Licenses with unused seats

Last updated Oct 17, 2026 Policies Licences & Costs

AI summary

This policy detects subscriptions with more than 10 unused seats, helping you identify over-procurement. Use the results to reduce license counts to match your actual usage needs.

Severity: Medium Costs Recommended Generally available

What it detects

Shows licenses which have a high number of unused seats.

Why it matters

Large numbers of unused licenses indicate over-procurement that ties up budget unnecessarily and prevents optimal resource allocation. Analyze license utilization to identify products with excessive unused seats, reduce subscription levels to match actual needs plus reasonable buffer, and implement quarterly reviews through Rencore Governance to continuously optimize license counts based on usage trends and organizational changes.

The rule

Every Subscription where Units unused is greater than 10

In Rencore Governance

Details

Applies to	Subscription
Connector	Microsoft 365
Severity	Medium
Category	Costs
Recommended	Yes
Recommended automation	None
License type	Standard

Other policies that check Subscription objects:

Licenses assigned to external users (Medium)
Licenses assigned to inactive users (Medium)
Licenses assigned to disabled users (Medium)
Licenses with less than 10 units available (Information)
License usage for Visio, Project and Power BI Pro (Medium)
Unused licenses (Low)

Frequently asked questions

What does the licenses with unused seats policy detect?

The Licenses with unused seats policy shows licenses which have a high number of unused seats.

Which objects does the licenses with unused seats policy check?

The Licenses with unused seats policy checks Subscription objects from the Microsoft 365 inventory and reports each one that matches its rule as a violation.

How severe is a violation of the licenses with unused seats policy?

Violations of the Licenses with unused seats policy have Medium severity. The policy is in the Costs category.

Which module includes the licenses with unused seats policy?

The Licenses with unused seats policy comes with the Microsoft 365 connector in the Digital Workplace module of Rencore Governance, which every Plan includes.

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