Updated: 8 October 2026 · Applies to: cPanel & WHM 138 on AlmaLinux 9 and Ubuntu 24.04 (root access)

"The license is expired" means cPanel's licence servers have no active licence for your server's IP address: it was not renewed, it was cancelled, or the trial ended. To fix it, renew or reactivate the licence where you bought it, then run /usr/local/cpanel/cpkeyclt as root so the server downloads it (see cPanel licence update command). If the licence is active but cPanel still reports it as expired, the server could not refresh it: see cPanel licence update failed.

What the error looks like

According to cPanel, WHM, cPanel and Webmail stop accepting logins. The licence update command fails, and the licence log shows the reason. Real lines from our cPanel & WHM 138 server while its licence had expired (IP replaced):

The cPanel license server said that a license could not be issued for your server (66).
For more information visit: https://www.cpanel.net/lic/
The exact message was: The license is expired. (198.51.100.10)
License update failed after trying 1 server

The address in brackets is the IP the licence server checked, and the link opens cPanel's licence verification page.

Expired licence or expired licence file?

Two different problems produce similar messages:

  • The licence has expired. The verification page lists the newest cPanel licence for your IP as expired, and cpkeyclt reports The license is expired. The fix is to renew.
  • Only the local licence file has expired. WHM shows something like License File Expired: LTD: 1644536928 NOW: 1644571639 (cPanel's example), but the licence is active on the verification page. The server has not been able to refresh its copy for a while, for example because of a blocked port 2089, DNS, damaged CA certificates or a wrong clock. Follow the failed update guide.

To tell them apart, get the IP cPanel sees and enter it on cPanel's licence verification page:

curl -w '\n' -s http://myip.cpanel.net/v1.0/

Why a cPanel licence expires

  • The renewal was not paid, or the licence was cancelled.
  • The 15-day trial ended without a paid licence.
  • The provider that issued it ended or suspended it.
  • The server's IP changed. The licence stays on the old IP, and according to cPanel the update then fails with The license is expired. or No valid cPanel/WHM license found. followed by the new IP.

What keeps working while it is expired

According to cPanel:

  • Websites keep loading and incoming email is still received.
  • The WHM, cPanel and Webmail interfaces do not accept logins.
  • The server receives no cPanel software updates, and AutoSSL cannot renew expiring SSL certificates.
  • cPanel support needs an active licence before it can help.

cPanel also documents mail client logins failing with Invalid password in passdb: crypt() failed: Invalid argument until the licence is valid again, so fix it promptly.

Fix an expired cPanel licence

  1. Check the IP and its licence status as shown above.
  2. Renew or reactivate the licence:
    • Bought from a provider or partner: renew it with them.
    • Bought in the cPanel Store: according to cPanel, if it expired less than 30 days ago, pay the pending invoice and it reactivates automatically. After 30 days, buy a new licence for the same IP.
  3. Log in to the server as root and run:
    /usr/local/cpanel/cpkeyclt
    According to cPanel, success looks like Updating cPanel license...Done. Update succeeded.
  4. Check the licence log:
    grep -E 'succeeded|failed after|exact message' /usr/local/cpanel/logs/license_log | tail -n 5

After our licence was reactivated, the same server logged:

Thu Oct  8 04:52:19 2026: License update succeeded after trying 2 servers
Thu Oct  8 04:52:19 2026: Scheduling cpsrvd restart for product type change (graceful with autofallback to hard)
Thu Oct  8 04:52:19 2026: Detected a possible product type change. Scheduling a job to enable/disable services.

cPanel restarts cpsrvd, the service behind the cPanel, WHM and Webmail interfaces, and adjusts services to match the licence, so logins return a moment later. A message such as Skipping license update since it was updated 0 minutes ago. only means a check has just run. If the command fails with another message, follow cPanel licence update failed.

If you bought the licence from Ucartz, open a support ticket with the server IP. Ucartz also sells cPanel Solo, Admin and Pro licences for your own VPS or dedicated server.

Official documentation: How to Renew a Canceled or Expired cPanel License, How to Fix License File Errors.

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