---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Software license entitlements for the legacy Software Asset Management plugin

# Software license entitlements for the legacy Software Asset Management plugin {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
Software entitlements enable you to define the people or machines to which a
specific, purchased software license is assigned.

## Before you begin

Role required: asset

## About this task

Asset managers allocate a license to entitle a user or machine to use the license.
For example, a company purchases a software license for 100 rights. The software
entitlement specifies the 100 employees or machines that are rightfully assigned a
license. If the ServiceNow
Discovery tool is used and it
finds the software installed on 200 machines, the asset manager can identify the
employees or computers that have the software installed without a license. The asset
manager can ask users to remove the software from their computers.

Built-in rules prevent entitling more licenses than have been purchased. License
entitlements use specific software license asset tags. In addition to the mandatory
asset tag, an individual person and a specific configuration item can be
assigned.  
The benefits of using software entitlements include the following.

* If the overall license entitlement is exceeded, the asset manager can rapidly address the problem and return to compliant status by either removing unauthorized software or ordering more licenses.
* If the license entitlement is not being used completely, the asset manager can respond by lowering the number of licenses purchased in the future.
{#t_CreatSWLicenseEntitlemnt__ul_shn_vfx_dp}

## Procedure

1. Navigate to AllAssetSoftwareAsset License Entitlements and create a new record (see table for field descriptions).  
   {#t_CreatSWLicenseEntitlemnt__table_vky_ggx_dp__entry__2}

   | Field | Description |
   |-|-|
   | Display name | Name used in record lists. |
   | Allocated to | The configuration item consuming the license token. |
   | Licensed by | License granting this token. |
   | Cached | Internal flag set and used by software counters logic. |
   [ ]

   {#t_CreatSWLicenseEntitlemnt__table_vky_ggx_dp}
2. Click Submit.
* **[Create an entitlement for the legacy Software Asset Management plugin](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/mXk7JU71zo~~NTxK_AN~iA)**   
  You create software entitlements for both CIs and users from the same License Entitlement form.
* **[Create a software user license entitlement for the legacy Software Asset Management plugin](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/6BxEf3KRJ86NBqcVizSmpA)**   
  You can entitle a user to use one of your software licenses.
* **[Entitle a license to a configuration item using the legacy Software Asset Management plugin](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/alXs4Zepp4Is_iP56VEkew)**   
  Use the legacy Software Asset Management (com.snc.software_asset_management) plugin to entitle a license to a configuration item, such as a computer or server, or a location, such as a city of building.
* **[Entitle a license to a user or location using the legacy Software Asset Management plugin](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0KLGAw5yjfvj93A2kq0x5w)**   
  Use the legacy Software Asset Management (com.snc.software_asset_management) plugin to entitle a license to an individual user.

*[\>]: and then