Short answer
Most civilian federal, state, and local agencies belong in GCC. GCC High is for organizations handling Controlled Unclassified Information under DFARS or ITAR-controlled data. Microsoft Copilot runs in both, and GCC High receives features later and has fewer of them.
At a glance
| Environment | Designed for | Compliance level | Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCC | Federal civilian, state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies and eligible contractors | FedRAMP Moderate | Available, features later than commercial |
| GCC High | Defense contractors and agencies handling CUI under DFARS or ITAR | FedRAMP High | Available, fewer features than GCC |
| DoD | The Department of Defense | DoD Impact Level 5 | Available, fewer features than GCC |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Copilot features that differ
As of October 2026, Copilot in Teams, Copilot in SharePoint, and SharePoint agents are available in GCC but not in GCC High. GCC High supports only declarative agents built with Agent Builder or published through admin controls. Insider Risk Management is not available in GCC High. Claude models are available to non-federal GCC customers only.
How to decide
- GCC High belongs in the evaluation if you handle CUI under a DFARS clause, ITAR technical data, or must demonstrate CMMC Level 2 on Microsoft 365.
- GCC fits most state and local agencies, courts, schools, and civilian federal agencies without those obligations.
- CJIS alone does not require GCC High. Many law enforcement agencies meet CJIS requirements in GCC with the right configuration.
Microsoft validates eligibility for both environments before a tenant is created. Moving between them is a migration, so it is worth deciding carefully.
Based on Microsoft's published documentation as of October 2026. Microsoft changes names, features, and billing often; confirm details in your own tenant.