Bentley SELECT Program licensing

The Bentley SELECT Program is Bentley Systems’ subscription for customers who own perpetual licences. The SELECT Program Agreement consists of the SELECT Program Terms and six shared documents: the General Terms and Conditions, Support and Maintenance Terms, Services Terms, Cloud Offering Terms, Cloud Services Subscription Terms and Country-Specific Terms. Together with any Offering Document, these form the Agreement with the applicable Bentley Contract Entity. The current version is marked “Last Modified: April 1, 2026”.^[1] Bentley’s April 2026 change log lists mostly editorial changes against the July 2024 version. Examples are the replacement of “Channel Partner” by “authorized Bentley reseller” in the definition of Country and new support-availability wording.^[5]

Bentley’s own comparison describes SELECT as a one-time purchase owned permanently, plus an annual maintenance subscription for updates and support, with term licences added for temporary extra seats. Licence pooling allows users to reach their software from multiple computers.^[6]

Editions

SELECT has no editions. What varies is which licensing programs in SELECT Program Terms §4 and §5 apply to a product. That is decided per product by the Licensing Program Eligibility list, which Bentley may change: “Bentley reserves the right to add or remove any Product from eligibility”.^[1][2] The list’s columns map to the programs below.

Metrics

SELECT does not replace the EULA metric. It overlays it. Products stay licensed “on a per Device basis as set forth in the applicable end user license” unless the Agreement says otherwise.^[1] The overlays are Pooled Usage, the peak measure behind term licences (Term license peak usage), and the three-month named-user count for server access (CAL (Product Subscription License)).

Counting / floors

Coverage is all-or-nothing. “Subscriber agrees to purchase SELECT Program coverage for all Bentley Products licensed by Subscriber.” Products licensed later are added automatically, with their fees on the next periodic invoice.^[1] A customer cannot keep part of an estate on SELECT and let the rest lapse. Catalog proof: SELECT must cover all Bentley licences held.

Pooled Usage. Pooled Licensing grants the right to use Eligible Products on multi-user networks and to install a licensed product on more than one computer. Bentley measures “the number of unique Devices on which Subscriber Uses each Product per Site per interval”. The interval may change and vary by product. SELECT coverage entitles the subscriber to Pooled Usage in each interval at each Site up to the number of copies licensed at that Site.^[1] A Site is one or more locations within a single Country.^[1] Licences bought in one country therefore do not pool with licences in another. Catalog proof: Pooled Usage entitlement equals licences owned at each Site; A Site is bounded by a single Country.

Term licences for peaks. If unique Devices at a Site using a product in any interval exceed the licensed copies during a calendar quarter, Bentley may grant retroactive Term Licenses and invoice the peak Excess Use per Site and per Product. Fees are those in effect at the start of the calendar term.^[1] The Term License Fact Sheet defines the interval as ten minutes (UTC) for SES and hosted SELECTserver, and the calendar hour for locally deployed SELECTserver. The first partial interval is not counted.^[3] Invoices arrive about one week after quarter end.^[3] Bentley’s worked example: an account with three MicroStation seats that uses a fourth in March receives a Q1 term licence invoice in April. That invoice is billed “at a percentage of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price” for that quarter only.^[4] Catalog proof: Excess Use is invoiced as Term Licenses for the quarterly peak per Site and Product; First partial 10-minute interval of use is not counted; Locally deployed SELECTserver measures peak by calendar hour; A term licence is billed only for the quarter in which the extra seat was used.

The following example shows how the peak is taken. Figures are illustrative, not vendor data.

Consequences of not paying. If Term License Fees are not paid, Bentley may take technical measures to restrict Excess Use and/or withdraw pooled licensing, on top of its termination rights.^[1] Catalog proof: Unpaid Term License Fees allow technical restriction and loss of pooling.

Usage Data. Continued pooled operation “is predicated upon Usage Data communications between Bentley Products and SES”. The subscriber agrees not to interfere with accurate Usage Data.^[1] The General Terms add that Usage Data is owned by Bentley as its Proprietary Information.^[1] Catalog proof: Subscriber must not interfere with Usage Data transmission.

CALs. A Client Access License is a Product Subscription License for a specific named User to access Server Products. Usage is the number of Users accessing a Server Product in a three-month period, or another period set in an Offering Document. “CAL” covers Passports, Visas and other designations. CALs cannot be pooled or shared and are monitored through SES.^[1] Catalog proof: CALs are named-user subscriptions counted over a three-month period.

No floor. No minimum quantity is published. Fees are set per product licensed and stay fixed until the next renewal, then move to Bentley’s current fees on 30 days’ notice. Prices are based on the local price and currency of the Site of use.^[1] Catalog proof: SELECT fees priced in the local currency of the Site of use.

Virtualization & partitioning

General Terms §4 allows Production Use on a multi-user network in a Virtualized Environment, defined as “a system that provides remote access to software applications for one or more users”. The subscriber must use SES so that “each session started within the Virtualized Environment requires its own unique license”.^[1] Bentley lists certified environments on its VE Wiki. Products in uncertified environments lose warranty and technical support for related problems. The right ends with the Agreement, even for perpetual licences.^[1] Catalog proof: Each session in a Virtualized Environment needs its own licence; Virtualized Environment rights end with the program agreement.

Cloud / BYOL

SELECT subscribers may subscribe to Bentley Cloud Offerings, with Bentley’s approval, under the Cloud Offering Terms. Use beyond the Offering Document limits may be invoiced as additional Cloud Offering Fees, and past-due balances allow suspension.^[1] Term licences, CALs, Cloud Offerings and E365 can be funded through a prepaid Cloud Services Subscription (CSS). Its initial payment is a good-faith estimate of twelve months of fees, and it must be replenished before the balance runs out.^[1] Term licences covered under CSS reset monthly rather than quarterly.^[3] No bring-your-own-licence rule for public cloud is published. Catalog proof: CSS initial payment is a twelve-month estimate, replenished before depletion; Term licences funded through CSS reset monthly rather than quarterly.

Programs

• SELECT Open Access. With Bentley’s approval, the subscriber may install and use any Eligible Product, including products it has never licensed, and gets training. At each quarter end Bentley invoices Term License Fees for the peak Pooled Usage per Site per Product. For separately licensed products only Excess Use is charged.^[1] Open Access turns SELECT into a consumption model for everything not owned. Catalog proof: SELECT Open Access bills the quarterly peak of all Eligible Product use.
• Portfolio Balancing. At least 30 days before a renewal anniversary, and with Bentley’s approval, perpetual licences may be exchanged for other Eligible Products of equal or lower aggregate current list price. The exchange runs in renewable 12-month terms, and the original licences are reinstated if the Agreement or the program ends.^[1] Per the eligibility notes, any product may be traded out but only certain products can be received.^[2] Catalog proof: Portfolio Balancing request at least 30 days before a renewal anniversary.
• No-Charge Licenses. Production copies of products Bentley designates as no-charge. Some may be redistributed to third parties who receive the subscriber’s Bentley files. They expire when the Agreement ends unless Bentley authorizes otherwise.^[1]
• Evaluation. One copy per Site of each Eligible Product not already licensed, for internal evaluation for up to 30 days. Project work and compensated use are excluded.^[1] Use past the evaluation period is invoiced as a term licence.^[3] Catalog proof: SELECT evaluation copies limited to 30 days and one copy per Site; Use after an evaluation period is invoiced as a term licence.
• Product Subscription Licenses. Term licences for specific Eligible Products, delivered with Time Clocks that may not be evaded. They never continue beyond the Agreement.^[1] Subscription licensing may be offered annually, quarterly or monthly.^[2] Catalog proof: Product Subscription Licenses never outlast the Agreement.
• Support and updates. SELECT includes Major and Minor Updates at no additional charge and Internet and email technical support. Bentley makes reasonable efforts to respond within four hours during business hours.^[1] The separate support terms page limits 24x7 support to severity 1 problems for eligible subscribers.^[8]

Term, renewal and termination

SELECT runs for an initial twelve months and renews automatically for like terms unless either party gives notice at least 30 days before expiry.^[1] Failure to pay an invoice is always a material breach, and overdue amounts accrue 1.5% interest per month.^[1] On termination all rights granted by the Agreement end, and perpetual licences revert to the licence agreement delivered with each product.^[1] Under the Lifecycle Policy that means the last covered version on a single machine with no pooling.^[7] Reinstatement needs Bentley’s consent and an advance fee that may reach all undiscounted fees for the lapsed period.^[1] Catalog proof: SELECT runs 12 months and auto-renews unless 30 days notice; Late payments accrue 1.5% interest per month; Pooling rights end when SELECT ends, even for perpetual licences; SELECT reinstatement fee can reach all fees for the lapsed period; Without an active subscription, perpetual licences get the last covered version and no pooling.

Transfers, mergers and audit

Licences may not be sold, transferred or sublicensed without Bentley’s written consent. A consented transfer requires the transferee to agree to cover all its licensed products under SELECT.^[1] A change of control counts as an assignment. Bentley’s consent is given in advance, but only if the surviving entity enters a subscription program agreement. Ownership changes must be notified 60 days in advance where possible.^[1] Records must identify the hardware on which each copy runs and the Users to whom licences are assigned. If Bentley suspects Usage Data is incomplete, inaccurate or indicates non-compliance, it may ask for a written report and then inspect records on seven days’ notice.^[1] Benchmark results may not be disclosed without consent.^[1] Catalog proof: Licence transfers need consent and the transferee must join SELECT; Change of control is an assignment; the survivor must sign a program agreement; Audit can follow suspect Usage Data; inspection on seven days notice (program agreements); No disclosure of benchmarks without Bentley consent.

Disputes with US and Canadian subscribers go to binding arbitration in Philadelphia under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. Most other regions arbitrate under International Chamber of Commerce rules, and China and Taiwan use their own arbitration bodies. In each case Bentley keeps the right to sue in court for non-payment.^[1]

Out of scope

• The Enterprise License Subscription, whose exhibit (“Exhibit LS”) is referenced by the eligibility list but not published.^[2]
• Academic SELECT, Services Terms and professional services.
• Prices: SELECT fees and term licence rates are not published.