This licensing guidance addresses the commonly asked questions about licensing Microsoft Office LTSC suites in provides a comprehensive overview of licensing Microsoft Office LTSC suites within Microsoft Commercial Licensing programs. It addresses common questions about use rights for Office LTSC under a desktop application license, which is typically a perpetual license. The document explains that Office LTSC software is licensed on a per-device basis, allowing installation and use on the licensed device and virtual machines on the same device. It also covers remote access rights, detailing how the primary user of the licensed device can remotely access the software from other devices. Additionally, it discusses the availability of different Office LTSC editions through Commercial Licensing and the options for hosting Office LTSC software on network servers or through third-party Authorized Outsourcers.

For more information about use rights for Microsoft 365 Apps acquired as a subscription service, see the Microsoft 365 Apps licensing guidance. 

Office LTSC software is licensed on a per device basis. Customers must assign each Office LTSC license to a single physical hardware system (referred to as the “Licensed Device” in the Product Terms). The license permits installation and use of the software on the Licensed Device. Any user may use the software on the licensed device.

Commercial Licensing customers have the right to install and use any number of copies of the software directly on the licensed device and/or on virtual machines on the licensed device.

Office LTSC licenses also permit remote use of the software as described in the Remote Access Rights for Office LTSC section below.

• Office LTSC licenses support remote access in two ways—the software may be installed on the licensed device (as described above) and remotely accessed from other devices, or the software may be installed on a network server, and remotely accessed from the licensed device (and other licensed devices). Additional requirements apply to remote access, as described below. The primary user of the licensed device may remotely access the software installed on the licensed device from any other device (for example the primary user may remotely access the software installed on their work desktop from their personal laptop). The “primary user” is the user who uses the licensed device more than 50 percent of the time in any 90-day period. Non-primary users may also remotely access the software running on the licensed device if the device they access from is also licensed for the same version and edition of Office LTSC.
   
• Customers may choose to host Office LTSC software on a network server in their own data center for remote access by their users from their own licensed devices. This option does not require a license to be assigned to the server itself but does require a license for the same version and edition of Office LTSC for each device remotely accessing the software on the server (see exception under Roaming Rights section below). The customer may alternatively choose to use a third party to host the server, if the server is dedicated to the specific customer. This is often referred to as "Outsourcing Software Management” and requires the third party to be an Authorized Outsourcer.  An Authorized Outsourcer is any third party that is not designated as a Listed Provider. A list of Listed Providers can be found at Listed Providers. 
   
• As of October 2022, customers with Office LTSC with Software Assurance may choose to host Office LTSC on an Authorized Outsourcer’s shared servers under the Flexible Virtualization Benefit. Users may access the software from devices assigned Office LTSC licenses with Software Assurance.

Office LTSC Standard 2024, Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024, and Office LTSC for Mac 2024 are available as software products under desktop application licenses through Microsoft Commercial Licensing.

Commercial Licensing programs where different editions of Office LTSC are available under desktop application licenses vary (as shown in the following table).

Notes:

[1] Office LTSC Professional Plus must be licensed as an enterprise product in an Open Value Organization-wide agreement.

[2] Office LTSC Professional Plus must be licensed as an enterprise product.

Some customers who have rights to more recent versions of Office LTSC suites might want to continue using prior versions of those suites. This is permitted for Office LTSC under desktop application licenses and is known as a “downgrade right.” Customers may downgrade to earlier versions of the Office software products, but only to the same edition of the software product for which their device is licensed. That is, a customer may not downgrade from Office LTSC Standard 2024 to Office Professional Plus 2019.

The following shows the downgrade rights for the most recent Microsoft Office version:

The Microsoft Software Assurance benefits vary by product and product pool. The following are key Software Assurance benefits applicable to Microsoft Office.

With Software Assurance, customers are eligible to install and use the latest version of that software made available during the Software Assurance coverage period. For example, customers with active Software Assurance are eligible to install and use Office LTSC 2024 as of its release in September 2024. Customers may choose to deploy the most recent version of the software that was released during their active Software Assurance period at any time, including after their active Software Assurance period has ended.

Customers with active Software Assurance for Office LTSC licenses are eligible to use Roaming Rights benefits. The single primary user of a licensed device may remotely access the software running on servers dedicated to the customer’s use from a qualifying third-party device or run the software in a virtual Operating System Environment (OSE) on a qualifying third-party device when the user is not on customer’s or customer’s affiliates’ premises. Dedicated servers used for this purpose may be in customers’ own data centers or on Authorized Outsourcers’ servers.

A “qualifying third-party device” is a device that’s not controlled, directly or indirectly, by customer or customer’s affiliates (for example, a third party’s public kiosk or an employee’s personal device). When the primary user is on customer’s or customer’s affiliates’ premises, Roaming Rights aren’t applicable. For example, an employee may not use their personal devices on premises and exercise their Roaming Rights benefits. This same user may access Office LTSC from this personal device when at home.

The Microsoft Home Use Program was renamed the Workplace Discount Program in July 2022. Office LTSC licenses are not available under the Workplace Discount Program, however employees at eligible companies buy an annual subscription of Microsoft 365 Family or 5 Microsoft 365 Personal at a discount for use on personal devices. Learn more about the Workplace Discount Program Microsoft Workplace Discount Program (formerly Home Use Program) - Microsoft Store.

Users[1] of a device licensed for Office LTSC with Software Assurance may access Office Online Server and Office for the web services from that device for editing documents. The single primary user[2] of an Office LTSC licensed device can edit documents using Office Online Server and Office for the web services from any device, including those not licensed for Office.

Notes:

[1] Users of a device licensed for Office LTSC with SA must also be licensed for SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business plans to access Office for the web services.

[2] The primary user is the user who uses the licensed device more than 50 percent of the time in any 90-day period.

See FAQ page.