MATLAB Licence: Activate, Check and Deactivate

This page is for researchers and analysts who already have, or are about to be given, access to MATLAB and need to manage the licence: activate it, see which licence a copy is using, check from code that a toolbox licence is available, and free a computer slot. It follows MathWorks’ own documentation, read 2026-11-07. It does not state prices or edition terms; those are set on MathWorks’ pricing pages and by your organisation. For licence types and the perpetual-versus-annual question, see MATLAB licensing. For downloading and the first launch, see MATLAB installation.

What a MATLAB licence controls in research work

A licence decides whether MATLAB and each add-on toolbox will start and run on a given computer. MathWorks’ licence-management documentation describes two broad arrangements: individual licences, and network licences managed by a network licence manager (on a dedicated server or in the cloud). An organisation can hold both. Network licences come in two documented forms: Network Named User, which “specifically names users who can use the software”, and Concurrent, which gives a set number of keys that are checked out while MATLAB is in use. For what MATLAB is used for in research, see what MATLAB is used for.

Which licence situation are you in?

Your situation	Documented action	Source
Individual licence linked to your MathWorks Account	Sign in to your MathWorks Account, open My Software, click the licence, then use the Install and Activate tab; or activate from inside MATLAB (steps below)	Manage Your Licenses
Network licence (Named User or Concurrent) from your institution	You may need the licence number or help from your organisation’s licence administrator; licence use is managed by a network licence manager	Manage Your Licenses; Network License Management
No licence yet	The Account page offers “Link an additional license” and “Get a trial”	Manage Your Licenses
Licence is tied to a computer you can no longer reach	Deactivate it from the License Center instead of from MATLAB	Deactivate an Installation

Activate or update your licence from MATLAB

1. On the Home tab, in the Resources section, click Help > Licensing > Activate.
2. Follow the prompts and sign in with the MathWorks Account that holds the licence.
3. To refresh licences that are already on the computer, use Help > Licensing > Update Current Licenses, which MathWorks lists alongside Activate.

From a browser, the equivalent route is: sign in to your MathWorks Account, choose My Software, click the licence, and open the Install and Activate tab. Installing offline with a licence file is covered in MATLAB installation.

Check your licence from the command window

The license function reports licence status from code, which is useful in a shared analysis script that needs a toolbox. The documented syntaxes are:

license
license('inuse')
S = license('inuse')
S = license('inuse',feature)
status = license('test',feature)
[status,errmsg] = license('checkout',feature)

• license('inuse') lists the licences in use in the current session. In MathWorks’ example the list includes image_toolbox, map_toolbox and matlab.
• S = license('inuse') returns a structure array with the fields feature and user; the documentation states that user is always empty.
• license('test','MAP_Toolbox') returns status = 1 when the licence exists and 0 when it does not. The documentation’s example returns 1.
• [status,errmsg] = license('checkout',feature) returns status = 1 on success; errmsg is empty on success.

Deactivate a computer

Many licences limit the number of computers they can be active on, and deactivating frees a slot. Deactivate from inside MATLAB when you can:

1. On the Home tab, in the Resources section, click the arrow beside Help, then choose Licensing > Deactivate Software.
2. Select the licences to deactivate and click Deactivate.
3. Click Close.

If MATLAB has been uninstalled but its folder still exists, MathWorks says to run the deactivation application from that folder. Use the License Center route only when the computer is offline, damaged or unavailable, or MATLAB is uninstalled or corrupted: sign in, select the licence, open the Install and Activate tab, then click the X in the Deactivate column. A non-administrator first chooses Deactivate a Computer; a licence administrator clicks the X directly.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What the documentation says
No X in the Deactivate column	Your licence does not require deactivation.
Cannot reach the old computer to free its slot	Deactivate it from the License Center (route above).
Network licence will not activate	You may need the licence number or help from your organisation’s licence administrator.
Script fails because a toolbox is unavailable	Test it first with license('test',feature); a status of 0 means the licence does not exist for that feature.

Free alternatives (table)

MATLAB access in research is normally through an organisation licence or a trial. If you need a free tool, these projects describe themselves as follows (read on each project’s own site, 2026-11-07). They are alternatives, not drop-in guarantees: check your scripts.

Tool	What its site says	Licence
GNU Octave (octave.org)	Scientific programming language with built-in 2D and 3D plotting; syntax largely compatible with MATLAB, “drop-in compatible with many Matlab scripts”	GNU General Public License
SciPy (scipy.org)	“Fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python”	BSD
Julia (julialang.org)	Dynamically typed language designed for high performance	MIT

For symbolic work in Python, see SymPy.

FAQ

How do I activate MATLAB?

In MATLAB, click Help > Licensing > Activate on the Home tab (Resources section), or sign in to your MathWorks Account, open My Software, click the licence and use the Install and Activate tab.

How can I tell which licence MATLAB is using?

Run license('inuse') in the command window to list the licences in use, or license('test',feature) to test one feature.

Is there a free MATLAB licence?

MathWorks’ Account page offers “Get a trial” and “Link an additional license”; organisation members use their organisation’s licence. Free tools that can run many similar scripts are listed in the alternatives table. Prices and edition terms are on MathWorks’ pricing pages.

Where do I find my licence key or licence number?

Licences are listed under My Software in your MathWorks Account; click one to see its Install and Activate tab. For network licences your organisation’s licence administrator may need to supply the licence number.

Can one licence be used on many computers?

Many licences limit the number of computers. Deactivating a computer frees a slot, so deactivate machines you no longer use.

Sources

• MathWorks, “Manage Your Licenses”: mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_env/manage-your-licenses.html (read 2026-11-07)
• MathWorks, “Deactivate an Installation”: mathworks.com/help/install/ug/deactivate-an-installation.html (read 2026-11-07)
• MathWorks, “license” function reference: mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/license.html (read 2026-11-07)
• MathWorks, “Network License Management”: mathworks.com/help/install/license-management.html (read 2026-11-07)
• GNU Octave octave.org, SciPy scipy.org, Julia julialang.org (read 2026-11-07)