Citrix is entering a major new era of licensing, and the shift is going to affect every customer running on-premises products. On April 15, 2026, traditional file based licensing officially reaches its end of life. From that point forward, the License Activation Service (LAS) becomes the only supported mechanism for activating and managing licenses across Citrix components, including Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD), NetScaler, Provisioning (PVS), XenServer, and Workspace Environment Management (WEM) for on premises products.
This transition marks the end of the familiar .lic files that administrators have used for decades. By moving toward a modern, cloud connected entitlement model, Citrix aims to simplify operations, reduce manual overhead, and provide a more reliable and secure licensing experience. For many organisations especially those managing large, distributed, or mission-critical environments, this change significantly reduces operational risk from expired files, misapplied activations, and complex renewals.
A New Licensing Era — What’s Really Changing
Citrix’s move to LAS fundamentally transforms how licensing works behind the scenes. The days of downloading, uploading, and renewing license files are nearly over. Instead, Citrix Cloud becomes the authoritative source of entitlement information for all modern on-premises installations. Once your environment is upgraded and registered with Citrix Cloud, license synchronisation happens automatically, ensuring you always stay current without touching another file again.
The transition is designed to be gradual, giving customers time to migrate. First announced in mid-2024 and then official guidance was published in mid-2025. However, the hybrid grace period where both LAS and legacy license files can coexist, officially ends on April 15, 2026.
After this date, any supported environment must use LAS exclusively. If your infrastructure still relies on file-based licensing at that time, you’ll be running in an unsupported and operationally risky state.
Why LAS Matters for Your Environment
The shift to LAS isn’t just a technical upgrade, it’s a modernisation of licensing operations. With LAS, updates occur automatically, entitlement changes propagate without manual interaction, and license continuity is protected through local caching, even if cloud connectivity becomes temporarily unavailable. For organisations with strict security requirements, Citrix also offers an offline activation workflow through authorised partners.
Crucially, LAS affects only the control plane. Your VDAs do not need to be upgraded solely for licensing purposes, which greatly reduces complexity and minimises the amount of change required during migration.
Citrix also extends LAS to NetScaler, though some legacy license types won’t translate directly. This means certain customers will need to adopt a new licensing model as part of their upgrade path. Other components, like PVS, XenServer, and WEM must also be upgraded to LAS compatible versions before the deadline.
Preparing for the Transition
With the deadline fast approaching, organisations should have been preparing their environments. If you haven’t started yet, start by creating an inventory of your Citrix deployment, identifying components that must be upgraded, and mapping each one to its respective LAS capable version.
Your priority is upgrading the Citrix License Server, ideally to 11.17.2 build 53100 or higher, which supports seamless LAS activation from within Web Studio.
Next, ensure your Delivery Controllers are running on a LAS enabled release such as 2203 LTSR CU7, 2402 LTSR CU3, 2507 LTSR, or 2411/2511 CR. NetScaler customers must verify that their current licensing model supports LAS and upgrade to a compatible version such as 14.151.x or 13.160.x.enabled release such as 51.x60.x
For air-gapped or high security networks, confirm whether offline activation is required and start the exception process early as it does take time to process. Once your License Server is registered with Citrix Cloud, validate that entitlements sync correctly and confirm that all components recognise LAS as the active licensing mechanism.
Real World Scenarios to Consider
If you're running an older License Server (for example, build 52100) with a license file that technically remains valid past April 2026, it might continue to load, but your entire environment becomes unsupported the moment file-based licensing reaches end of life. based licensing reaches end of life.
Any outage at that point could leave you in a position where Citrix Support cannot assist. Conversely, if you upgrade your control plane but keep your VDAs on older, supported versions, you remain fully compliant because licensing enforcement only occurs at the control plane.
What You Should Do Now
Begin the migration process as soon as possible. The steps are straightforward, but rushing close to the deadline increases risk. Upgrade your License Server, bring your Delivery Controllers to LAS enabled versions, verify NetScaler compatibility, and ensure connectivity to Citrix Cloud. Once everything is registered and synchronised, you’ll be positioned for a smooth transition before April 15, 2026.
Common Customer Questions — Answered
1. What exactly happens on April 15, 2026?
File based licensing officially reaches end of life. All supported Citrix deployments must be using LAS and LAScompatible component versions.
2. Will my old license file stop working?
License Server 11.17.2 build 53100 and newer:
LAS enforcement activates on April 15, 2026, and license files will no longer be accepted.
Older builds (e.g., 52100):
They may continue reading valid files, but the environment becomes unsupported.
3. Are product version exceptions allowed?
Yes, but only if you're running LAS compatible baselines such as: 2203 LTSR CU7
2402 LTSR CU3
2507 LTSR
2411 / 2511 (CR)
4. Do I need to upgrade VDAs?
No. LAS affects only the control plane. VDAs can stay on any Citrix-supported version.
5. What about NetScaler?
NetScaler is also moving to LAS. Some older license models are not supported, and a licensing model migration may be required.
Useful Resources
➡️ License Activation Service (LAS) Frequently Asked Questions
➡️ License Activation Service - Step-by-step registration and activation
➡️ Verify if your deployments have transitioned to License Activation Service (LAS)
➡️ NetScaler Perpetual License Migration Guide
➡️ New Community Forum - License Activation Service (LAS) - Citrix DaaS l
➡️ New Citrix Community Forum: License Activation Service (LAS) – NetScaler
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact your Citrix Partner. If you are unsure who that is, please reach out to our CXANZ team and we will connect you with your Citrix partner.
Key Takeaway
The transition to LAS is mandatory and represents a technology upgrade, not a commercial change. By adopting LAS, customers and partners gain a more resilient, automated, and efficient licensing experience, futureproofing their Citrix environments.
Migration Checklist
✅ Verify product versions and upgrade where necessary.
Start planning today to ensure a smooth transition before April 2026!
If you have any questions or need further information, please reach out to your Citrix Partner or our CXANZ team.