Named User Licensing overview

When you purchase Adobe products for your organization, licenses allow you to use Adobe software and services. Named User Licensing ties each license to an individual user identity, allowing that person to authenticate and activate products on their computers. This approach differs from older licensing methods by connecting the user—not the device—to their entitlements.

Named User Licensing is the default and most widely adopted method for deploying Creative Cloud and Document Cloud products. It works best in network-connected environments where app licenses are managed based on individual user needs.

What Named User Licensing provides

Named User Licensing gives your organization control over who accesses Adobe apps and services while providing users with full software functionality and cloud features

For end users

Users with Named User Licensing gain access to:

• Latest Adobe applications, including cloud-first apps, such as Lightroom CC, and Adobe Dimension. These applications are not available with any other licensing method.
• Adobe cloud services, including Creative Cloud Libraries for cross-device asset access, Team Projects for cloud collaboration, font collections from Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Acrobat Sign for document workflows.

For admins

Named User Licensing provides IT administrators with:

• Centralized license management: Adding and removing product licenses for any user at any time without redeploying software packages
• Enhanced compliance tracking: Managing licenses per user rather than tracking machines
• Advanced security controls: Implementing Single Sign-On (SSO), enterprise-level user identity management, and at-rest and in-transit encryption for assets
• Flexible deployment: Installing apps throughout the organization while maintaining control over access

How Named User Licensing works

Named User Licensing requires periodic internet connectivity. Computers must connect to Adobe servers for initial activation and at least once every 30 days thereafter. Users sign in to access apps and services. You can configure SSO to provide seamless access that integrates with your enterprise authentication systems.

Deployment requirements

Named User Licensing does not require preconfiguring computers before installation. You only need to install or deploy Creative Cloud apps on end-user computers. Each computer must have internet access, though you can control that access through firewall devices that intercept and verify network traffic to ensure:

• No unauthorized data leaves the internal network
• All transmitted data travels through encrypted tunnels between the firewall device and Adobe servers
• Every transmission endpoint is an authorized Adobe server with a known network address and a publicly signed, non-revoked SSL certificate

For detailed network requirements, see Creative Cloud for enterprise – Network Endpoints.

Authentication and sign-in

Authentication verifies the user's identity and links it to their Creative Cloud membership. Authorization checks the user's membership to determine their status, which applications and services they can access, and any restrictions or special permissions they have.

Most licensing services run on Adobe servers, though some run locally. For example, the Creative Cloud desktop app is both a local licensing service and a deployment tool that allows users to download and install apps. Local licensing services depend on Adobe-hosted licensing services for all functions.

Users can license apps through two methods:

Creative Cloud desktop app

The Creative Cloud desktop app provides self-service workflows for users to download, install, and update applications. For users with cloud services, signing in also enables access to features such as Adobe Fonts, personal storage, and Behance sharing. When users launch the Creative Cloud desktop app and sign in with their credentials, all eligible apps installed on the computer activate after users accept the Terms of Use.

Directly from apps

When an app launches without prior activation, a sign-in screen appears. Users must sign in with the credentials linked to their plan to license the app.

Managing network access

To ensure users can sign in and activate products, configure your firewall and proxy servers to allow connections to Adobe web service endpoints. Adobe provides a list of licensing and other service endpoints that your network infrastructure must permit. Restricting access to these endpoints will prevent users from activating their licenses or accessing cloud services.