## TL;DR
Group-based licensing re-adds the license as long as the account stays in the licensed group, or the deprovision never removed the direct assignment. Remove the group membership or the direct license; disabling the account alone is not enough.

```text
why do inactive accounts keep their M365 licenses after deprovision failed
```

## Use this when
- Inactive or deprovisioned accounts still show M365 licenses.
- Removing the license manually works, but it comes back.
- Offboarding disables the account but licenses persist.

## Not for this skill when
- The account is still active in the IdP. Fix the deprovision first.
- The license is needed for data retention. Use a deliberate retention license instead.
- No license is actually consumed. Verify in the admin center before acting.

## Steps
1. Check whether the license comes from a group or a direct assignment. Verify: you know the source.
2. Remove the user from the licensing group, or remove the direct license. Verify: the source is gone.
3. Confirm the license drops from the account. Verify: the admin center agrees.
4. Fix the offboarding workflow to include this step. Verify: the workflow covers it.
5. Verify on the next termination that the license releases. Verify: the fix holds.

## Variant phrasings
### M365 license not removed
The symptom-first phrasing.
### group licensing re-adds
The cause-first search.
### inactive keeps license
The state-first phrasing.

Compatibility: Microsoft 365 license management with Entra ID group-based licensing.

## Why it happens
Group licensing is declarative: membership equals license, regardless of account state. Disabling the account does not remove the membership, so the license persists by design.

## Edge cases / pitfalls
- Dynamic groups re-adding the user automatically; fix the rule, not just the membership.
- The 30-day soft-delete window holding the license on deleted accounts; account for the delay.
- Direct assignments surviving alongside group cleanup; check both sources.
- Retention needs: a shared mailbox or archived state may be the right answer, not just license removal.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_3ZzwGsUGmroOyAWydIfMhQ