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Tools to manage volume activation of Office

  • Article
  • 04/03/2025

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024, Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs), the Software License Manager script (slmgr.vbs), and the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) help you configure and test volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio. Before reading this article, review the following articles:

The ospp.vbs script

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs) lets you configure volume licensed versions of Office products, including Project and Visio. You can find the ospp.vbs script in the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder. If you installed the 32-bit version of Office on a 64-bit operating system, go to the Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder.

Note

The ospp.vbs script doesn't work for Microsoft 365 Apps or subscription versions of Project and Visio. Instead, you can use a PowerShell script named vnextdiag.ps1. For more information, see Check the license and activation status for Microsoft 365 Apps.

Running ospp.vbs requires the cscript.exe script engine. To see the Help file, type the following command and press ENTER:

cscript ospp.vbs /?

The general syntax is as follows:

cscript ospp.vbs [Option:Value] [ComputerName] [User] [Password]

Option
Specifies the option and value to activate a product, install or uninstall a product key, install and display license information, set the Key Management Service (KMS) host name and port, and remove the KMS host name and port. The options and values appear in the tables in this section.

ComputerName
Name of the remote computer. If you don't provide a computer name, the command uses the local computer.

User
Account that has the required permission on the remote computer.

Password
Password for the account. If you don't provide a user account and password, the command uses your current credentials.

Important

Before you run ospp.vbs, ensure that:

  • If you run the script on a remote computer, confirm that the Windows Firewall allows Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) traffic on that computer.
  • Use a user account that belongs to the Administrators group on the computer where you run the script.
  • Run the ospp.vbs script from an elevated command prompt.

Global options for ospp.vbs

Global option Description
/act Activates installed Office product keys.
/inpkey:value Installs a product key (replaces existing key) with a user-provided product key. A value is required.
/unpkey:value Uninstalls an installed product key using the last five digits of the product key to uninstall (as displayed by the /dstatus option). A value is required.
/inslic:value Installs a license using the path of the user-provided .xrm-ms license. A value is required.
/dstatus Displays license information for installed product keys.
/dstatusall Displays license information for all installed licenses.
/dhistoryacterr Displays the failure history for MAK/retail activation.
/dinstid Displays the Installation ID for offline activation.
/actcid:value Activates a product using a user-provided Confirmation ID. A value is required.
/rearm Resets the licensing status for all installed Office product keys.
/rearm:value Resets the licensing status for an Office license using a user-provided SKU ID value. A value is required.

Use this option with the SKU ID specified by the /dstatus option if you run out of rearms and activated Office through KMS or Active Directory-based activation to gain another rearm.
/ddescr:value Displays the description for a user-provided error code. A value is required.

The following table describes the ospp.vbs options for configuring the KMS client.

KMS client options for ospp.vbs

KMS client option Description
/dhistorykms Displays KMS client activation history.
/dcmid Displays the KMS client computer ID (CMID).
/sethst:value Sets a KMS host name using a user-provided host name. A value is required.

This command sets HKLM\Software\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform\KeyManagementServiceName (REG_SZ).
/setprt:value Sets a KMS port using a user-provided port number. The default port number is 1688. A value is required.

This command sets HKLM\Software\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform\KeyManagementServicePort (REG_SZ).
/remhst Removes the KMS host name and resets the port to the default (1688).
/cachst:value Allows or denies KMS host caching. A value is required (TRUE or FALSE).
/actype:value (Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets the volume activation type. A value is required.

Values: 1 (for Active Directory-based), 2 (for KMS), 0 (for both).
/skms-domain:value (Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets the specific DNS domain in which all KMS Service (SRV) records appear. This setting doesn't affect auto-discovery if a single KMS host name is set using the /sethst option. The value must be the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).
/ckms-domain (Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Clears the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV records appear. If no single KMS host name is set using /sethst, auto-discovery finds the KMS host.

Scenarios that use ospp.vbs

These scenarios assume that you run ospp.vbs from an elevated command prompt.

Note

Any changes you make affect only Office client products. Configure the Windows client separately by using the slmgr.vbs script.

To change the product key to a MAK key on a remote computer

  1. If the remote computer is named contoso1, run the following command to enter the product key. This command assumes you have administrator credentials on the remote computer. If your credentials differ from your sign in name and password, type your sign in name and password at the command line and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx contoso1

  2. To activate the remote computer, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /act contoso1

To diagnose KMS activation errors

  1. If the computer has the KMS client key installed, check the licensing status by typing the following command and pressing ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /dstatusall

  2. To view the KMS activation history, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms

  3. To trigger activation, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /act

  4. Check the error message for error code 0xC004F042. If you see an error code in the notification dialog boxes, use that code to check the error message. To do so, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /ddescr:0xC004F042

To turn on or off KMS host caching on the KMS client

  1. On the KMS client computer, to turn on caching, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:TRUE

  2. On the KMS client computer, to turn off caching, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:FALSE

To test a KMS host name and then set auto-discovery

  1. If you test a KMS host named kmstest.contoso.com and want to specify it in the KMS client, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:kmstest.contoso.com

Note

If you change the default port on the KMS host computer, run ospp.vbs with the /setprt option. For example: cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1750

  1. To trigger activation, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /act

  2. To check the KMS activation history and confirm the host contacted successfully, type the following command and press ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms

  3. To enable auto-discovery of the production KMS host using Domain Name System (DNS), remove the specified KMS host name by typing the following command and pressing ENTER:

    cscript ospp.vbs /remhst

The slmgr.vbs script

The Software License Manager (slmgr.vbs) script, located in the Windows\system32 folder, configures and retrieves volume activation details for the Office KMS host and the Windows host. For more information, see Configuring KMS Hosts for Windows.

You can run the script locally on the target computer or remotely from another computer. You must use an administrator account to run the script. If a standard user runs slmgr.vbs, some license data might be missing or incorrect, and many operations become prohibited.

The slmgr.vbs script uses either the Windows-based script host (wscript.exe) or the command-based script host (cscript.exe). Administrators can specify the script engine. If you don't specify a script engine, slmgr.vbs uses the default, wscript.exe. Use the cscript.exe script engine.

You must restart the Software Licensing Service for any changes to take effect. To restart the Software Licensing Service, use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Services snap-in or type the following command:

net stop sppsvc && net start sppsvc

Run slmgr.vbs with at least one parameter. Running the script without any parameters displays Help information. The following table lists slmgr.vbs command-line options and describes each one. Most parameters configure the KMS host computer. However, the parameters /sai and /sri pass to KMS clients after they contact the KMS host computer. The general syntax of slmgr.vbs is as follows (assuming you use the cscript.exe script engine):

cscript slmgr.vbs [ComputerName] [User] [Password] [Option]

ComputerName
Name of the remote computer. If you don't provide a computer name, the command uses the local computer.

User
Account with required permission on the remote computer.

Password
Password for the account. If you don't provide a user account and password, the command uses your current credentials.

Option
Options appear in the following table.

Slmgr.vbs command options

Option Description
/ipk ProductKey Installs the product key for Windows (default) or another application identified by the product key.
/ato ActivationID Activates the KMS host for Windows (default) or the application identified by the provided Activation ID.
/dti ActivationID Displays the Installation ID used for telephone activation of the KMS host computer for Windows (default) or the application identified by the provided Activation ID. Enter the Installation ID into the telephone to receive the Confirmation ID, which activates the KMS host computer using the /atp parameter.
/atp ConfirmationID ActivationID After you receive the Confirmation ID, activates the KMS host for Windows (default) or the application identified by the provided Activation ID.
/dlv ActivationID Displays detailed license information for Windows (default) or the application identified by the provided Activation ID.

For example, run the following command at an elevated command prompt in the Windows\system32 folder to get the status of the Office KMS host:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C
/dli ActivationID Displays license information for Windows (default) or the application identified by the provided Activation ID.
/upk ActivationID Uninstalls the product key for Windows (default) or the application identified by the provided Activation ID.

CAUTION: If you intend to uninstall the product key for Office and omit the Activation ID, the command uninstalls all installed product keys, including the Windows product key.
/xpr ActivationID Displays the expiration date for the current license state.
/sprt PortNumber Sets the TCP communications port on a KMS host computer. Replace PortNumber with the TCP port number to use. The default is 1688.
/cdns Disables automatic DNS publishing by a KMS host computer.
/sdns Enables automatic DNS publishing by the KMS host computer.
/cpri Lowers the priority of KMS host computer processes.
/sai ActivationInterval Changes how often a KMS client tries to activate itself when it can't find a KMS host computer. Replace ActivationInterval with a value expressed in minutes. The default is 120 minutes.
/sri RenewalInterval Changes how often a KMS client tries to renew its activation by contacting a KMS host computer. Replace RenewalInterval with a value expressed in minutes. The default is 10080 minutes (seven days). This setting overrides the local KMS client settings.

Note

  • Activation ID for Office LTSC 2024: F3D89BBF-C0EC-47CE-A8FA-E5A5F97E447F
  • Activation ID for Office LTSC 2021: 47F3B983-7C53-4D45-ABC6-BCD91E2DD90A
  • Activation ID for Office 2019: 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C
  • Activation ID for Office 2016: 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7

Slmgr.vbs command options (Active Directory–based activation)

The following table shows the command options for activating an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) forest using Active Directory–based activation.

Option Description
/ad-activation-online ProductKey Activates an AD DS forest using the user-provided product key.
/ad-activation-apply-get-iid ProductKey Displays the installation ID for an AD DS forest.
/ad-activation-apply-cid ProductKey ConfirmationID Activates an AD DS forest using the user-provided product key and Confirmation ID.

Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)

Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) gives you a graphical interface to manage volume activation. For more information, see Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) technical reference.

Note

  • Office LTSC 2024, Office LTSC 2021, and Office 2019 require at least VAMT 3.1.

Manage volume activation for Office LTSC 2024 using VAMT

To manage volume activation for Office LTSC 2024 using VAMT, follow these steps:

  1. Identify the installation folder for VAMT—for example, C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\VAMT3.
  2. Download Office LTSC 2024 support files from the Office VAMT download link.
  3. Copy the pkeyconfig-office24-client.xrm-ms, pkeyconfig-office24-kmshost.xrm-ms, and Office24.cilx files to the appropriate VAMT directories:
    • Copy the .xrm-ms files into the VAMT3\pkconfig folder.
    • Copy the .cilx file to a location where you can easily access it for import.

To import Office LTSC 2024 data into VAMT:

  1. Open VAMT.
  2. In the Actions pane, choose Import list to open the Import List dialog box.
  3. In the Import List dialog box, navigate to the location of the Office24.cilx file, select the file, and choose Open.
  4. In the Volume Activation Management Tool dialog box, select OK to begin the import. VAMT shows a progress message while it imports the file. Select OK when a confirmation message appears that the import completed successfully.