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Zohaib_Yousuf's avatar
Nov 22, 2025

Could any one explain Exchange Server SE Licensing Model?

I have the following M365 licenses in my education tenant:

  • Microsoft 365 A5 without Audio Conferencing (Student Use Benefit)

As per my understanding, each user requires an A3/A5 license to access their mailbox on an Exchange Server (Exchange SE). Since A3/A5 licenses already include Exchange Online, do we still need to assign these licenses to each on-premises user, or is this only for compliance purposes?

For example, if we have 100 on-premises users, must all 100 users be assigned A3/A5 licenses in Microsoft 365?

Reference articles are below.

Microsoft Product Terms

Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

 

1 Reply

  • Please just confirm, as per my understanding, Assigning the M365 A3/A5 license is mandatory for compliance, even if the mailbox is fully on-premises.

    There is no separate “Exchange SE User CAL”, your cloud suite license is the entitlement. The license simply grants the user rights to use Exchange Server SE. Right??

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