhar 3,270 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T08:32:13.3166667+00:00

@Norris WU

Yes your understanding is correct.

Workloads (VMs) can be migrated from a PAYG subscription to a new CSP subscription. The migration itself is supported and not blocked by Reserved Instances.

Existing Reserved Instances (RIs) do not move with the workloads. RIs are billing constructs and are not attached to VMs. They remain in the original PAYG subscription where they were purchased.

After migration, the workloads in the CSP subscription are billed at Pay‑As‑You‑Go rates by default.

If reservation benefits are required post‑migration, new RIs must be purchased under the CSP subscription.

If the information is helpful, please click on Upvote and Accept Answer on it.

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Can Reserved Instances be transferred across subscriptions?

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