How to Assign Licenses to Users in Microsoft 365 Admin Center? from Lizza Shine's blog

Microsoft 365 is a suite of productivity tools designed for business, education, and personal use, offering services like email, cloud storage, collaboration tools, and more. It is one of the most popular cloud-based productivity solutions today. To effectively manage Microsoft 365 within an organization, administrators must assign licenses to users to ensure they have access to the tools and services that are required for their roles.

In this blog post, we will walk you through how to assign licenses to users in Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Additionally, we will discuss how to manage licenses from portal.office.com.

Prerequisites for Assigning Licenses in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Before you assign licenses to users, there are a few prerequisites to consider:

Admin Permissions: You need to be a global admin or have the appropriate admin roles to assign licenses in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Available Licenses: Ensure that you have purchased the appropriate Microsoft 365 licenses for your users. If not, you will need to acquire them via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

User Accounts: The users you are assigning licenses to must have accounts created in Microsoft 365.

Now that you have the prerequisites in place, let’s explore the steps to assign licenses to users.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Assign Licenses in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Step 1: Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

To begin, you must sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center using your global administrator account or any account with the necessary permissions.

Open a browser and go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center by navigating to https://admin.microsoft.com.

Enter your admin credentials to log in.

Step 2: Access the Users Section

Once logged into the Admin Center:

In the left navigation pane, click on Users, then select Active users

This will bring up a list of all users within your organization who have accounts in Microsoft 365.

 

Step 3: Select the User to Assign a License

Now, you need to choose which user you want to assign a license to.

In the Active Users list, click on the name of the user you want to assign a license to.

This will open the user’s details page.

Step 4: Assign a License to the User

On the user’s details page, you can begin the process of assigning a license.

Under the Licenses and Apps section, click Edit.

The next screen will display all the available Microsoft 365 licenses you can assign to this user.

To assign a license, toggle the switch next to the appropriate license or licenses you want to assign.

You can assign multiple licenses if needed. For instance, you might assign a license for Microsoft 365 Business Standard as well as a license for Microsoft Teams.

Once you have selected the appropriate licenses, click Save changes.

The user now has access to the services and features associated with the assigned licenses.

Step 5: Optional – Assign Specific Apps to the User

After assigning a license, you might want to customize the user’s experience by selecting specific apps included in the license. This is useful if you want to limit which apps the user can access.

In the Licenses and Apps section, you will see a list of apps included in the selected license.

You can toggle apps on or off based on what services the user needs access to.

Click Save changes after making your selections.

Step 6: Verify License Assignment

After assigning a license to a user, you may want to verify that it was successfully applied:

In the Active Users list, find the user and check their License column.

The user’s assigned license(s) should be listed there.

Alternatively, you can open the user’s details page again and check the Licenses and Apps section to confirm the assignment.

Managing Licenses in portal.office.com

Another way to manage licenses in Microsoft 365 is through portal.office.com. This portal is designed to provide users with access to the Microsoft 365 services they are licensed for, but administrators can also perform some tasks related to licensing.

Step 1: Sign in to portal.office.com

To access the portal, you must be an admin:

 

Go to https://portal.office.com.

Sign in with your Microsoft 365 administrator credentials.

Step 2: Navigate to Admin Center

Once logged in:

Click on the App Launcher icon (grid icon) in the top-left corner.

Select Admin from the list of apps. This will redirect you to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Step 3: Assign Licenses in portal.office.com

The steps to assign licenses in portal.office.com are similar to those in the Admin Center. Here’s what to do:

In the Admin Center, click on Users and then select Active users.

Find the user you wish to assign a license to and click their name.

Under the Licenses and Apps section, click Edit.

From here, you can assign the desired license(s) and toggle on or off specific apps.

The process of assigning licenses in portal.office.com is almost identical to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, but the navigation may feel a bit more streamlined.

Bulk Assigning Licenses to Users

If you need to assign licenses to multiple users at once, you can use the bulk licensing feature. This feature saves time, especially if you are managing a large organization.

Step 1: Prepare a CSV File

To assign licenses to multiple users, first, you need to prepare a CSV file. This file should contain the usernames or email addresses of the users you want to assign licenses to.

Open a spreadsheet program (e.g., Excel).

Create a CSV file with the following columns: UserPrincipalName (the user’s email address) and License (the license to assign, like "Office 365 Business Premium").

Save the file in CSV format.

Step 2: Upload the CSV File In the Mcrosoft 365 Admin Center:

Go to Users > Active users.

Click Bulk actions and select Assign licenses.

Upload the CSV file you created earlier.

Review the information in the file and assign the licenses to the users.

Click Assign to apply the changes.

The licenses will now be applied to the users in the CSV file.

Monitoring License Usage

To ensure that your organization is using its licenses effectively, it is important to monitor license usage.

In the Admin Center, go to Billing > Licenses.

Here, you can view the number of licenses assigned, the number of licenses available, and other relevant information.

You can also use PowerShell to gather more detailed reports on license usage if needed.

Conclusion

Assigning licenses to users in Microsoft 365 is an essential task for administrators to ensure that employees have access to the right tools for their roles. Whether you're assigning licenses individually or in bulk, the process is straightforward and manageable via both the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and portal.office.com.

By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your users have the licenses they need for services like Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, SharePoint, and more. Make sure to stay on top of license assignments to maintain productivity and ensure proper resource allocation in your organization.

With effective license management, Microsoft 365 can help your organization run smoothly and efficiently, providing the tools needed for collaboration, communication, and productivity.