In response to the unique and evolving requirements of the United States public sector, Microsoft has created Office 365 Government plans (or Office 365 Government). This service description provides an overview of features that are specific to Office 365 Government US environments. We recommend that you read this service description alongside other Microsoft 365 and Office 365 service descriptions.

How to use this service description

The Office 365 Government service description is designed to serve as an overlay to the general Office 365 service description. It defines the unique commitments and differences compared to Office 365 Enterprise offerings.

About Office 365 Government environments

Office 365 Government plans are monthly subscriptions and can be licensed to an unlimited number of users.

  • The Office 365 GCC environment provides compliance with federal requirements for cloud services, including FedRAMP High, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS), and requirements for criminal justice and federal tax information systems (CJI and FTI data types).
  • The Office 365 GCC High and DoD environments deliver compliance with Department of Defense Security Requirements Guidelines, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS), and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

In addition to the features and capabilities of Office 365, the organizations that use Office 365 Government benefit from the following features unique to Office 365 Government:

  • Your organization’s customer content is logically segregated from customer content in Microsoft’s commercial Office 365 Services.
  • Your organization’s customer content is stored within the United States.
  • Access to your organization’s customer content is restricted to screened Microsoft personnel.
  • Office 365 Government complies with certifications and accreditations that are required for US Public Sector customers.

Customer eligibility

Office 365 Government is available to (1) US federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities, and (2) other entities that handle data that is subject to government regulations and requirements and where use of Office 365 Government is appropriate to meet these requirements, subject to validation of eligibility. Validation of eligibility by Microsoft will include confirmation of handling data subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), law enforcement data subject to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Policy, or other government-regulated or controlled data. Validation may require proof of registration with the U.S. Department of State for ITAR data or sponsorship by a government entity with specific requirements for the handling of data. The Office 365 DoD environment is for the exclusive use of the United States Department of Defense.

While eligibility criteria are consistent across Office 365 Government offerings, Microsoft will only agree to ITAR contract language for the GCC High environment.

Entities with questions about eligibility for Office 365 Government should consult their account team.

Upon renewal of a customer’s contract for Office 365 Government, revalidation of eligibility is required.

Customer content located within the United States

Office 365 Government services are provided from datacenters physically located in the United States. Customer content is stored at rest in datacenters physically located only in the U.S.A. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Exchange Online mailbox content (email bodies, calendar entries, and the content of e-mail attachments)
  • SharePoint Online site content and the files stored within that site
  • Microsoft Teams persistent chat threads
  • Skype for Business archived conversations, uploaded documents, and whiteboarding sessions
  • Microsoft Planner plans
  • Forms data
  • PowerApps/PowerAutomate data

Office 365 Government and third-party services

Office 365 provides the ability to integrate third-party applications into SharePoint Online sites, Teams, Office applications included in Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise (such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), and Outlook Web App. In addition, Office 365 supports integration with third-party service providers. These third-party applications and services might involve storing, transmitting, and processing your organization’s customer data on third-party systems that are outside of the Office 365 infrastructure and therefore are not covered by the Office 365 compliance and data protection commitments. It is recommended that you review the privacy and compliance statements provided by the third parties when assessing the appropriate use of these services for your organization.

Restricted data access by administrators

Access to Office 365 Government customer content by Microsoft administrators is restricted to screened personnel. For personnel screening details, refer to the service description page for each respective environment (GCC or GCC High and DoD).

FastTrack Center onboarding assistance

With the FastTrack Center Benefit for Office 3651, you work remotely with FastTrack Specialists to get your Office 365 environment ready for use and plan rollout and usage within your organization. The FastTrack process provides onboarding and user adoption services.

Onboarding consists of:

  • Core onboarding – These are tasks required for tenant configuration and integration with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) if needed. Core onboarding also provides the baseline for onboarding other eligible services.
  • Service onboarding and migration – Service onboarding tasks enable scenarios in your tenant. Data migration (including email and files) is covered in Data Migration.2

User adoption services are composed of tasks that provide guidance for you to ensure your users are aware of the eligible services and can use them to drive business value. This assistance occurs in parallel to onboarding activities.

Specific information on the FastTrack Center process can be found here. For a breakdown of engagement roles and responsibilities, review FastTrack Responsibilities as well as Your Responsibilities.

1 You must purchase at least 150 licenses from the list of the eligible plans to receive FastTrack services.
2 Data Migration services are available to Office 365 tenants with 500 or more licenses.

Data migrations performed by FastTrack

Customers who choose the FastTrack migration benefit will need to grant access to the team managing their data migrations. These personnel are US citizens and undergo the following background checks before performing migrations for customers of Office 365 US Government services.

Background screeningGCCGCC High and DoD
Verification of US citizenshipYesYes
Employment history checkYesYes
Education verificationYesYes
Social Security number (SSN) searchYesYes
Criminal history check (7 year)YesYes

Office 365 US Government and Azure Government ExpressRoute

Office 365 US Government customers can use Azure Government ExpressRoute services to connect privately to supported Office 365 services instead of connecting over the public Internet.

For details, such as supported providers, pricing models, and more, review the Azure ExpressRoute information.

For details on Office 365 support for Azure ExpressRoute, see Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365.

System requirements

For system requirements for Office 365 US Government plans, see System requirements for Office on the office.com products site.

Security & Compliance Center

For information about the Security & Compliance Center and links to additional information and availability, see Security & Compliance Center.

Service availability for each plan

Each Office 365 plan includes a number of individual services, such as Exchange Online and SharePoint Online. The following table shows the services that are available in each Office 365 US Government plan.

Office 365 serviceOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Exchange OnlineYesYesYesYes
Exchange Online ProtectionYesYesYesYes
Microsoft 365 Apps for enterpriseNoYesYesNo
Office for the webYesYesYesYes
OneDrive for BusinessYesYesYesYes
Skype for Business (Instant Messaging & Presence)YesYesYesYes
Power BI ProNo1No1YesNo1
Project OnlineNo1No1No1No1
SharePoint OnlineYesYesYesYes
Voice – Phone System, Audio ConferencingNo1No1Yes3No
Visio for the webNo4No4No4No4
Yammer Enterprise2No2No2No2No2

1 Not included but can be purchased as a separate add-on. Project Online includes Project Online Desktop Client as a part of the subscription.
2 Yammer Enterprise is not a component of Office 365 US Government, but may be acquired at no cost as a standalone offer for each user licensed for Office 365 in GCC. This offer is currently limited to customers that purchase Office 365 GCC under Enterprise Agreements and Enterprise Subscription Agreements. Yammer is not available in GCC High or DoD.
3 Calling Plan is an add-on (add language on bring your own trunk).
4 Not included but can be purchased as a separate add-on. Visio for the web includes the Visio desktop app as a part of the subscription.

Platform features

The following table lists the platform features and services that are available across the Office 365 US Government plans.

FeatureOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Office 365 administration
Use the Microsoft 365 admin center to administer Office 365Yes16Yes16YesYes16
Manage core service settings from Office 365YesYesYesYes
Use Windows PowerShell to manage Office 365YesYesYesYes
Protect content by using Azure Information ProtectionNo1Yes15Yes15Yes15
Office 365 suite featuresOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Microsoft BookingsNoYes21Yes21No
Microsoft Briefing emailNoNoNoNo
Microsoft Power AutomateYesYesYesYes
Microsoft FormsYesYesYesYes
Microsoft Graph APIYesYesYesYes
Microsoft MyAnalyticsNoNoYes17No
Microsoft PlannerYesYesYesYes
Microsoft PowerAppsYesYesYesYes
Microsoft StaffHubNoNoNoNo
Microsoft StreamYes9, 15Yes9, 15Yes9, 15Yes9, 15, 20
Microsoft SwayNoNoNoNo
Microsoft TeamsYesYesYesYes
Office DelveYes17Yes17YesYes17
Office 365 GroupsYesYesYesYes
User account managementOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Cloud identity, Federated identity, or Multi-factor authenticationYesYesYesYes
Office 365 desktop setupYesYesYesYes
Manage users with Office 365YesYesYesYes
Bulk upload using .csv filesYes9Yes9YesYes9
Directory Sync toolYesYesYesYes
Exchange simple (cutover) migrationYesYesYesYes
Delete accounts and reset user passwords from Microsoft 365 or by using Windows PowerShell3YesYesYesYes
Users can change their own password4YesYesYesYes
Manage licensesYes7, 8Yes7, 8Yes7, 8Yes7,8
Manage security groups from Office 365YesYesYesYes
Multiple administrator roles availableYesYesYesYes
Allow a partner to administer Office 365 for youYes11Yes11Yes11Yes11
Azure Active Directory servicesYesYesYesYes
DomainsOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Add custom 2nd-level domains, like fourthcoffee.comYesYesYesYes
Add custom 3rd-level domains, like marketing.fourthcoffee.comYesYesYesYes
Add up to 900 custom domainsYesYesYesYes
Domain ownership verification required for custom domainsYesYesYesYes
Service health and continuityOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Status information available on the Service health or Service status pageYesYesYesYes
Status of individual alerts available on the Microsoft 365 admin center dashboardYesYesYesYes
Service health RSS feedYesYesYesYes
ReportsOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Active and inactive mailboxesYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
New and deleted mailboxesYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
New and deleted groupsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Mailbox usageYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Types of mailbox connectionsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Sent and received mailYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Top senders and recipientsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Spam detectionsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Malware detectionsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Top malware for mailYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Rule matches for mailYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Top rule matches for mailYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Top DLP policy matches for mailNoYes15Yes15No
DLP policy matches by severity for mailNoYes15Yes15No
DLP policy matches, overrides, and false positives for mailNoYes15Yes15No
Top DLP rule matches for mailNoYes15Yes15No
IM and audio sessionsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Application sharing, web, and dial-in conferencesYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Video, application sharing, and file transfer sessionsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
IM and audio/video conferencesYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Downloadable mail protection reportsYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Browser usedYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Operating system usedYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Create your own reports using Microsoft 365 reporting web servicesYes15Yes15Yes15Yes15
Service updatesOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Regular updates provided to all customersYesYesYesYes
Notifications sent to Message Center when action is requiredYesYesYesYes
Roadmap.office.com for some service updatesNo8No8No8No8
Option to turn on Targeted ReleaseYes8, 22Yes8, 22Yes8, 22Yes8, 22
Help and trainingOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Online helpYesYesYesYes
CommunityYesYesYesYes
Other self-help resourcesYesYesYesYes
Self-paced trainingYesYesYesYes
NetworkingOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
IPv4 and IPv6 protocolsYesYesYesYes
TrustOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Privacy, security, and transparency
Cloud App SecurityNo12, 19No12, 19Yes19No12, 19
Microsoft Defender for Office 365No12, 18No12, 18Yes18No12, 18
Customer LockboxNo12No12YesNo12
Customer Key22NoNoYesNo
Advanced eDiscoveryNo12No12YesNo12
Basic Audit23YesYesYesYes
Advanced Audit23NoNoYesNo
Microsoft Secure Score14Yes9, 15Yes9, 15Yes9, 15Yes9, 15
Threat IntelligenceNo12No12YesNo12
Compliance
SAS 70 / SSAE16 AssessmentsYesYesYesYes
ISO 27001 certifiedYesYesYesYes
EU Model ClausesYesYesYesYes
EU Safe HarborYesYesYesYes
HIPAA-Business Associate AgreementYesYesYesYes
FISMA Authority to OperateYesYesYesYes
Microsoft Data Processing AgreementYesYesYesYes
PCI DSS Level OneYesYesYesYes
PCI-governed PAN dataNoNoNoNo
BlackBerryOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Use BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS)No2No2No2No2
Partners
Create trial invitations and purchase orders for a customer who is using the specified planNo11No11No11No11
Provide delegated administrationNo11No11No11No11
Service Level AgreementYesYesYesYes
Product use rightsYesYesYesYes

1 Azure Information Protection is not included but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. Some Azure Information Protection features require a subscription to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, which is not included with Office 365 Government G1.
2 Existing BBCS and BIS customers can continue use of the service. New customers are not being accepted.
3 If using directory synchronization, you must delete accounts or change passwords by using Active Directory, rather than the Office 365 portal or by using the Azure Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell.
4 To learn how to set self-service password management policies for users, see Reset your work or school password using security info.
5 Reducing seats that were purchased with a term discount may be subject to an early termination fee. This is not applicable to subscriptions paid on a monthly basis.
6 The following plans do not support license seat changes from the Microsoft 365 admin center: Office 365 Government G1, Office 365 Government G3, Office 365 Government F3.
7 Not yet available in GCC High, but coming soon.
8 For Office 365 Government G1, G3, and F3, Office 365 for business roadmap apply; however, there may be some differences or delays for specific service updates due to compliance requirements.
9 Not yet available in Office 365 Government offerings, but coming soon.
10 Not included, but can be purchased as a separate add-on in GCC.
11 Not supported for Office 365 Government offerings.
12 Available at https://securescore.office.com. Requires admin permissions. For more information, see Microsoft Secure Score.
13 Not yet available in DoD environment, but coming soon.
14 Admin center does not include usage analytics in DoD or GCC High environments.
15 Not supported for GCC High or DoD environments.
16 Anti-phishing for user and domain impersonation and spoof intelligence are not yet available in GCC High and DoD.
17 Not yet available in GCC environment, but coming soon.
18 Consumption only for Microsoft Stream: no publishing or sharing.
19 Not available for the Microsoft Graph API or Microsoft Teams.
20 For more information, see Service encryption with Customer Key.
21 Audit in Microsoft 365 provides organizations with visibility into many types of audited activities across different services in Microsoft 365. Use the Security & Compliance Center audit log search to view user and administrator activity in your organization. You can also use the Office 365 Management Activity API to retrieve events from the unified audit log. When an audited activity is performed by a user or admin, an audit record is generated and stored in the audit log for the customer organization. The length of time that an audit record is retained (and searchable in the audit log) depends on the customer’s Office 365 or Microsoft 365 Enterprise subscription and the type of license assigned to specific users.
22 Targeted Release not yet available in Office 365 Government offerings, but coming soon.

Office application availability and enterprise value

The following table shows the Office application features that are available across Office 365 US Government plans.

Application/featureOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
Office applications
Microsoft Word7NoYesYesNo
Microsoft Excel7NoYesYesNo
Microsoft PowerPoint7NoYesYesNo
Microsoft OneNote7NoYesYesNo
Microsoft Outlook7NoYesYesNo
Microsoft Forms7YesYesYesNo
Microsoft Whiteboard7NoYesYesNo
Microsoft PublisherNoYesYesNo
Microsoft AccessNoYesYesNo
Skype for BusinessYes3YesYesYes3
Office for Mac for Office 365NoYesYesNo
Office Mobile for iPad/iPhoneYesYesYesYes
Office Mobile for AndroidYesYesYesYes
Office Mobile for Windows PhoneYesYes4Yes4Yes
Office Mobile for Windows 10 tabletsYesYesYesYes
Outlook for iOS and Android5, 4YesYesYesYes
Enterprise valueOffice 365 Government G1Office 365 Government G3Office 365 Government G5Office 365 Government F3
5 installs per user on PC or MacNoYesYesNo
Automated user account provisioningYesYesYesYes
Multilingual user interfaceNoYesYesNo
Client push deploymentNoYes4Yes4No
Client support for on-premises ExchangeNoYesYesNo
Client support for on-premises SharePointNoYesYesNo
Control of software updatesNoYesYesNo
Database CompareNoYesYesNo
Desktop virtualizationNoYesYesNo
Excel Spreadsheet CompareNoYesYesNo
Excel Spreadsheet InquireNoYesYesNo
Exchange Online and SharePoint Online Archiving and ComplianceNoYesYesNo
Group Policy supportNoYesYesNo
Information Rights Management using Azure Information ProtectionNo1Yes6Yes6No1
Information Rights Management using Windows Server AD RMSYes2Yes2Yes2Yes2
Office Add-in, ActiveX, and BHO supportNoYesYesNo
OneNote client access to notebooks on SharePoint Server, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Office 365NoYesYesNo
Office LensNoNoNoNo
Office TelemetryNoYes4Yes4No
Offline support for client applicationsNoYesYesNo
Optimized side-by-side client installationNoYesYesNo
Power Map for ExcelNoNoNoNo
Power Pivot for ExcelNoYes4Yes4No
Power Query for ExcelNoYes4Yes4No
Power View for ExcelNoYes4Yes4No
Roaming settingsNoYesYesNo
Shared computer activationNoYesYesNo
Support for blocking cloud-based file storageNoYesYesNo
Version upgradesNoYes4Yes4No
Volume activation (KMS/MAK)NoNoNoNo

1 Azure Information Protection is not included but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. Some Azure Information Protection features require a subscription to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, which is not included with Office 365 Government G1 or Office 365 Government F3.
2 Windows Server AD RMS is an on-premises server that must be purchased and managed separately to enable the supported IRM features.
3 Skype for Business Basic is available for all customers. The Skype for Business desktop client is a locally installed application that provides presence, instant messaging, and conferencing features for Office 365 plans that include Skype for Business Online. Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, and Office 365 Enterprise E3 include the full Skype application, which includes additional features such as advanced telephony support, archiving, and compliance features. A Skype for Business Online license must be assigned for each user. For more information on Lync Basic features, see Skype for Business Online client comparison tables.
4 Not yet available in GCC High or DoD environments, but coming soon.
5 See Using Outlook for iOS and Android in the Government Community Cloud for more details.
6 Not yet available in Office 365 DoD environment, but coming soon.
7 Applications are fully available in the government clouds, with the exception of the specific features not available at this time. See Office application feature availability for details.

Office application and feature availability in Government plans

The following Office applications are available in the government clouds; however, some cloud-based capabilities may not be currently available, as indicated in the table.

Application/featureAccessibility featureGCCGCC HighDOD
Microsoft Excel is fully available in the government clouds except the following features, which aren’t available at this time:
3D embedded animations and 3D modelsYesNoNoNo
Data typesNoNoNo
Flash fillNoNoNo
Ideas (Insight Services)YesNoNoNo
Improved integration with Power BI (custom visuals, create PBI charts straight from Excel)NoNoNo
Intelligent Digital InkYesNoNoNo
Office 365 GroupsNoNoNo
PivotCharts data connected to PivotTablesNoNoNo
PowerPivotNoNoNo
Publish to Power BINoNoNo
Real-time collaboration (presence, regular coauthoring, in-document chat)SomeNoNoNo
Shared with MeNoNoNo
Smart LookupYesNoNoNo
Charts: sunburst treemap, waterfall, histogram, maps, timeline, funnelNoNoNo
Version historyYesNoNoNo
Microsoft Forms is fully available in the government clouds except the following features, which aren’t available at this time:GCCGCC HighDOD
Email notificationNo1No1No
Insert a pictureYes4Yes4Yes4
Insert a videoNo1No1No
MathNo1No1No
Office integrationNo1No1No
Most recent group formsYesYesYes
External sharing3YesNoNo
Forms ProNoNoNo
Microsoft OneNote is fully available in the government clouds except the following features, which aren’t available at this time:GCCGCC HighDOD
ResearcherYesNoNoNo
Intelligent Digital InkYesNoNoNo
Send Email to OneNote ([email protected])YesNoNoNo
Web ClipperNoNoNo
Microsoft Outlook is fully available in the government clouds except the following features, which are not available in all Government Clouds as indicated in the below table.GCCGCC HighDOD
Office sounds (some)YesNoNoNo
Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) disabled by defaultNoNoNo
DictationYesYesYesNo1
Microsoft PowerPoint is fully available in the government clouds except the following features, which are not available in all Government Clouds as indicated in the below table.GCCGCC HighDOD
Smart LookupYesNoNoNo
Office sounds (some)NoNoNo
3D models and 3D embedded animationsNoNoNo
Charts: mapsNoNoNo
Intelligent Digital InkYesNoNoNo
Live captions and subtitles in PowerPointYesYesYesNo
Live PresentationsNoNoNo
Immersive ReaderYesNoNoNo
Presenter CoachYesNoNoNo
Shared with MeNoNoNo
Skype for Business integration with sharingNoNoNo
Version historyYesNoNoNo
Office 365 GroupsNoNoNo
Real-time collaboration (presence, regular coauthoring, in-document chat)SomeNoNoNo
DictationYesYesYesNo1
Reuse slidesNoNoNo
Microsoft Whiteboard in government clouds is currently only available on Hub clients, and not on the desktop.GCC2GCC High2DOD2
Insert sticky notes, text, and imagesYes2Yes2Yes2
Ink to shape and ink to tableYesYes2Yes2Yes2
Ink beautificationYesYes2Yes2Yes2
Convert image to inkYesYes2Yes2Yes2
Accessibility CheckerYesYes2Yes2Yes2
Dynamic templates (KANBAN, SWOT, and so on)YesNoNoNo
Real-time collaborationYesNoNoNo
Real-time presenceYesNoNoNo
Reactions on contentYesNoNoNo
Board gallery of whiteboards, including shared with youNoNoNo
Microsoft Word is fully available in the government clouds except the following features, which are not available in all Government Clouds as indicated in the below table.GCCGCC HighDOD
Smart LookupYesNoNoNo
ResearcherYesNoNoNo
Office soundsNoNoNo
3D modelsNoNoNo
3D embedded animationsNoNoNo
TapNoNoNo
Resume AssistantYesNoNoNo
Map chartsNoNoNo
Intelligent Digital InkYesNoNoNo
Shared with MeNoNoNo
TranslationYes5Yes5Yes5
Skype for Business integration with sharingNoNoNo
Version historyYesNoNoNo
Office 365 GroupsNoNoNo
Contextual chat with co-authors: chat with co-authors within the documentNoNoNo
DictationYesYesYesNo1

For feature availability for Microsoft Teams within GCC/GCC High/DoD, visit the Microsoft Teams service description.

1 Availability forthcoming.
2 Availability on local Surface Hub (not signed in).
3 External sharing is available for the GCC environment. Learn more about how to turn off or turn on Microsoft Forms for your organization. External sharing is disabled for GCC High and DOD environments; users within your organization may do the following: complete a form and submit responses, duplicate and share a form as a templateco-author or collaborate on a form, and access form results.
4 Inserting an image with the Bing Image Search feature is disabled for the GCC/GCCH/DOD environment.
5 Word, Excel PowerPoint Windows client only, not web, MacOS, iOS or Android.