Project Online retirement timeline
7/3/20264 min read
Project Online retirement timeline: every key date for PMOs
If you are searching for when Project Online is retiring, here is the short answer: Microsoft Project Online is being retired on 30 September 2026. Several milestones led up to that date, and the most disruptive of them has already passed - SharePoint 2013 workflows were switched off on 2 April 2026, which broke the governance and approval automation of many PMOs months before the service itself goes.
This page lays out the full timeline, what each milestone meant, and - now that the April cut-offs have passed - what is still worth doing before the service is switched off in September. For the bigger picture, head to our Migration page
What breaks at each milestone
The impact was staggered, and most of it has already landed. Here is what each date changed, and what is still ahead.
From October 2025 - procurement closed
New customers could no longer buy Project Online. If you were considering it, or planned to expand licences for a new department, that door closed - the signal to start scoping a migration rather than investing further in the platform.
April 2026 - the part that has already bitten
Two things happened within 24 hours of each other in April 2026, and together they were the turning point - and both are now behind us:
• You can no longer create new tenants. On 1 April 2026 existing customers lost the ability to create new Project Online tenants. There is no longer the option of standing up a fresh environment to stage work - you migrate from what you have, as it is.
• SharePoint 2013 workflows are switched off. On 2 April 2026 the workflows were switched off. If your project lifecycle ran on workflow-driven approvals, stage-gate progression, demand management or routing, those controls have already stopped - most teams have been on manual workarounds, spreadsheets and email since the spring. Your data is still there until September, but the controls around it went first.
There is nothing left to do about the April cut-offs themselves - they have passed. What they mean now is that the governance layer is already gone, so a move to a supported platform does not just preserve your data, it restores the controls you have been without.
Still ahead - 30 September 2026, the service goes
On 30 September 2026, Project Online is retired. After that point you cannot access your projects or any associated data in the service, unless you have already been given an extension from Microsoft. Anything you have not exported is lost. This is the deadline that is still ahead, and the one a data-preservation step is built around - see what happens to your data and history for exactly what to capture.
The deadline most PMOs have already passed
It is worth being clear, because it is the most overlooked part of this retirement: the governance layer died before the service did.
Project Online's approvals, stage gates and demand management ran on SharePoint 2013 workflows, and Microsoft switched those off on 2 April 2026 - about six months ahead of full retirement. The service still loads, but the automated controls that made it a governance tool, rather than a list of projects, have already stopped.
For most PMOs that disruption has already happened: approvals stall, demand intake breaks, and teams revert to spreadsheets and email. You cannot get ahead of that cut-off now - but you can put it right by moving to a supported platform with the governance rebuilt on modern automation such as Power Automate. Our how-to-migrate guide shows how those workflows are rebuilt.
So how long do you really have?
The honest position in mid-2026: the April cut-offs have passed, so the one hard deadline left is 30 September 2026, when the service and your data go. What that means depends on how you used Project Online:
• If you rely on workflow-driven governance (approvals, stage gates, demand management): you are already operating without it. Moving now both preserves your data and restores those controls on a supported platform.
• If you mainly use Project Online for scheduling and reporting, with little workflow automation: the September 2026 deadline is the one to plan around - export your data and stand up a new platform before the service is switched off.
Either way, the comfortable planning window is now, not next year. Major platform moves take months when done properly, and leaving them to the final quarter forces a risky cutover in the middle of live delivery. The organisations that handle this well start early, preserve their data, and rebuild governance on a modern platform with continuity built in.
Frequently asked questions
When is Project Online retiring?
Project Online is being retired on 30 September 2026. After that date, projects and associated data are no longer accessible in the service.
What happened on 2 April 2026?
SharePoint 2013 workflows were switched off. They powered approvals, stage gates and demand management in many Project Online setups, so for governance-dependent PMOs that was the first real disruption - about six months before full retirement. That date has passed; the remaining deadline is 30 September 2026.
Can I still buy or create new Project Online environments?
No. End of sale for new customers was 1 October 2025, and since 1 April 2026 even existing customers cannot create new Project Online tenants.
Is Microsoft Project for the desktop being retired?
No. The retirement applies only to the Project Online (Project Web App) cloud service. Project for the desktop continues.
Plan your move while there's time
The dates are fixed, but a rushed migration is not. NextGen PPM moves PMOs onto a Microsoft-native, tenant-resident PPM on the Power Platform - with governance rebuilt on modern automation and your data kept in your own estate, well ahead of the deadline.
As of mid-2026 the first three milestones have already passed; the one hard deadline still ahead is 30 September 2026. (Project for the desktop is not part of this retirement - it continues. This is specifically about the Project Online / Project Web App cloud service.)
Project Online retires 30 September 2026. Let’s plan your move.
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