Assign licenses to users in Microsoft 365

Assign licenses to users on the Licenses page

When you use the Licenses page to assign licenses, you assign licenses for a specific product to up to 20 users. On the Licenses page, you see a list of all the products you have subscriptions for, together with the total number of licenses for each product, how many licenses are assigned, and how many are available.

1. In the admin center, go to the Billing > Licenses page.
2. Select a product for which you want to assign licenses.
3. Select Assign licenses.
4. In the Assign licenses to users pane, begin typing a name, and then choose it from the results to add it to the list. You can add up to 20 users at a time.
5. Select Turn apps and services on or off to assign or remove access to specific items.
6. When you’re finished, select Assign, then select Close.

If there's a conflict, a message displays, tells you what the problem is, and how to fix it. For example, if you selected licenses that contain conflicting services, the error message says to review the services included with each license and try again.

To change the apps and services a user has access to:

1. Select the row that contains the user.
2. In the right pane, select or deselect the apps and services that you want to give access to or remove access from.
3. When you're finished, select Save, then select Close.

Use the new admin center to assign licenses to multiple users

The new admin center is available to all Microsoft 365 admins. You can opt in by selecting the Try the new admin center toggle located at the top of the Home page. For more information, see About the new Microsoft 365 admin center.

1. In the admin center, go to the Users > Active users page.

2. Select the circles next to the names of the users you want to assign licenses to.

3. At the top, select More options (...), then select Manage product licenses.

4. In the Manage product licenses pane, select Add to existing product license assignments > Next.

5. In the Add to existing products pane, switch the toggle to the On position for the license that you want the selected users to have.

   By default, all services associated with those licenses are automatically assigned to the users. You can limit which services are available to the users. Switch the toggles to the Off position for the services that you don't want the users to have.

6. At the bottom of the pane, select Add > Close.

Use the old admin center to assign licenses to multiple users

1. In the admin center, go to the Users > Active users page
2. Select the boxes next to the names of the users you want to assign licenses to.
3. In the Bulk actions pane, select Edit product licenses.
4. In the Assign products pane, select Add to existing product license assignments > Next.

    

5. Switch the toggle to the On position for the licenses that you want the selected users to have.

   By default, all services associated with those licenses are automatically assigned to the users. You can limit which services are available to the users. Switch the toggles to the Off position for the services that you don't want the users to have.

6. At the bottom of the Add to existing products pane, select Add > Close > Close.

Use the new admin center to assign licenses to one user

The new admin center is available to all Microsoft 365 admins. You can opt in by selecting the Try the new admin center toggle located at the top of the Home page. For more information, see About the new Microsoft 365 admin center.

1. In the admin center, go to the Users > Active users page.

2. On the Active Users page, select the row of the user you want to assign a license to.

3. In the right pane, select Licenses and Apps.

4. Expand the Licenses section, select the boxes for the licenses that you want to assign, then select Save changes.

Use the old admin center to assign licenses to one user

1. In the admin center, go to the Users > Active users page.
2. Select the box next to the name of the user you want to assign a license to.
3. In the right pane, in the Product licenses row, select Edit.
4. In the Product licenses pane, switch the toggle to the On position for the license that you want to assign to this user.
   By default, all services associated with that license are automatically assigned to the user. You can limit which services are available to the user. Switch the toggles to the Off position for the services that you don't want that user to have.
5. At the bottom of the Product licenses pane, select Save > Close > Close.

Use the new admin center to move users to a different subscription

The new admin center is available to all Microsoft 365 admins. You can opt in by selecting the Try the new admin center toggle located at the top of the Home page. For more information, see About the new Microsoft 365 admin center.

1. In the admin center, go to the Users > Active users page.

2. Select the circles next to the names of the users you want to replace existing licenses for.

3. At the top, select More options (...), then select Manage product licenses.

4. In the Manage product licenses pane, select Replace existing product license assignments > Next.

5. Switch the toggle to the On position for the licenses that you want to assign to these users.

   You can limit which services are available to the users. Switch the toggles to the Off position for the services that you don't want those users to have. Any previous license assignments for the selected users are removed.

6. At the bottom of the Replace existing products pane, select Replace > Close.

Use the old admin center to move users to a different subscription

1. In the admin center, go to the Users > Active users page.
2. Select the boxes next to the names of the users you want to replace existing licenses for.
3. In the Bulk actions pane, select Edit product licenses.
4. In the Assign products pane, select Replace existing product license assignments > Next.
5. Switch the toggle to the On position for the licenses that you want to assign to these users.
   You can limit which services are available to the users. Switch the toggles to the Off position for the services that you don't want those users to have. Any previous license assignments for the selected users are removed.
6. At the bottom of the Replace existing products pane, select Replace > Close > Close.