License expiry and renewal
This article explains how license expiry works in MobilityManager, what changes when a license expires, and how to renew so your fleet keeps running without interruption.
How expiry is determined
Every license carries an expiry date that comes from the signed key itself (for the demo, it is 30 days after activation). The license is considered expired the moment the current time passes that date. You can see the expiry date and an "is expired" indicator in the license status view.
What an expired license does
Expiry is enforced consistently across the platform:
- Modules turn off. While the license is expired, every module is treated as disabled, so feature areas stop being offered.
- Creation is blocked. Creating a new company, user, or vehicle fails with "License expired" — even if seats are free.
- Existing data remains. Your records are not deleted; the system stops adding to them and stops exposing licensed modules until a valid license is in place.
Warning: Expiry takes precedence over available seats and over module flags. A key with capacity to spare and modules enabled still enforces nothing but "expired" once its date has passed.
Renewing before expiry
Renewal means installing a fresh signed key with a later expiry date. Doing it before the current key lapses avoids any gap.
- Obtain a renewed signed license key from your provider.
- Have an administrator with the
softwareLicense:managepermission apply it through the update/replace flow. - The new expiry date, seat limits, and module set take effect immediately.
Tip: An administrator can validate a renewal key before installing it. Validation reports the key's expiry date and seat limits without changing anything, so you can confirm the dates are correct first.
Renewing after expiry
If the license has already expired, apply the renewed key the same way. Because a license record already exists, use the update/replace flow rather than first-time activation. As soon as the valid key is applied, modules and creation are restored.
What renewal preserves
| Preserved on renewal | Refreshed from the new key |
|---|---|
| First activation date | Expiry date |
| Activation fingerprint | Seat limits (companies, vehicles, users) |
| Your companies, users, and vehicles | Enabled modules |
Note: Do not try to extend a license by setting the server clock backward. The heartbeat records the last-seen time and only ever moves it forward, so a clock rolled back more than the grace window is detected as tampering rather than granting extra time.
Related
- Updating or replacing a license
- The license heartbeat and clock-tampering protection
- Viewing current license status and usage
- What happens when you reach a seat limit
