Licensing

Moving WHMCS

When you move your WHMCS system, if the domain, IP address, or directory you use it in is changing, you must update your license. The method to use depends on the license you have:

1. You purchased your license directly from us

If you purchased your license from us directly, you can reissue your license from client area without any manual intervention from us. To do this, log in, go to Services > My Licenses, select your license key, and click Reissue under the Management Actions tab. Then, visit your WHMCS installation in the new location. The system will save the new valid access details.

2. You obtain your license from your web host

If you received your license from your hosting provider, you can't reissue your license from our client area. This is because the domain and IP address cannot change. Contact your hosting provider to have them update the license for use at the new location. If you are moving to a different hosting provider, you cannot move your license key with you and you will require a new license key for use at the new location.

To move WHMCS:

• Disable or remove the WHMCS cron jobs from the old server. This prevents automation from running and making changes.
• Create a backup of your database following these instructions.
• Make sure the new server meets the system requirements.
• Transfer the files to the new server.
• Restore the database via phpMyAdmin on the new server and make any changes to the database settings in configuration.php.
• Reissue your license using the steps above.
• Log in to your WHMCS admin area and update the system URLs in Setup > General Settings.
• Check whether the system properly modified your cron jobs, payment gateway callbacks, and email forwarders.
• Update your custom directory locations.
• Update your storage locations.
• Delete the WHMCS files from the old location.

Changing the License Key WHMCS uses

To change the license key your WHMCS system uses, log in to the admin area and go to Help > Change License Key. Enter your new license key and admin login details to verify the change. If can't log in due to a license invalid error, use the link to the change license page from the license error page.

Is licensing dependant on whmcs.com being online?

No. WHMCS uses a local key licensing system with periodic remote verification checks. Once every seven days, your WHMCS system will contact our server to ensure it is being run in the correct location and that the license is still valid. Whether your WHMCS system is online is not dependant on our server being online during the time the local key is valid.

If our licensing server is unavailable on the day of your next verification check, the system will allow up to three days to make a connection. If, after this time, the system still can't verify your license with our licensing server, your WHMCS Admin Area will become inactive until WHMCS can contact our server again.

Your WHMCS Client Area will always remain online, even if you have an invalid or expired license, to ensure your clients have uninterrupted access.

Common Errors

For information on troubleshooting common licensing errors, see License Troubleshooting.