SMB referrals acceptance service level agreement (SLA) change

Starting November 2, 2026, partners have five calendar days to accept or reject SMB referrals.

Impacted audience

Partners with referrals in Partner Center

To increase referral velocity, we're reducing the partner acceptance period for small and medium-sized business (SMB) referrals. There's no change for Corporate or Enterprise segment customer referrals. Partners no longer have up to 14 days to accept or reject SMB referrals received from Microsoft.

Partners need to respond to SMB referrals shared by Microsoft within five calendar days. If partners don't accept or reject the SMB referral within five calendar days, the referral expires. Expired referrals can be rerouted and shared with another partner.

This change only affects SMB referrals. Corporate and Enterprise referrals shared with partners continue to have the current 14-day period to respond.

This change goes into effect November 2, 2026.

Next steps

Review the Microsoft Learn documentation to learn more:

• About Customer Leads
• Manage co-sell opportunities