Free SharePoint planning resource
SharePoint Migration & Governance Readiness Checklist
Before moving files into SharePoint Online, review the decisions that affect permissions, governance, records, Teams, OneDrive, Copilot readiness, user adoption, and long-term support.
Built for IT leaders, SharePoint admins, and Microsoft 365 teams planning migrations, cleanup, or governance improvements. Start with a 10-minute quick scan, score eight practical areas with one clear rule, and finish with an action plan that names an owner and a date for each gap, so migration decisions are tied to governance, security, records, ownership, and support, not just copying folders.
Who should use this checklist
- IT Directors and IT Managers
- SharePoint and Microsoft 365 administrators
- Microsoft 365 consultants and architects
- Operations, compliance, and records stakeholders
- Organizations moving from file shares to SharePoint Online
- Teams cleaning up Teams, OneDrive, external sharing, or permissions
Download the free checklist
Enter your details and the PDF is delivered immediately on the next page.
What it helps you review
A fillable PDF with a 10-minute quick scan, 64 readiness checks and 32 red flags across eight areas, a scoring rule, a summary scorecard, and an action plan.
Migration scope and content inventory
Understand what exists today before deciding where it should live in Microsoft 365.
ROT cleanup and information quality
Reduce redundant, obsolete, and trivial content before it adds storage and search noise.
Permissions, security and external sharing
Review broken inheritance, direct grants, guests, and broad access before they become risks.
SharePoint information architecture
Plan sites, libraries, metadata, and navigation instead of recreating old file share folders.
Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint strategy
Clarify where content belongs so users know when to use each tool.
Governance, lifecycle and retention
Define ownership, review cadence, archiving, and retention that admins can actually support.
Copilot readiness and content exposure
Find oversharing, stale content, and sites to keep out of Copilot while they are cleaned up.
Migration execution, adoption and support
Plan the pilot, cutover, broken links, validation, communications, and post-migration reviews.
Why this matters
A SharePoint migration is not just a file copy project. If old folder structures, messy permissions, stale content, and unclear ownership are moved into Microsoft 365 without review, SharePoint can quickly become another unmanaged file share.
This checklist helps teams slow down just enough to make the important decisions before migration work scales across departments, projects, or client areas. The most valuable output is not the score — it is a prioritized list of decisions, risks, owners, and cleanup work.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the SharePoint migration checklist for?
It is built for IT Directors, IT Managers, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 administrators, consultants, and organizations planning file share to SharePoint migrations or reviewing permissions, governance, Teams, OneDrive, retention, or Copilot readiness.
What does the readiness checklist cover?
It covers eight practical areas: migration scope and inventory, ROT cleanup, permissions and external sharing, information architecture, Teams/OneDrive/SharePoint strategy, governance and retention, Copilot readiness, and migration execution and support.
How does the scoring model work?
Each area has eight checks. Tick only the checks you can back up with evidence, read the area score (0 to 5) from the table in the PDF, and score the area 2 at most if two or more of its red flags apply. The summary scorecard adds the eight scores (0 to 40) to show whether an environment is not ready, needs cleanup, is planning ready, or is migration ready.
Can I fill it in on screen?
Yes. The PDF has tick boxes and text fields that work in Adobe Acrobat Reader and in the PDF viewers built into Chrome and Edge, so you can complete it, save it, and share it with your team, or print it for a workshop.
Is the checklist free?
Yes. Enter your first name, work email, company, and main concern, and the PDF is on the next page.
Will I be added to a mailing list?
No. Filling in the form does not sign you up for a newsletter or any emails.
Need help reviewing your SharePoint migration or governance risks?
Use the checklist as a starting point for a 30-minute SharePoint readiness discussion covering migration, governance, permissions, Teams/OneDrive strategy, and Copilot readiness.