How to remove a license from the vSphere inventory

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to remove obsolete or unused licenses from the vSphere inventory. Removing a license is necessary when the license is no longer in use, has expired, or needs to be replaced to maintain an organized inventory within vCenter Server.

Environment

• Product: VMware vSphere / vCenter Server

• Version: 8.x (also applicable to 7.x)

Cause

Licenses remain in the vCenter Server inventory until manually removed. A license cannot be removed if it is currently assigned to an asset (ESXi host, vCenter Server, or other products).

Resolution

To remove a license, ensure it is not assigned to any asset, then follow these steps:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client.

2. From the Home menu, select Administration.

3. Expand the Licensing section and select Licenses.

4. Navigate to the Licenses tab.

5. Locate the license you wish to remove from the list.

6. Select the checkbox for the license and click the Remove Licenses (trash can) icon.

7. In the confirmation dialog, click Yes to confirm the removal.

Note: If the Remove Licenses button is unavailable (grayed out), the license is still assigned to one or more assets. You must first assign a different license to those assets or remove the assets from the inventory before the license can be deleted.

Additional Information

For more details on managing licenses, refer to the official VMware vSphere documentation:

• Remove a License - VMware vSphere 8.0 Documentation