Office End of Support: 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 at a Glance

Published October 23, 2026 · Updated October 23, 2026

Office 2016 and Office 2019 reached end of support on October 14, 2025; Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021 followed on October 13, 2026. Since those dates, Microsoft provides no security fixes, no bug fixes and no technical support for these versions. Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024 are supported until October 9, 2029, with no extended support phase. This article brings all the dates together, explains what end of support actually means, sets out the three routes Microsoft names for moving on and describes what happens to the perpetual licenses you already own.

Contents

• The dates at a glance
• What end of support means for Office
• Office 2016 and 2019: unsupported since October 14, 2025
• Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021: end of support on October 13, 2026
• Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024: until October 9, 2029
• The choice: Microsoft 365 Apps, Office LTSC 2024 or staying put
• The technical move: version 16.0, MSI and Click-to-Run
• What happens to your old Office licenses
• Frequently asked questions

The dates at a glance

Microsoft lists every Office version on its own lifecycle page. The perpetual versions follow the Fixed Lifecycle Policy: at least five years of mainstream support, and for some products an additional period of extended support. Office 2016 had both, Office 2019 had five years of mainstream plus two years of extended support, and Office LTSC 2021 and Office LTSC 2024 have five years of mainstream support with no extended support at all. The consumer versions Office 2021 and Office 2024 (Home, Home & Business) follow the Modern Lifecycle Policy with a retirement date that, in practice, falls on the same day as the end of the matching LTSC version.

A note on the dates: Microsoft's lifecycle tables show end dates as timestamps in Pacific Time, such as "10/15/2025 6:59:59 AM". That is the last moment of the previous day in Redmond, which is why Microsoft's own text says October 14, 2025. This article uses the date from the text throughout, that is, the day before the timestamp.

What end of support means for Office

At end of support, Microsoft stops three things: technical support for issues, bug fixes for newly discovered issues and security fixes for newly discovered vulnerabilities. Microsoft's pages say nothing about switching the software off; the installed programs remain usable, only the servicing ends. For an organization this means that every vulnerability found in Word, Excel or Outlook after the cut-off date stays open, and a document from an unknown source is a greater risk on such a machine than on a serviced one.

There is a second cut-off date that is often overlooked: the connection to Microsoft 365 services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business. Microsoft sets a date for each Office version until which that connection is supported. For Office 2016 and 2019, supported connectivity ended on October 10, 2023, for Office LTSC 2021 on October 13, 2026 and for Office LTSC 2024 it ends on October 9, 2029. According to Microsoft, older versions might still be able to connect, but that connectivity is not supported. Anyone running Office 2019 against a mailbox in Exchange Online has therefore been outside the supported envelope for three years.

Office 2016 and 2019: unsupported since October 14, 2025

Office 2016 was released on September 22, 2015 and Office 2019 on September 24, 2018. Both versions ended on the same day, October 14, 2025, because Microsoft gave Office 2019 only five years of mainstream support and two years of extended support from the outset, instead of the ten years Office 2016 still had. All editions are affected: Home and Business, Home and Student, Personal, Professional, Professional Plus and Standard, plus Professional Academic for Office 2019.

Two connections matter for planning. First, Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 reached end of support on the same day; anyone running both has had two unserviced products in one chain since October 14, 2025. The options for the mail server are in Exchange 2019 end of life. Second, Microsoft's Exchange Server supportability matrix still lists Outlook 2016 and Outlook 2019 as supported clients for Exchange Server SE, 2019 and 2016. That concerns the connection to your own server, not support for Outlook itself, which has ended.

Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021: end of support on October 13, 2026

Office LTSC 2021 was released on September 16, 2021 with five years of mainstream support and, expressly, no extended support. Support ended on October 13, 2026, ten days ago. The consumer version Office 2021 (Home and Business, Home and Student, Professional) reached its retirement date on the same day. Anyone still running Office 2021 today is in the same position as a user of Office 2019, just one year later: no security updates and no supported connection to Microsoft 365.

For organizations that deliberately chose the perpetual version in 2021, this is the real news of this autumn. Office 2021 was the first version with only five years of life, and the five years are up. The question is no longer "2021 or 2024", but only which route leads to a serviced version.

Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024: until October 9, 2029

Office LTSC 2024 was released on September 18, 2024 and Office 2024 on October 1, 2024. Both end on October 9, 2029. Office LTSC 2024 is the volume licensing version for commercial and government customers; Office 2024 is the consumer version sold as a single purchase. According to Microsoft, the LTSC version does not receive any new features; anyone who wants new features on an ongoing basis is pointed to a Microsoft 365 plan. Office LTSC 2024 is supported on Windows 11, Windows 11 LTSC 2024, Windows 10 LTSC 2021 and 2019, and Windows Server 2025 and 2022. What the version includes and how it is licensed and activated is explained in Office LTSC 2024 explained.

Do the arithmetic with the date: anyone moving to Office LTSC 2024 in autumn 2026 is buying three years of support. For an environment without cloud connectivity that is often exactly right; for an environment with Microsoft 365 in the background, the subscription is the longer-lasting answer.

The choice: Microsoft 365 Apps, Office LTSC 2024 or staying put

On its planning page for older Office versions, Microsoft names two successors: Microsoft 365 Apps, the subscription version of Office for desktop, web and mobile, and Office LTSC 2024, sold as a one-time purchase through a volume license agreement with one device per license. The third route, carrying on with the old version, is not one Microsoft recommends, but it is one many organizations take for individual machines. The table compares the three options.

Three questions decide. Does the organization use Exchange Online, SharePoint Online or Teams? Then the subscription is the route Microsoft supports, and the perpetual version is only a bridge until 2029. Do the machines run on an isolated network, say in production, in a public authority or in a laboratory? Then Office LTSC 2024 is built for the job, because its updates can be hosted locally. Is it about a few machines with a single line-of-business application that needs a specific Office? Then the old version can stay, but without network access and without outside documents. What separates a subscription bought through the Cloud Solution Provider program from a perpetual license is explained in CSP license explained.

The technical move: version 16.0, MSI and Click-to-Run

According to Microsoft, every version from Office 2016 to Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft 365 Apps shares the same version number, 16.0. That has a practical consequence: two products of the same version with different installation technologies cannot be installed side by side, and neither can two Click-to-Run products of different years with overlapping applications. Microsoft therefore requires you to uninstall any previous versions of Office before installing Office LTSC 2024.

The route depends on how the old version was installed. Office 2016 was still shipped either as a Windows Installer package (MSI) or as Click-to-Run; the Office Deployment Tool removes MSI versions with the RemoveMSI element in the configuration file. Office 2019 is Click-to-Run only and is removed with the Remove element. According to Microsoft, the most significant difference between Office 2016 and Office LTSC 2024 is precisely this shift in installation technology from MSI to Click-to-Run. After the move, activation works as before through KMS, MAK or Active Directory; the thresholds and periods are in KMS activation and MAK.

1. Take stock: version, edition and installation technology per machine, plus the line-of-business applications that embed Office components.
2. Choose the route: subscription, Office LTSC 2024 or staying put, per group of machines, using the three questions above.
3. Obtain the licenses: for LTSC 2024 one volume license per device, new or used; for the subscription one license per user.
4. Remove the old version: MSI with RemoveMSI, Click-to-Run with Remove, then install LTSC 2024 with the Office Deployment Tool.
5. Tidy up the old licenses: close the assignments in your license list and prepare perpetual licenses you no longer need for sale.

What happens to your old Office licenses

End of support changes nothing about the right of use. A perpetual license for Office 2016, 2019 or 2021 remains a perpetual license; Microsoft ends the servicing, not the agreement. That is why these licenses can still be sold after the cut-off date: under Article 4(2) of Directive 2009/24/EC, the distribution right in a copy of a program is exhausted by the first sale in the Union by the rights holder or with the rights holder's consent. In Germany, Section 69c No. 3 of the Copyright Act implements the rule and expressly names the European Economic Area. The seller must make their own copy unusable and hand the buyer the three documents: proof of first sale in the EEA, the previous owner's declaration and an unbroken chain of ownership. The rules by license type are in Transferring a Microsoft license; the most common misunderstandings are cleared up in Five myths about used software.

The reverse also holds: anyone who still needs a specific Office version for individual machines, say for a line-of-business application that only works with Office 2016 or 2019, can buy those versions used. The license is then legally clean, but support remains ended; that belongs in the plan in so many words. Moving to Office 2021 has made no sense since October 13, 2026, because that version is now in the same state as 2019: licensed, but unserviced.

Frequently asked questions

How long will Office 2021 still get updates?

It no longer does. Office LTSC 2021 and Office 2021 reached end of support on October 13, 2026; Microsoft had scheduled five years of mainstream support and no extended support for these versions.

Will Office 2019 still work after October 14, 2025?

The installed programs remain usable; Microsoft names no switch-off. What has been missing since the cut-off date are security fixes, bug fixes and technical support. The connection to Microsoft 365 services has not been supported for Office 2019 since October 10, 2023.

Do I need to uninstall Office 2019 before installing Office LTSC 2024?

Yes. Microsoft requires you to remove any previous versions of Office before installing Office LTSC 2024. Office 2019 is Click-to-Run and is uninstalled with the Remove element of the Office Deployment Tool; MSI versions of Office 2016 with RemoveMSI.

Can I upgrade from Office 2019 to Office 2021?

Technically yes, sensibly no longer: Office 2021 itself reached end of support on October 13, 2026. If you move, go to Office LTSC 2024 or Microsoft 365 Apps.

What is the difference between Office 2016 and Office 2024?

Office 2016 was installed as an MSI package or as Click-to-Run; Office LTSC 2024 is Click-to-Run only, which Microsoft calls the most significant difference. Office 2016 has been unsupported since October 14, 2025; Office LTSC 2024 is serviced until October 9, 2029. Both share version number 16.0 and cannot be installed side by side.

Which Office do I need for Windows 11?

Office LTSC 2024 is supported on Windows 11 and Windows 11 LTSC 2024, as well as on Windows 10 LTSC 2021 and 2019 and Windows Server 2025 and 2022. For Office 2016, 2019 and 2021 there has been no supported platform since their end of support.

Can I move my Office 2019 license to a new computer?

A retail license may be transferred to another device of your own under the license terms; a volume license may be reassigned to another device no sooner than 90 days after the last assignment under the Product Terms. The rules are in Transferring a Microsoft license.

Will there be an Office 2029?

Microsoft's pages say nothing about it (as of October 23, 2026). What is documented is only the end of support for Office LTSC 2024 on October 9, 2029.

What Lizenzus does for you

We supply used perpetual volume licenses for Office 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 in the Standard and Professional Plus editions, each with the three documents on first sale in the EEA, the previous owner's declaration and the chain of ownership. The overview is at Microsoft Office licenses, the current version at Office 2024 Professional Plus. We also buy Office licenses you no longer need, see Sell software licenses. In your quote request, tell us version, edition and quantity; the request is non-binding.

Sources

• Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Office 2016, lifecycle, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Office 2019, lifecycle, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Office LTSC 2021, lifecycle and Office 2021, lifecycle, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Office LTSC 2024, lifecycle and Office 2024, lifecycle, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Plan your upgrade from older versions of Office, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 services connectivity for Office, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Overview of Office LTSC 2024 and Deploy Office LTSC 2024, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Install different versions of Office on the same computer, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Exchange Server supportability matrix, accessed October 23, 2026
• Microsoft Learn: Fixed Lifecycle Policy, accessed October 23, 2026
• Official Journal of the EU: Directive 2009/24/EC, Article 4(2)
• Section 69c German Copyright Act (UrhG)