# How user licenses work

Concurrent seats, the newest-login-wins rule and the message evicted users see, where the license panel lives now, and why there's no key to type anymore.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.x · Audience: system-administrator · Time: 10 minute read · Last verified: 2026-09-05

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/administration/how-user-licenses-work

**By the end of this page you'll know how seats are counted, what actually happens when they run out — nobody is refused; somebody is evicted — and where licensing lives now that there's no key to type.**

## Seats and sessions

Licensing counts **concurrent** signed-in sessions against your licensed user count (named-user licensing also exists; concurrent is the common arrangement). The practical units:

- One browser = one session = one seat, however many tabs.
- A second browser or second machine = a second session.
- Idle sessions hold their seat until they end — which is why a sensible [inactivity logout](/content-central/administration/control-sessions-and-automatic-logout) is the best licensing lever you have.

## What happens when seats run out

Not what most people expect: **the login is never refused.** The newest login always succeeds, and the system signs out someone else's oldest evictable session to make room. The person evicted learns on their next click:

> "You were signed out because another user needed a license. You can sign back in below."

— on the login page, in as many words. Administrators are notified too ("User Licenses Exceeded"), naming who was logged out and when. So the symptom of a seat shortage isn't "I can't log in" — it's *other people* reporting mystery sign-outs. When those reports cluster, count your afternoon overlap against **Users Licensed**.

## Where licensing lives

**Configuration Manager** (on the server) > **License**. The panel is read-only and answers the questions that matter:

- **License Status:** — Licensed with its subscription date, Trial, or a state naming its fix ("Contact Ademero Support").
- **Users Licensed:** — the seat count, e.g. "25 concurrent user(s)".
- **Machine ID:** — click it to copy; support asks for this when adjusting your license.

## Why there's no key to type

Older versions had a license-key screen; current versions don't — licensing is tied to your Ademero account and activates itself, which is why the panel above is read-only. Adding seats, renewing, or moving servers is a support conversation (bring the Machine ID), not a settings change. If documentation or memory tells you to "enter the new key," that's the old world.

**Success check:** open the License panel and read **Users Licensed** against your realistic peak of simultaneous users. If the numbers are close, you've just explained any mystery sign-outs — and know what to ask support for.

## What's next

- [Control sessions and automatic logout](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/administration/control-sessions-and-automatic-logout)
- [Add a user](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/administration/add-a-user)