How to Find Your Microsoft Office 365 Product Key

For most Microsoft 365 plans, your Microsoft account has replaced the product key: you sign in to install and activate Office rather than typing a 25-character code. You only need a key in a few situations, such as redeeming a new, unused key card or installing through your employer's Workplace Discount Program. This guide shows you where to enter a key, how to find one you have already bought, and what to do when a key will not work.

• Your Microsoft account details, and the account you used to buy Microsoft 365 if that is different.
• Your product key, if you have one, in the format XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.
• A coin to scratch off the silver foil on a product key card, if that is how you bought it.
• Access to the Microsoft Store account you used, if you bought Microsoft 365 there.

1. Decide whether you need a key at all. If a Microsoft 365 app asks you to activate, sign in with your Microsoft account instead of entering a product key.
2. If you have a new, never used product key, go to www.microsoft365.com/setup and follow the on-screen prompts.
3. If you are redeeming a new purchase, go to www.office.com/setup or Microsoft365.com/setup, sign in with your Microsoft account or create one, then enter your product key without hyphens if prompted. If you do not see the option to enter a key, it was entered for you automatically.
4. If you bought Microsoft 365 through the Microsoft Store, go to www.microsoftstore.com and sign in with the account you used to buy it. Select your name in the upper right-hand corner, then Order History. Locate the Microsoft 365 one-time purchase or individual app and select Install Microsoft 365 to view your product key. Select Install Microsoft 365 again in the window where the key appears, then follow the prompts on the Hi. Let's get your Microsoft 365 page to associate the key with your Microsoft account.
5. If you bought Office Professional Plus, Visio Professional or Project Professional through your employer's Microsoft Workplace Discount Program, start an Office app such as Word, Visio or Project. On the Sign in to set up Microsoft 365 screen, select I don't want to sign in or create an account, then enter your Workplace Discount Program product key to activate Microsoft 365.
6. If you bought Microsoft 365 Business Standard, go to signup.microsoft.com/get-started/setupkey, enter your product key without hyphens and select Next, then follow the prompts to finish redemption and setup.
7. If you have a product key card, scratch off the silver foil coating on the back carefully to reveal the key. The key is always shown in the format XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX, even if the card also carries bar codes and other groups of letters and numbers.
8. If you are using a volume licence version of Office Professional Plus at work, contact your admin for a product key.

• Your Microsoft account takes the place of your product key for many tasks, including activating Microsoft 365 and reinstalling it. Use the account you used to buy Microsoft 365, and bookmark the Services & subscriptions page so you always know where to go to install it.
• If you see the error This product key has already been used at www.office.com/setup or Microsoft365.com/setup, the key has already been redeemed and is no longer needed. Sign in to account.microsoft.com with your Microsoft account and install your Office product from there.
• If a new Windows PC came with Office, you will not receive a product key from the manufacturer unless you paid for a Microsoft 365 product key card. A Let's get started screen offering options to try, buy or activate Microsoft 365 means Microsoft 365 is installed as a 1-month trial of Microsoft 365 Family. If you paid for Microsoft 365 to be included, a digital product key is transmitted to your PC when you activate Windows, and you will see a message when you start Word or another Microsoft 365 app rather than a printed key.
• If your product key does not work, or has stopped working, contact the seller and request a refund. A key bought separately from the software may have been stolen or fraudulently obtained and then blocked for use.
• If you damage a key while scratching off the foil coating, or you have lost it, Microsoft's support pages cover lost or damaged product keys.
• Support has ended for Office 2021, Office 2019 and Office 2016, so check the official site for the current position if you are using one of those versions.

Do I need a product key to install Microsoft 365? No. Use your Microsoft account, not a product key, to install and activate Office and individually purchased Microsoft 365 apps such as Project, Visio, Word, Excel and Outlook.

Where do I enter a new, never used product key? Go to www.microsoft365.com/setup and follow the on-screen prompts, or enter it at www.office.com/setup.

I bought Microsoft 365 through the Microsoft Store. Where is my key? Sign in at www.microsoftstore.com, open Order History, find your purchase and select Install Microsoft 365 to view your product key.

My new Windows PC came with Office but I cannot find a key. Why? You will not receive a product key from the PC manufacturer unless you paid for a Microsoft 365 product key card. If you paid for Microsoft 365 to be included, a digital key is transmitted to your PC when you activate Windows.

My product key is not working. What should I do? Contact the seller and request a refund. If you bought the key separately from the software, it may have been stolen or fraudulently obtained and blocked for use.