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Deactivate MATLAB License

When you deactivate a license for MATLAB® software on a computer, all products that use the license become unusable on that computer. Many MathWorks® licenses limit the total number of computers on which you can install products. By deactivating a license on a computer no longer in use, you free up that license to be used on other computers.

When you uninstall MATLAB, you might be prompted to deactivate your license. You can also deactivate a license outside of the uninstallation process, either by using the deactivation application on the computer or, if the computer is not available, through the License Center.

Deactivate License Using Deactivation Application

If you can access the computer for which you want to deactivate a license, run the deactivation application on that computer. If the computer is unavailable, skip to Deactivate License from License Center.

  1. Start the deactivation application.

    • If MATLAB is still installed on the computer, open MATLAB, click the Help arrow in the Resources section, click Licensing, and then select Deactivate Software.

    • If MATLAB is no longer installed but the installation folder has not been deleted, run the deactivation application located in this folder from the operating system command line. Below is the default location of the deactivation application by platform and release, where R20XXy is the MATLAB release version.

      Windows® Default Location:

      • Before R2024a — C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R20XXy\uninstall\bin\win64\deactivate_matlab.exe

      • Since R2024a — C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R20XXy\bin\win64\MathWorksLicenseDeactivation.exe

      Linux® Default Location:

      • Before R2024a — /usr/local/MATLAB/R20XXy/bin/deactivate_matlab.sh

      • Since R2024a — /usr/local/MATLAB/R20XXy/bin/glnxa64/MathWorksLicenseDeactivation

      macOS Default Location:

      • /Applications/MATLAB_R20XXy.app/Deactivate.app

    • If the MATLAB installation folder has been deleted, skip to Deactivate License from License Center.

  2. Select the licenses that you want to deactivate and click Deactivate.

  3. If the deactivation is successful, click Close.

    If the deactivation process is unsuccessful, follow the steps in Deactivate License from License Center.

Deactivate License from License Center

Deactivate a license from the License Center only in these cases:

  • The computer is offline and is unable to connect to MathWorks to complete the deactivation process given earlier.

  • The computer is damaged or no longer available, or the user account for the computer is no longer available.

  • MATLAB has already been uninstalled or is corrupted.

Follow these steps:

  1. On a machine connected to the internet, go to the License Center and sign in to your MathWorks Account.

  2. Select the license you want to deactivate.

  3. On the Install and Activate tab, in the right pane, click Deactivate a Computer. If you do not see this option, then your license does not require deactivation.

  4. In the Deactivate column, click the X for the computer containing the license you want to deactivate.

  5. Complete the deactivation process.

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