Overview of the Volume License (VL) Serializer

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Applies to: Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) for Mac 2021, Office 2019 for Mac

The Volume License Serializer (VL) is used to activate Office LTSC for Mac 2021 or Office 2019 for Mac as a volume licensed version. The VL Serializer is a package (.pkg) file that you run on a Mac where Office is installed.

Download the Volume License (VL) Serializer from the Microsoft 365 admin center

To download the VL Serializer, do the following steps:

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and navigate to the Billing > Your products page.
  2. Select the Volume licensing tab. (You need to be a volume licensing administrator to access this section.) Microsoft 365 admin center, highlighting the navigation path to Your products and the Volume licensing section.
  3. Go to the Download and keys tab.
  4. Search for "Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2021" or "Office 2019 for Mac Standard" (depending on your licensed version of Office).
  5. Select the Download link in the results panel.
  6. Choose Continue at the bottom of the window.
  7. Select the download icon to download the VL Serializer .iso file.
  8. After the download is complete, mount the .iso file to extract the VL Serializer package file.

Then, deploy and run the VL Serializer package file on each Mac that you want to activate Office as a volume licensed version.

Office LTSC for Mac 2021 information

  • The name of the package file is Microsoft_Office_LTSC_2021_VL_Serializer.pkg.
  • The package file is approximately 12 MB in size.
  • Volume licensed versions of Office LTSC for Mac 2021 have version numbers of 16.53 or higher.
  • The management tool now runs the VL Serializer in the background while users continue working in Office 2019 for Mac. After users close and reopen the app, Office switches to the Office LTSC for Mac 2021 license. This approach minimizes disruption during the transition from Office 2019 for Mac to Office LTSC for Mac 2021.

Office 2019 for Mac information

  • The name of the package file is Microsoft_Office_2019_VL_Serializer_Universal.pkg.
  • The package file is approximately 11.5 MB in size.
  • Volume licensed versions of Office 2019 for Mac have version numbers of 16.17 or higher.

Additional information about the VL Serializer

  • The VL Serializer provides native support for both Apple Silicon and Intel-based Macs.
  • The volume license is located in the /Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plist file.
  • The licensing plist generated by the VL Serializer contains data that's encrypted by using the serial number of the boot drive on the device where it was generated. Upon each Office application launch, the plist is decrypted by using the current boot drive serial number as the decryption key. If the data can't be decrypted (for example, boot drive serial number is different), Office goes into an unlicensed state without warning.
  • Because the license plist file is encrypted using information from the device it's installed, you can't copy it to a different device to activate Office on that device.
  • There's a single VL Serializer package that contains a single key. That key is shared between all volume licensed customer installations.
  • The VL Serializer package contains a binary executable named "Microsoft Office Setup Assistant." It's this executable that actually activates the volume license.
  • The VL Serializer package is compatible with mobile device management (MDM) servers, such as Jamf Pro or FileWave.