Microsoft Graph Cloud Licensing API: What Entra Admins Need to Know Now

WHAT JUST CHANGED?

Microsoft has released the Cloud Licensing API resources into Microsoft Graph beta as of June 2024. These resources include:

• adminCloudLicensing
• allotment
• assignment
• assignmentError
• subscription
• waitingMember

Rollout status: Public Preview. This impacts all cloud tenants with Microsoft Entra ID, especially those actively managing license assignments, group-based licensing, or anticipating advanced reporting requirements. Beta endpoints are accessible to Global Administrators and License Administrators with Microsoft Graph permissions.

WHAT’S NEXT ON THE ROADMAP?

Microsoft’s licensing roadmap is accelerating toward granular automation, error visibility, and cross-service entitlement control. Upcoming features include:

• License reconciliation tools for group-based licensing (now in preview for advanced reporting).
• Automated remediation of assignment errors—including orphaned users, over-assignment, and SKU mismatches.
• Expanded PowerShell/Graph support for license management—moving away from AzureAD/MSOnline modules, forcing adoption of Microsoft.Graph and Microsoft.Entra cmdlets.
• Unified licensing dashboard in Entra admin center (scheduled for later in 2024).

Admins should begin testing beta Graph endpoints in non-production tenants, update automation scripts, and review legacy license assignment practices for compatibility.

WHY THIS DIRECTION IS BETTER

The Cloud Licensing API represents a concrete improvement over previous approaches:

• Granular error reporting (assignmentError) allows admins to pinpoint and resolve failed license assignments at scale.
• Explicit resource separation (e.g., allotment vs. assignment) enables advanced auditing, entitlement tracking, and compliance reporting.
• Modern API and PowerShell support aligns with Microsoft’s security and automation best practices.
• Faster, actionable data—no more waiting for portal refresh or manual reconciliation.
• Compared to Okta, Google Workspace, and legacy AzureAD, Microsoft now offers richer error handling, assignment insight, and subscription visibility directly through Graph.

For admins, this means less ambiguity, fewer hidden licensing failures, and easier integration into workflows and reporting tools.

ADJACENT ENTRA ID CHANGES TO WATCH

Alongside Cloud Licensing API, Microsoft is:

• Retiring AzureAD and MSOnline PowerShell modules (June 30, 2024)—all license management must shift to Microsoft.Graph or Microsoft.Entra modules.
• Enhancing group-based licensing error reporting in Entra admin center.
• Rolling out conditional access for license assignment actions in preview, adding security controls for privileged automation.
• Previewing external identity and guest license management for B2B scenarios.

Admins managing hybrid licensing or external user scenarios should review their assignment flows and security policies.

WHAT TO DO: STEP-BY-STEP

1. Register Graph permissions: Ensure admin accounts have CloudLicensing.Read.All and CloudLicensing.ReadWrite.All permissions in Azure AD App registrations.
2. Audit current assignments: Inventory your license assignments, reporting on failed assignments and orphaned users.
3. Update automation scripts: Replace deprecated AzureAD/MSOnline cmdlets with Microsoft.Graph or Microsoft.Entra equivalents.
4. Test beta endpoints: Use Graph API or PowerShell to query and validate Cloud Licensing resources—start with reporting only.
5. Document assignment errors: Use assignmentError resource to identify recurring issues, then remediate in Entra admin center.
6. Review group-based licensing: Check for upcoming deprecations and prepare for migration to new reporting and assignment flows.

CHECK IT YOURSELF: POWERSHELL AUDIT

This script uses Microsoft.Graph PowerShell module to enumerate license assignments, errors, and subscriptions. All queries are read-only. Handles pagination and errors, and can be adapted for reporting.

# Requires Microsoft.Graph 1.17+ and CloudLicensing permissions
Import-Module Microsoft.Graph.Users
Import-Module Microsoft.Graph.CloudLicensing

try {
    # List all subscriptions
    $subscriptions = Get-MgCloudLicensingSubscription -All | Where-Object { $_.Id -ne $null }
    Write-Host "Subscriptions found: $($subscriptions.Count)"

    # List all license assignments (paginated)
    $assignments = @()
    $page = Get-MgCloudLicensingAssignment -Top 100
    while ($page) {
        $assignments += $page
        $page = $null
        if ($assignments.Count -lt 100) {
            break # no more pages
        }
        $page = Get-MgCloudLicensingAssignment -Top 100 -Skip $assignments.Count
    }
    Write-Host "Total assignments: $($assignments.Count)"

    # List assignment errors
    $errors = Get-MgCloudLicensingAssignmentError -All | Where-Object { $_.Id -ne $null }
    if ($errors.Count -gt 0) {
        Write-Warning "Assignment errors detected: $($errors.Count)"
        $errors | Select-Object Id, ErrorCode, ErrorMessage | Format-Table
    } else {
        Write-Host "No assignment errors detected"
    }
} catch {
    Write-Error "Failed to query Cloud Licensing resources: $_"
}

PORTAL PATH

To view and manage licensing in Entra admin center:

• Go to Entra admin center → Identity → Licenses
• For assignment errors: Entra admin center → Identity → Licenses → Assignment errors (in preview)
• For group-based licensing: Entra admin center → Identity → Groups → Select group → Licenses
• For subscription inventory: Entra admin center → Identity → Licenses → All products

BOTTOM LINE

Admins must immediately audit licensing flows, update automation to Microsoft.Graph, and begin testing Cloud Licensing API resources. Prioritize reporting and error remediation, prepare for upcoming module retirements, and review group-based licensing for compatibility.