Check If Your Windows 10 License Type Is Retail, OEM, Or Volume

Curious to know the difference between retail, OEM and volume licenses? Want to check if your Windows 10 license is retail, OEM, or volume? In this article, we will discuss the different types of Windows 10 licenses and how to know your Windows 10’s license type?

There are three types of Windows 10 licenses: retail, OEM and volume.

What’s retail Windows 10 license?

You get the retail license when you purchase Windows 10 copy from a retail store or an online store. The retail license usually comes in a boxed copy and is not specific to any PC and can be transferred from one PC to another. That is, you can remove Windows 10 from one PC and install and activate it on another computer.

What is OEM Windows 10 license?

OEM (original equipment manufacturer) license is used by PC manufacturers to offer Windows 10 preinstalled on their computers. In other words, you get the Windows 10 OEM license when you purchase a new PC pre-installed with Windows 10. For instance, if you buy a new Dell computer pre-installed with Windows 10, then the license type is OEM.

If your PC came preinstalled with a genuine Windows 10 license, then it likely has OEM license. Unlike the retail license, OEM license cannot be transferred from one computer to another. These days, OEM product keys are embedded in the BIOS/UEFI firmware to avoid license theft.

What is volume Windows 10 license?

Volume licensing is usually used by governments, educational institutes, and large businesses. Since they buy in bulk, they get Windows license for a much lesser price than home users who buy one or two licenses.

Check if Windows 10 license is retail, OEM, or volume

If Windows 10 is installed on your computer, you might be curious to know the type of Windows 10 license you have on your PC.

Windows 10 offers an easy way to check if your Windows 10 license is retail, OEM, or volume. With the execution of a simple command, you can know the Windows 10 license type.

Step 1: Open the Command Prompt by typing CMD in the Start/taskbar search field and hitting Enter.

Step 2: At the Command Prompt window, type the following command and then press Enter key.

Slmgr –dli

Pressing the Enter key will open the Windows Script Host dialog which includes the Windows 10 license type.

As you can see in the picture above, we are using OEM license on our PC. If you are using a retail license, you will see the RETAIL word instead of OEM. VOLUME word will show up if the license type is volume.

The dialog also displays the partial product key and current activation status.

Our how to link Windows 10 license to your Microsoft account guide might also interest you.