Product keys Frequently Asked Questions

A product key allows you to use a software product you have licensed under a specific volume licensing program. The product keys listed in the Microsoft 365 admin center should be used only with volume license products and are intended for use only by your organization.

An Online Service Activation (OSA) key is a single-use product key used to activate Microsoft Online Services subscriptions.

For more information, see Online Service Activation for Open programs FAQ.

1. Sign into the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. Go to Billing > Your products > Volume licensing > Downloads & keys > hover on product and select View keys.

You find product key information for each product, the type of licensing (Volume Licensing Key, Key Management Service (KMS), and Multiple Activation Key (MAK)) and the number of used and available MAK activations.

Select Download all product keys to download the keys displayed for a license to a local drive.

The SQL license key is embedded in the software's activation wizard rather than displayed in the admin center and is detected automatically during installation. For more information, see The SQL Server Installation Guide.

You can also find the key by downloading the SQL ISO file from the admin center > ..\x64 folder > DefaultSetup.ini file. Make sure to back up any existing version before installing or upgrading SQL editions. If you need help with troubleshooting technical issues during product installation or online service activation, contact Microsoft Technical Support by submitting a Technical Support request.

If your agreement authorizes access to a product that requires a key, you can find those keys by going to Billing > Your products > Volume licensing > Downloads & keys.

However, some products don't require a product key. This information is listed in the product description in the Downloads and Keys catalog.

A setup key is used for each product/version combination to unlock the product by bypassing activation. You can get a setup key in one of two ways:

• Physical fulfillment For products acquired through physical fulfillment, the setup key is printed on the media sleeve.
• Download fulfillment For products acquired by download from the admin center, the setup key is displayed on the download screen and could be accompanied by the following text: Some products available for download require setup keys. Note the setup key as it's needed during product installation. For more on setup keys, see KMS client setup keys.

Volume License product keys are provided for each Licensing ID listed in your Microsoft Relationship Summary. This Relationship Summary is on the Volume Licensing Service Center. For more information, see What is a Licensing ID. You could have several Licensing IDs:

• Enterprise Agreement (EA) and Select Plus customers receive product keys per product pool (Systems, Servers, and Applications).
• Select Agreement customers receive product keys per product pool (Systems, Servers, and Applications) based on their purchasing forecasts.
• Open License customers and Open Value customers receive applicable product keys based on their license purchases.

For more information, see the License Summary FAQ.

Volume activation is a configurable solution that helps automate and manage the product activation process on computers running Windows operating systems licensed under a volume licensing program. Volume activation is also used with other software from Microsoft, including Microsoft 365, sold under volume licensing agreements and that support volume activation. For more information, see:

• Tools to manage volume activation of Office
• Volume Activation for Windows 10

Volume activation applies only to systems covered under a Volume Licensing program and is used strictly as a tool for activation. It's not tied to license invoicing or billing.

Volume activation provides two ways to complete volume activations. Either or both key types can be used by customers to activate systems in their organization:

• Key Management Service (KMS) allows organizations to activate systems within their own network.
• Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activates systems on a one-time basis, using Microsoft hosted activation services.

KMS is an activation service that allows organizations to activate systems within their own network by eliminating the need for individual computers to connect to Microsoft for product activation. It doesn't require a dedicated system and can be co-hosted on a system that provides other services.

KMS requires a minimum number of either physical or virtual computers in a network environment. These minimums, called activation thresholds, are set so that they're easily met by Enterprise customers.

• Activation thresholds for Windows
  • Your organization must have at least five computers to activate servers running Windows Server.
  • Your organization must have at least 25 computers to activate client systems running Windows.
• Activation thresholds for Microsoft 365
  • Your organization must have at least five computers running an edition of Microsoft 365 to activate installed Microsoft 365 products using KMS.

For more information about activation thresholds, see the Volume Activation Planning Guide.

A KMS key is used to activate the KMS host computer with a Microsoft activation server and can activate up to six KMS hosts with 10 activations per host. Each KMS host can activate an unlimited number of computers.

KMS keys are no longer pre-assigned to Open agreements as use of Multiple Activation Key (MAK) is the preferred method for activation.

KSM keys can be assigned, by exception, to Open customers who meet the minimum KMS activation threshold for Windows Server, OS, and Microsoft 365. To request an exception, submit a web form request to Microsoft Support.

To request an exception, you must have VLSC Administrator, Key Administrator, or Key Viewer permissions and provide the following information:

• Agreement / Enrollment Number or License ID and Authorization.
• Product Name (including version and edition).
• Last 5 characters of the product key.
• The number of host activations required.
• Business justification or reason for deployment.

If you require additional KMS activations for activating more than six KMS hosts, submit a web form request to Microsoft 365 admin center support.

To request an exception, you must have VLSC Administrator, Key Administrator, or Key Viewer permissions and provide the following information:

• Agreement / Enrollment Number or License ID and Authorization.
• Product Name (including version and edition).
• Last 5 characters of the product key.
• The number of host activations required.
• Business justification or reason for deployment.

A Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activates systems on a one-time basis, using Microsoft hosted activation services that require connection with a Microsoft activation server. Once computers are activated, no further communication with Microsoft is required.

Important The number of allowed MAK activations is based on your Volume Licensing agreement.

We recommend customers use KMS to activate Multiple Activation Keys (MAK). KMS is the preferred activation method for large scale deployments. Many factors determine the number of activations associated with each MAK, including licenses purchased, the customer purchase pricing level, and their Volume Licensing program.

The number of activations available for a product won't always match the number of licenses purchased. Usually, you receive more activations in case you need to reinstall and activate some of your products. Check the Licensing Summary section of your agreement to view the number of licenses.

Increases to MAK activation quantity can be requested via web form and are granted by exception. For Canada and the United States, submit Volume Licensing Support Requests. For all other countries/regions, submit a Support Web Form.

To request a MAK activation limit, you must have VLSC Administrator, Key Administrator, or Key Viewer permissions and provide the following information:

• Agreement/Enrollment Number or License ID and Authorization.
• Product Name (including version and edition).
• Last 5 characters of the product key.
• The number of host activations required.
• Business justification or reason for deployment.

You can activate licenses in one of two ways using MAK:

• MAK Independent Activation Each computer individually connects to Microsoft by using the web or telephone to complete activation.
• MAK Proxy Activation One centralized activation request is made on behalf of multiple computers with a single connection to Microsoft online or by telephone. This method uses the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT), which is a part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). VAMT enables IT Professionals to automate and centrally manage the Volume Activation process using MAK and includes a check on the number of activations on the MAK.

The Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) is a tool that allows network administrators and other IT professionals to automate and centrally manage the volume- and retail-activation process for Windows, Microsoft 365, and select other Microsoft products. VAMT can manage volume activation using Multiple Activation Keys (MAKs) or the Windows Key Management Service (KMS). VAMT is a standard Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that requires the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0.

For information on VAMT, see:

• Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Technical Reference
• Managing Activation Using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)

If you deploy Windows using Key Management Service (KMS) as the activation method, note that:

• Windows Server isn't supported as a KMS host to activate Windows.
• A Windows Server KMS key is required to get a patch to allow activation of Windows client machines. For the latest patch, see Configure a KMS host computer to activate volume licensed versions of Microsoft 365.

If you're using Windows Server as a KMS host, you can:

• Upgrade the KMS host machine to Windows Server.
• Downgrade the machine to Windows Server 2003.
• Run the KMS host on a Windows volume edition machine.
• Run a Windows Server virtual machine.

The following Volume Activation changes are related to Microsoft 365, Project and Visio:

• Office KMS Host activates any Office suite or application.
• Only one Office KMS key should be installed and used for activation.

If you deploy Microsoft 365 using Key Management Service (KMS) as the activation method, note that:

• You can't activate Microsoft 365 using KMS if you use Windows Server as the KMS host.
• A patch isn't available to allow activation of apps in Microsoft 365.

If you're using Windows Server 2008 as a KMS host, you can:

• Upgrade the KMS host machine to Windows Server.
• Downgrade the machine to an older version of Windows Server.
• Run the KMS host on a Windows PC.
• Run a Windows Server virtual machine on a newer version of Windows Server.

After you download your server media from the VLSC you can activate it by using the product activation wizard. You don't need to locate a volume license key or product set up key in the VLSC. Completing all the activation wizard steps prompts the Server to connect with the Microsoft Clearing House via the internet to validate the data. Alternatively, for offline servers the activation wizard offers phone or web activation.

To begin, assign a Remote Desktop Licensing role for the server, (Start > Administrative Tools > Server Manager) and then activate the RDS Service from your Remote Desktop License Manager. Select Start > Administrative Tools > Remote Desktop Services, and then select Remote Desktop/Terminal License Manager.

During activation, you're asked to select the License Program and Agreement Number. For Open License customers, enter your Authorization Number. For MPSA, enter your Purchase Account Number (not the MPSA Agreement number). If you're unsure of the program type for the License ID used to purchase your CAL licenses, go to the VLSC Relationship Summary and refer to the Parent Program column.

For information about licensing Terminal Server, see Terminal Server licensing. For information on how to install the remote desktop licensing role and activate the license server, see Activate the Remote Desktop Services license server and Cannot connect to RDS because no RD Licensing servers are available.

License compliance and asset management are independent of key activation. Customers don't have to use the keys provided under a specific Licensing ID (agreement, enrollment, affiliate, or license). If a parent organization has an individual agreement, it can use the same key to deploy a product across parent and child organizations. This flexibility allows customers to centrally manage their deployment image by using either keys specific to agreements/licenses or one set of keys for all.

Yes. Re-imaging rights are granted to all Microsoft Volume Licensing customers. Under these rights, customers can re-image Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or Full Packaged Product (FPP) licensed copies by using media provided under their agreement if the copies made from the Volume Licensing media are identical to the original licensed product.

For more information on re-imaging rights, see Product licensing briefs.

The Microsoft 365 admin center offers an option to download product keys to a local file for later use. When you download product keys from the Downloads and Keys page, the file contains all Volume License Keys associated with agreements in your admin center profile. However, if you download keys from the Licensing ID view on the Relationship Summary page, the file contains only the keys associated with the Licensing ID you're viewing.

A downloadable product key file is in a tab-delimited format and can be opened in Excel or a text editor to sort and view keys. These are the columns included in the file: License ID, Parent Program, Organization, Product, Product Key, Type, and MAK Activations-Used/Available, Seats and OSA Status.

To open a downloaded file in Excel, complete these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Select File > Open, and then select the downloaded CSV file.
3. Select Delimited (the default), and then select Tab-separated (to prevent the display of all data in a single column).
4. Select Finish.

The .CSV file opens in Excel and the data is displayed in separate columns.

Microsoft 365 admin center customers can contact support by phone or by web form. Microsoft responds to web form submissions within 24 hours. To contact support, see Contact Us.

Additional resources

• Download volume licensing products

• Online service activation for Open programs FAQ