Fix Word License Verification Loop on a Shared Device Account

When you sign in to Word on a shared computer, the license verification process may get stuck in a loop. You see a prompt asking you to verify your license, you complete the steps, and then the same prompt appears again. This issue occurs because the shared device account does not retain the activation token after verification, often due to cached credentials or conflicting Office installations. This article explains the root cause of the license verification loop and provides a step-by-step fix that clears the old activation data and forces a clean sign-in.

Why the License Verification Loop Occurs on Shared Devices

Word uses an activation token stored locally on the device to confirm your subscription or product key. On a shared computer, multiple users sign in and out, and the token can become corrupted or mismatched with the current user account. This happens most often when a user previously activated Office with a different account, and the token remains in the Windows Credential Manager. When a new user signs in, Word sees the old token, attempts to verify it, fails, and then loops back to the verification prompt instead of offering a clean sign-in screen.

Another common cause is a leftover product key from a volume license or a trial version that conflicts with the user’s Microsoft 365 subscription. The Office License Service may detect two license states and get stuck trying to reconcile them. The loop is not a network issue; it is a local data conflict that requires clearing the stored credentials and product keys.

License Types That Trigger the Loop

The loop can occur with Microsoft 365 Business, Microsoft 365 Personal, Office 2019, and Office 2021. Shared device activation, which is designed for computers used by many users, can also exhibit this behavior if the activation cache is not cleared between sessions. The fix described below works for all these license types.

Steps to Clear the License Verification Loop

Follow these steps in order. Do not skip any step. Each step removes a specific piece of stuck data that causes the loop.

1. Close all Office applications
   Make sure Word, Excel, Outlook, and any other Office program are closed. Check the system tray for background processes and exit them. This prevents file locks on the activation cache.
2. Open Windows Credential Manager
   Press the Windows key, type credential manager, and click the result. In Credential Manager, click Windows Credentials.
3. Remove all Microsoft Office-related generic credentials
   Scroll down to the Generic Credentials section. Look for any entry that contains MicrosoftOffice in its name, such as MicrosoftOffice16_Data:ADAL:… or MicrosoftOffice16_Data:MSA:…. Click the arrow to expand each entry, then click Remove. Confirm the deletion. Remove every entry that includes the word MicrosoftOffice.
4. Open Command Prompt as administrator
   Press the Windows key, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. Click Yes in the User Account Control prompt.
5. Check the installed product key
   In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:
   cd "%programfiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16"
   Then type:
   cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus
   Look for the line that says Last 5 characters of installed product key. Write down that 5-character string. If you see multiple product keys, note all of them. If no key is displayed, skip to step 7.
6. Remove the stuck product key
   Type the following command, replacing XXXXX with the 5-character string you noted:
   cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:XXXXX
   Press Enter. You should see a message that the product key was uninstalled successfully. Repeat for any additional product keys found in step 5.
7. Clear the Office activation cache folder
   In File Explorer, navigate to %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Licensing. Delete all files and folders inside the Licensing folder. Do not delete the folder itself. If the folder is missing, proceed to the next step.
8. Sign out of Office completely
   Open Word. If it opens without a sign-in prompt, go to File > Account > Sign Out. Confirm the sign-out. Then close Word.
9. Restart the computer
   Restart Windows to clear any remaining cached data in memory. After the restart, do not open any other Office app first.
10. Open Word and sign in with your account
    Open Word. You should see the sign-in screen. Enter the email address and password for the Microsoft 365 or Office license that is assigned to this shared device. Complete the verification steps. The license should activate without looping.

If Word Still Asks for Verification After the Main Fix

Word prompts for verification every time I open it

This usually means the shared device activation policy is not set correctly. On a shared computer, you may need to enable shared computer activation via the Office Deployment Tool. Without this setting, each user must activate individually. To check, run the following command in an elevated Command Prompt:
cscript "%programfiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ospp.vbs" /dsharedcomputerslicensing
If it returns Disabled, you need to configure shared computer activation using the Office Deployment Tool or the Microsoft 365 admin center.

License verification loop returns after a Windows update

Windows updates can reset the activation cache or change permissions on the Licensing folder. If the loop returns, repeat steps 2 through 4 and step 7 only. You do not need to remove the product key again unless the update also changed the key. If the problem persists, repair Office via Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Microsoft 365 > Modify > Quick Repair.

Multiple user accounts on the same device all see the loop

This indicates that the per-machine activation token is corrupted. The fix is to run the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) tool. Download SaRA from the Microsoft website, select Office > I’m having trouble installing Office, and follow the prompts. SaRA will remove all Office licenses and activation tokens, forcing a fresh activation for every user.

Shared Device Activation vs Individual Activation: Loop Recovery Methods

Item	Shared Device Activation	Individual User Activation
License type	Microsoft 365 Business (admin-assigned)	Microsoft 365 Personal or Office 2021/2019
Token storage location	Per-machine Licensing folder	Per-user Credential Manager
Cause of loop	Outdated shared activation policy or token	Conflicting product key or cached credentials
Main fix steps	Run ospp.vbs /dsharedcomputerslicensing and re-enable via ODT	Remove credentials from Credential Manager and uninstall product key
Extra tool needed	Office Deployment Tool for policy change	SaRA for persistent token corruption

After the license verification loop is broken, you can open Word and confirm that the activation is stable. To prevent the loop from returning on a shared device, configure shared computer activation using the Office Deployment Tool. This setting tells Word to check the license server each time instead of relying on a local token. For individual accounts, sign out of Office before switching users on the same computer. This clears the cached token and avoids a conflict when the next user signs in.