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1 | 1 | --- |
2 | 2 | title: Assign an owner to an orphaned organization |
3 | 3 | titleSuffix: Azure DevOps Services |
4 | | -description: Learn how to assign a new owner to an organization when the current owner's inactive. |
| 4 | +description: Assign an owner to an orphaned organization in Azure DevOps. Learn step-by-step how to restore access and resolve inactive administrator issues. Start now. |
5 | 5 | ms.subservice: azure-devops-organizations |
6 | | -ms.assetid: b81adafa-adac-4e80-baa6-140fb58fbeff |
7 | 6 | ms.topic: how-to |
8 | 7 | ms.author: chcomley |
| 8 | +ms.reviewer: chcomley |
9 | 9 | author: chcomley |
10 | 10 | ai-usage: ai-assisted |
11 | | -ms.date: 03/02/2026 |
| 11 | +ms.date: 04/02/2026 |
12 | 12 | monikerRange: 'azure-devops' |
13 | | -ms.custom: copilot-scenario-highlight |
| 13 | +ms.custom: copilot-scenario-highlight, UpdateFrequency3 |
14 | 14 | --- |
15 | 15 |
|
16 | 16 | # Assign an owner to an orphaned organization |
17 | 17 |
|
18 | 18 | [!INCLUDE [version-eq-azure-devops](../../includes/version-eq-azure-devops.md)] |
19 | 19 |
|
20 | | -When the organization owner and all project collection administrators are inactive, the organization is considered orphaned. An orphaned organization doesn't have an administrator, so there's no way to transfer administrator rights to another user. |
21 | | - |
22 | | -[!INCLUDE [ai-assistance-mcp-server-tip](../../includes/ai-assistance-mcp-server-tip.md)] |
23 | | - |
24 | | - |
25 | | -But, organizations connected to Microsoft Entra ID can transfer ownership to an active user. |
| 20 | +An organization becomes *orphaned* when the organization owner and all Project Collection Administrators are inactive. Because no active administrator exists, you can't transfer ownership through the normal process. However, if the organization is connected to Microsoft Entra ID, an Azure DevOps Administrator in Microsoft Entra ID can claim ownership and assign it to an active user. |
26 | 21 |
|
27 | 22 | > [!NOTE] |
28 | | -> If your organization isn't considered orphaned and you want to change the owner, see [Change organization owner](change-organization-ownership.md). |
| 23 | +> If your organization isn't orphaned and you want to change the owner, see [Change organization owner](change-organization-ownership.md). |
| 24 | +
|
| 25 | +[!INCLUDE [ai-assistance-mcp-server-tip](../../includes/ai-assistance-mcp-server-tip.md)] |
29 | 26 |
|
30 | 27 | ## Prerequisites |
31 | 28 |
|
32 | 29 | | Category | Requirements | |
33 | 30 | |--------------|-------------| |
34 | 31 | |**Permissions**|[Azure DevOps Administrator in Microsoft Entra ID](../security/look-up-azure-devops-administrator.md). If using [Privileged Identity Management](/azure/active-directory/privileged-identity-management/pim-configure?msclkid=303229fdc6c111ecaf0f666b2dd9cd6f), the Azure DevOps Administrator should be of type [Active](/azure/active-directory/privileged-identity-management/pim-how-to-add-role-to-user?msclkid=5cdc55f5c6c011eca737e344cbe17b42).| |
35 | 32 |
|
36 | | -> [!NOTE] |
37 | | -> Claim ownership of organizations only when the current owner and all members of the Project Collection Administrators group are inactive in the backing Microsoft Entra ID. Azure DevOps and Microsoft Entra ID define inactive user accounts the same way. For more information, see [What are inactive user accounts?](/azure/active-directory/reports-monitoring/howto-manage-inactive-user-accounts). |
| 33 | +> [!IMPORTANT] |
| 34 | +> Only claim ownership when the current owner *and* all members of the Project Collection Administrators group are inactive in Microsoft Entra ID. For the definition of inactive, see [What are inactive user accounts?](/azure/active-directory/reports-monitoring/howto-manage-inactive-user-accounts). |
38 | 35 |
|
39 | 36 | ### Find your Azure DevOps Administrator |
40 | 37 |
|
41 | | -The Azure DevOps Administrator can [change the Azure DevOps owner](change-organization-ownership.md) to claim ownership of the target Azure DevOps organization. |
| 38 | +If you don't know who has the Azure DevOps Administrator role in your Microsoft Entra tenant, see [Look up the Azure DevOps Administrator](../security/look-up-azure-devops-administrator.md). |
42 | 39 |
|
43 | 40 | > [!NOTE] |
44 | | -> Any changes to role membership might take up to an hour to propagate to Azure DevOps. |
| 41 | +> Changes to role membership might take up to an hour to propagate to Azure DevOps. |
45 | 42 |
|
46 | 43 | ## When your Azure DevOps Administrator is a member of the target organization |
47 | 44 |
|
48 | | -When your Azure DevOps Administrator in Microsoft Entra ID *is* a member of the target Azure DevOps organization, do the following steps. |
| 45 | +Complete the following steps when the Azure DevOps Administrator *is* a member of the target organization. |
49 | 46 |
|
50 | | -1. As the Azure DevOps Administrator, sign in to your organization (```https://dev.azure.com/{yourorganization}```). |
| 47 | +1. Sign in to your organization (`https://dev.azure.com/{yourorganization}`) by using the Azure DevOps Administrator account. |
51 | 48 |
|
52 | | -2. Select **Organization settings** > **Overview**. |
| 49 | +1. Select **Organization settings** > **Overview**. |
53 | 50 |
|
54 | | -3. In the warning message, select **Change owner**. |
| 51 | +1. In the warning message, select **Change owner**. |
55 | 52 |
|
56 | 53 |  |
57 | 54 |
|
58 | | -4. Select a user from the dropdown menu, or search for a user by entering the user's name, provide a short justification, and then select **Change**. |
| 55 | +1. Select a user from the dropdown menu or search by name. |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +1. Enter a short justification, and then select **Change**. |
59 | 58 |
|
60 | 59 |  |
61 | 60 |
|
62 | | -A notification of the ownership transfer with your provided justification gets sent to all Azure DevOps Administrators in your Microsoft Entra ID. |
| 61 | + The ownership transfer notification with your justification is sent to all Azure DevOps Administrators in your Microsoft Entra tenant. |
63 | 62 |
|
64 | 63 | ## When your Azure DevOps Administrator isn't a member of the target organization |
65 | 64 |
|
66 | | -When your Azure DevOps Administrator in Microsoft Entra ID *isn't* a member of the target Azure DevOps organization, do the following steps: |
| 65 | +Complete the following steps when the Azure DevOps Administrator *isn't* a member of the target organization. |
67 | 66 |
|
68 | | -1. Sign in to your organization (```https://dev.azure.com/{yourorganization}```) using the credentials granted to the Azure DevOps Administrator role in Microsoft Entra ID. |
| 67 | +1. Sign in to your organization (`https://dev.azure.com/{yourorganization}`) by using the Azure DevOps Administrator account. |
69 | 68 |
|
70 | | - An error page appears where you can claim ownership. |
| 69 | + An error page appears because the account isn't a member of the organization. |
71 | 70 |
|
72 | 71 |  |
73 | 72 |
|
74 | | -2. Select **Claim Ownership**, provide a short justification, and then select **Claim Ownership** once again. |
75 | | - |
76 | | - A notification of the ownership transfer with your provided justification gets sent to all Azure DevOps Administrators in your Microsoft Entra ID. |
| 73 | +1. Select **Claim Ownership**. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +1. Enter a short justification, and then select **Claim Ownership** again. |
77 | 76 |
|
78 | 77 |  |
79 | 78 |
|
80 | | - You're redirected to the organization overview page. To transfer ownership to another user, see [Change organization owner](change-organization-ownership.md). |
| 79 | + A notification of the ownership transfer with your justification is sent to all Azure DevOps Administrators in your Microsoft Entra tenant. You're redirected to the organization overview page. |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +1. To transfer ownership to another user, see [Change organization owner](change-organization-ownership.md). |
81 | 82 |
|
82 | 83 | <a id="use-ai-assistance"></a> |
83 | 84 |
|
84 | 85 | ## Use AI to resolve orphaned organizations |
85 | 86 |
|
86 | | -If you have the [Azure DevOps MCP Server](../../mcp-server/mcp-server-overview.md) configured, you can use AI assistants to investigate orphaned organizations and gather ownership details using natural language prompts. The MCP Server provides your AI assistant with secure access to your Azure DevOps data, allowing you to check organization ownership, list administrators, and verify Microsoft Entra connections without navigating through the web interface. |
| 87 | +If you have the [Azure DevOps MCP Server](../../mcp-server/mcp-server-overview.md) configured, you can use AI assistants to investigate orphaned organizations and gather ownership details using natural language prompts. The MCP Server provides your AI assistant with secure access to your Azure DevOps data, so you can check organization ownership, list administrators, and verify Microsoft Entra connections without navigating through the web interface. |
87 | 88 |
|
88 | 89 | ### Example prompts for resolving orphaned organizations |
89 | 90 |
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