Avoid Costly Surprises: What Microsoft’s New Dynamics 365 Licence Enforcement Means for You

Starting in November 2025, Microsoft will begin blocking user access to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations apps for users in organisations that using more functionality than they’ve paid for.  Are you sure your team is correctly licenced — or could you be in for a nasty, inconvenient and perhaps costly surprise?

This enforcement only apply to Microsoft Finance and Operations applications:

• Finance
• Supply Chain Management
• Commerce
• Project Operations (integrated with F&O)
• Human Resources

If you are using Business Central or the Sales, Customer Service or Marketing applications you are unaffected by these changes.

If you are using more functionality than you are licenced for, the affected users are going to start seeing in-app notifications soon, prompting them to contact their administrator for proper licensing.  From November 2025, users without valid, assigned licenses will be blocked from accessing Dynamics 365 F&O applications.

To give you some guidance in managing licencing there are many tools available.  These include the new licenses overview in the Power Platform admin which shows you

• The licences that you have,
• How many are assigned
• How many of those are active users

Another useful tool in D365 Sales / Customer Service for checking that users are not over-licenced is the user summary report.  This report shows you the users and the security roles that each has.  If the licences and security roles are out of sync, this shows you where the changes can be made.

It is sensible to only assign users the licences that they require for their role. 

One of the challenges of maintaining licences is because the application (and removal) of licences for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications is done outside of Microsoft Dynamics 365 in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.  This may mean that two people with different roles are required to onboard or offboard a D365 user.

Licencing in the Microsoft world has always been complex, and ultimately it is the responsibility of the organisation to stay compliant – in what may be a constantly moving environment.  You should check the information provided by any licencing provider and ensure that they are selling the correct licences for your needs without overcharging you. 

I have worked with many clients where this is not the case, for example

• Paying for a higher level of licence than is needed or is being provided
• Being provided with a lower-level licence than is required for how the applications are being used.

Being non-compliant could mean more than a blocked user — it could result in unexpected costs, project delays, or strained relationships with Microsoft or your partner. We've seen it happen.

A few years ago, I worked with a tier-two accounting firm who had been advised (by a licencing partner), that Sales Professional licences were adequate for their needs.  So, they built their business case and arranged the budget for the project.  However, one of the limits of Sales Professional licences is that you can only have one business unit.  The accounting firm had implemented 92 business units!  Their entire budget and business case were based on incorrect advice from a so-called ‘Gold Partner’.

More recently, I took over a client who had been sold full Business Central licences over a year earlier and the project had not yet gone live.  Their provider had only purchased a few, lower-level licences – and so had kept the difference in what they charged the client for and what they actually purchased.

Microsoft publish a licencing guide which is frequently updated.  Currently, the latest version is available from https://www.microsoft.com/content/dam/microsoft/final/en-us/microsoft-brand/documents/Power-Platform-Licensing-Guide-May-2025.pdf .  This version is a summary document; more comprehensive editions also give details of the functionality in the different products.  One of these more comprehensive versions is available here https://download.microsoft.com/download/9/6/7/96706B15-1CBE-47B7-AB9E-6BC31A377BBB/Dynamics%20365%20Licensing%20Guide%20Feb%202024.pdf

Take control of your Dynamics 365 licensing before enforcement hits.

Don't wait for in-app warnings or blocked access to uncover licensing gaps.  Let’s review your current setup to ensure you're compliant, not overpaying, and fully prepared for the November 2025 changes as well as maximising your investment in Microsoft Dynamics 365.

✅ Book a free 30-minute licensing check-up with me to get clarity and confidence.
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