How to check and manage your Microsoft 365 subscription licence assignments

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to check and manage your Microsoft 365 subscription licence assignments. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Managing your Microsoft 365 licence assignments is an important part of keeping your subscription cost-effective and ensuring every user has access to the apps and services they need. This guide walks you through viewing your current licences, assigning them to users, and removing them when they're no longer required. You'll need to be a Global Administrator or User Administrator in your Microsoft 365 tenant to complete these steps.

Before You Begin

You'll be working in the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre, which is the web-based portal for managing your subscription. Make sure you have your administrator credentials handy before you start.

• Sign in at https://admin.microsoft.com/ using your admin account.
• If you're unsure whether you have admin access, try signing in first — the portal will let you know if your account lacks the required permissions.

View Your Current Licence Assignments

Before making changes, it's a good idea to see which licences you have and how they're currently assigned.

1. From the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre home page, select Billing in the left-hand navigation pane.
2. Select Licences.
3. You'll see a list of all licences associated with your subscription, including the total number of seats and how many are currently assigned.
4. Select a licence (for example, Microsoft 365 Business Premium) to view the users it's assigned to.

Assign a Licence to a User

1. In the left-hand navigation pane, select Users then Active users.
2. Select the user you want to assign a licence to. If you need to add a new user first, select Add a user and follow the prompts.
3. On the user's pane, select the Licences and apps tab.
4. Tick the box next to the licence you want to assign.
5. If the licence includes multiple apps, you can expand the licence and untick any specific apps you don't want this user to access.
6. Select Save changes.

Assign Licences to Multiple Users at Once

If you need to assign a licence to several users simultaneously, use the bulk assignment method.

1. Go to Users > Active users.
2. Tick the boxes next to each user who needs the licence. You can use the filter options at the top to narrow down the list — for example, by department or city.
3. Once you've selected your users, select Manage product licences from the toolbar at the top.
4. Choose Assign more licences, then tick the licence(s) you want to add.
5. Select Save.

Remove a Licence from a User

Removing unused licences is one of the quickest ways to reduce your monthly subscription cost.

1. Go to Users > Active users.
2. Select the user whose licence you want to remove.
3. Select the Licences and apps tab.
4. Untick the box next to the licence you want to remove.
5. Select Save changes.

Remove Licences from Multiple Users at Once

1. Go to Users > Active users.
2. Tick the boxes next to each user you want to update.
3. Select Manage product licences from the top toolbar.
4. Choose Remove licences, then untick the licence(s) you want to remove.
5. Select Save.

Reclaim Unassigned Licences

If a user has left your organisation and their account has been deleted, their licence should automatically return to your available pool. If you'd like to manually verify this:

1. Go to Billing > Licences.
2. Select the relevant licence.
3. Review the Assigned and Available counts at the top of the page.

Troubleshooting

I can't see the Licences option in the Admin Centre

Your account likely doesn't have the required administrator role. Ask another admin in your organisation to either assign you the Global Administrator or User Administrator role, or perform the licence changes on your behalf.

The licence I want to assign isn't showing up

This usually means the licence isn't part of your current subscription. Check Billing > Your products to confirm what you've purchased. If you need to buy additional licences, you'll need to do so through your Microsoft 365 reseller or directly from Microsoft.

Changes aren't appearing for the user

Ask the user to:

• Sign out of all Microsoft 365 apps and services.
• Close and reopen their browser.
• Sign back in using their work account.

If the issue persists, wait 15–30 minutes and try again, as licence changes can occasionally take time to propagate across Microsoft's services.

I'm being charged for licences that aren't assigned to anyone

You are still billed for all licences in your subscription, regardless of whether they're assigned. To stop being charged, you'll need to reduce the number of licences on your subscription through Billing > Your products > select the subscription > Remove licences. Note that licence reductions take effect at the start of your next billing cycle.

Related Tasks

• Exporting a list of licence assignments for auditing purposes
• Setting up group-based licence assignment using Azure AD security groups
• Reviewing your Microsoft 365 billing and renewal dates

If you need further assistance managing your Microsoft 365 environment, Open a Ticket and our team will be happy to help.

Still Having Issues?