Retail, OEM and volume licences
How the three licence types differ in activation, device limits and transfer
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Last Update 5 days ago
Microsoft sells the same software under different licence types, and the type decides how a product activates, how many devices it covers and whether it can move to another computer. Each of our product pages says which licence the product uses.
Retail
A retail licence is for software bought on its own, separately from a new PC. Microsoft's Windows 11 licence terms let you transfer stand-alone software "to another device that belongs to you", and add that "Every time you transfer the software to a new device, you must remove the software from the prior device." The terms also say "You may not transfer the software to share licenses between devices."
Retail Office, Project and Visio keys are redeemed to a Microsoft account at microsoft365.com/setup, and the product is installed and activated from that account.
OEM
An OEM licence comes with a device, such as the copy of Windows preinstalled on a new laptop. Microsoft's terms allow it to pass to another user "only with the licensed device", so it stays with the PC it was sold with. After a major hardware change, such as a new motherboard, an OEM licence may no longer activate.
Volume
Volume licences are Microsoft's licences for organisations. They activate with a Multiple Activation Key (MAK), where every activation counts towards a set limit, or through an organisation's own Key Management Service (KMS) server. Our Office 2024 products are volume licensed. On Windows they install with the Office Deployment Tool and activate with a MAK, and on a Mac they activate with the Volume License Serializer.
Each Office LTSC 2024 licence is licensed per device, for one PC or one Mac.
Accounts
The Office 365 Pro Account isn't a key, so none of these three types describes it. It's a Microsoft 365 account that we deliver ready to use, and its apps activate when you sign in with it. Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based service, and access depends on the subscription behind the account staying active, as the product page explains.
Finding out which type you have
- For any product, the product page in our shop says which licence it uses.
- For Windows, run slmgr /dlv in Command Prompt. The description names the channel, such as Retail or OEM.
- For Office, Project and Visio on Windows, run cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus. The LICENSE DESCRIPTION line names the channel.
If moving a licence to another computer matters to you, ask us before you order. How many devices a licence covers covers reinstalls and new computers.