Step 1: Check Your Current Verification Status

Go to Partner Center → Settings (gear icon) → Account Settings → Legal Info

You'll see tabs based on your enrollments:

• Partner tab — for the AI Cloud Partner Program

• Developer tab — for Commercial Marketplace

If there's a "Fix now" or "Resolve" button, or a yellow/red status on either tab, action is needed. Every time you update company name, address, or contact details on this page, the org is re-vetted for each program.

📄 Partner Center Account Setup | Verify Your Account Information

Step 2: Verify Your Business Identity (Both Programs)

Microsoft verifies three things automatically for every enrolled program:

a) Company Legal Name — must match your official business registration documents exactly. No trade names or abbreviations unless that's how you're registered.

b) Company Address — must be a verifiable business address (P.O. boxes not accepted). Must match business registration records.

c) Primary Contact — the person listed receives an email requesting additional documentation if automatic verification fails. Check your inbox including spam.

📄 Verify Your Company Profile

Step 3: Upload Verification Documents (if prompted)

If automatic verification doesn't pass, you'll be asked to upload one of the following via the Account Verification page under Legal Info:

• Business registration certificate

• Certificate of incorporation

• Tax registration document (GST/VAT certificate, PAN card, etc.)

• Government-issued business license

You can appeal up to three times if rejected. Return to Account Settings → Legal Info at any time to check status.

📄 Verification Responses & Document Guidance | Get Verifiable Credentials

For more details please refer - Video (from 0.58)

Setting Up Tax Profile & Payout Profile in Partner Center

Before You Start — Permissions Check

You need either the Incentives Admin or Owner role to create and manage tax and payout profiles. If you don't have this, go to Settings → User Management, find yourself, and ask your Partner Admin to assign the correct role.

Part 1: Set Up Your Tax Profile

Step 1: Navigate to Payout and Tax Settings

Sign in to Partner Center → click the Settings (gear) icon (top right) → Account settings → expand Payout and tax in the left menu → select Payout and tax profile.

📄 Set Up Microsoft Marketplace Payout and Tax Profiles

Step 2: Select Tax Profile and Launch the Tax Form

Click on Tax profile → click Add tax profile. Fill in your business profile details and click Next to launch the tax form.

Which form you'll see depends on your location:

• US-based companies/individuals → fill out IRS W-9

• Non-US companies/individuals → fill out IRS W-8BEN-E (for companies) or W-8BEN (for individuals)

Regardless of where your company is registered, you must fill out a US tax form to sell on Microsoft Marketplace.

Step 3: Complete the Tax Form

Fill in the form fields online within Partner Center. If you're outside the US, Part II of the W-8BEN form lets you claim tax treaty benefits, which can reduce Microsoft's default 30% withholding rate on US sales. Check with your tax advisor whether your country has a treaty with the US.

Once done, a confirmation/summary page appears. Save a PDF copy of your completed tax form from this page for your records.

Step 4: Submit the Tax Profile

Click Finish (top right of the page) first, then click Complete (bottom left). Both clicks are required — missing either one means the profile won't be submitted.

After submission, your tax profile status will show as Pending Microsoft Validation. Validation takes up to 48 hours. The account owner will receive an email notification once the status changes.

The two possible outcomes:

• Complete / Approved ✅ — you can now proceed to create a payout profile

• Action Required ⚠ — return to the tax profile, review what's flagged, correct the information, and resubmit

📄 Payouts and Tax Profile FAQ

Part 2: Set Up Your Payout Profile

⚠ You cannot create a payout profile until your tax profile status is Complete/Approved. Do not proceed until Step 4 above is confirmed.

Step 5: Go to Payout and Tax Profile Assignment

Go to Account settings → Payout and tax → Payout and tax profile assignment. You may see a message saying "You'll be redirected to another Microsoft site to complete your details" — click Continue.

📄 Set Up Commercial Marketplace Payout and Tax Profiles

Step 6: Select Payment Method

Choose your payment method:

• Electronic Bank Transfer (EFT) — preferred method. Available in all countries.

• PayPal — available in select countries/regions only.

Then either select an existing profile (if one already exists) or click Create a new payment profile.

Step 7: Enter Your Bank Account Details

On the Bank Profile page, fill in the following:

• Account holder name — must exactly match the name on your bank account, including any middle name. Even a minor mismatch will cause payment failures.

• Account type — Checking or Savings

• Account number

• Routing number (for US banks) or SWIFT/IBAN (for international banks)

• Bank name and billing address

• Phone number

• Payout currency — for US bank accounts only USD is available; for all other countries, available currencies depend on what your bank supports.

The bank account must be in the same country/region where your Partner Center account is registered. One seller ID maps to one payment profile at a time.

Step 8: Save and Wait for Validation

Save your payout profile. The status will show as Pending Microsoft Validation. This also takes up to 48 hours. The account owner receives an email when validation completes.

Possible outcomes:

• Approved ✅ — your account is fully set up to receive marketplace payments

• Action Required ⚠ — review the flagged fields, correct them, and resubmit

Note: If you change your payout bank account at any point in the future, payments can be delayed by up to one full payment cycle while the new account is verified. You'll still receive the full amount — it just rolls to the next cycle.

For more details please refer - Video (from 0.08)