Share via

Hyper-V Windows Desktop Licensing

JimCC 0 Reputation points
2025-02-17T12:13:19.58+00:00

When using Hyper-V on a desktop version of Windows, for example Windows 10 or 11 as the primary (root) partition, how does the licensing of Windows child partitions work?

I can't find clear guidance of this on the Microsoft website.

If your Microsoft 365 license includes software assurance, can have has many child partitions / virtual machines as you like running desktop versions of Windows (i.e. Windows 7 / 10 etc..)?
But any Windows Server VMs will need a separate license?

Thanks in advance for any support offered!

Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | Storage high availability | Virtualization and Hyper-V
Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | Devices and deployment | Licensing and activation
Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | User experience | Other
0 comments

1 answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2025-02-19T01:04:16.82+00:00

    Hi JimCC,

    Thanks for posting in Microsoft Q&A. Yes you need additional licenses for Windows running on Hyper-V VMs on the Windows 10/11 host.

    Best Regards,

    Ian Xue

    If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.

Your answer

Answers can be marked as Accepted Answers by the question author, which helps users to know the answer solved the author's problem.