Licensing Overview

SolidWorks products (including add-in products) can be licensed as follows:

Registration. Single-user (standalone) licenses. A serial number (16 characters) and registration code (8 characters) are entered during installation.

License Activation. SolidWorks and COSMOS single user (standalone) licenses in certain regions. A serial number (24 characters) is entered during installation, and then activated when the application is first used. For PDMWorks Workgroup and eDrawings, SolidWorks must be activated first.

Network Licenses. A serial number is entered during the SolidWorks client installation and the license is managed by a network license server.

Typically, installations on individual computers use license activation; however, you can install the software individually and then control the licenses with a SolidNetWork floating license server. Conversely, although larger sites typically use floating network licenses, you can deploy the installations from an administrative image and then activate the serial numbers from the individual computers.

Registration uses 16-character serial numbers and 8-character registration codes; license activation uses 24-character serial numbers.