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SAS licensing

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This article is an overview of how SAS Institute licenses SAS Viya, SAS 9 and related software through time-limited licence files, Order Forms and support policies. It is not legal advice and does not replace the Order Form, the SAS Universal Terms and Addenda, or a signed Master License Agreement.

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SAS licensing covers the terms under which SAS Institute licenses its analytics software: the SAS Viya platform, the SAS 9 family (SAS 9.4 and earlier), and related solutions and cloud offerings. Its most visible feature is technical. SAS software runs only while a time-limited licence file is valid. The SAS 9.4 renewal instructions state: “SAS software is licensed on a periodic basis.”[6] For SAS 9 the licence file is the SAS installation data (SID) file containing the setinit. For SAS Viya it is a JSON web token file.[6][4] Entitlements are bought on an Order Form that links to the SAS Universal Terms and offering Addenda.[1] SAS sells directly, through authorized resellers and on the Microsoft and AWS marketplaces.[3] See subscription and consumption licensing for the general model.

Editions

SAS Viya is sold as packaged offerings: SAS Viya, SAS Viya Advanced, SAS Viya Enterprise and SAS Viya Programming. Each includes a different set of capabilities.[2] Standalone offerings such as SAS Viya Workbench (AWS Marketplace) and SAS Data Maker (Microsoft Marketplace) are sold on cloud marketplaces.[2] See SAS Viya licensing.

SAS 9.4 remains licensed and supported. SAS 9.4M9 became generally available in June 2025, and Standard Support for it lasts until 2030-07-01.[11] Licences are renewed by applying a new SID file.[6] See SAS 9 setinit and license renewal.

The catalog records the Viya offerings as SAS Viya, SAS Viya Advanced, SAS Viya Enterprise and SAS Viya Programming. It also records the SAS 9.4M9 platform and the free SAS OnDemand for Academics. SAS publishes no price list. Its buying pages direct customers to SAS, resellers or the marketplaces.[3]

Metrics

SAS term Catalog row Notes 
Licence period / expiration date License period Each licensed product carries an expiration date in the licence file.[5] 
Site number SAS site Sites and licences are managed by site number in my.sas.com.[8] 
Cores (subcapacity) Licensed cores “Subcapacity licensing is based on the total number of cores, not the number of processors.”[7] 
Computer name Designated machine A subcapacity licence names the machine.[7] 
maxCPUs maxCPUs CAS licence field. It is absent for unlimited licences.[5] 

The commercial metric of a given order is not shown in the public documents. The Order Form lists “the products, fees and business terms”.[1] The SAS Talon terms show that SAS contracts can refer to “pricing metrics” that the customer must track.[12]

Counting / floors

Expiry is enforced. For SAS Viya 3.5, a grace period of “zero days” and a warning period of 15 days apply as of June 2024. License expiration occurs immediately after the warning period ends, and “An expired license means that SAS does not run.”[5] SAS UK’s licensing FAQ still describes “30 days grace and 30 days warning” for most products.[9] The values actually in force are shown by running proc setinit; run; against the current licence.[5] Catalog: Grace period 0 days and warning period 15 days since June 2024; An expired SAS license means SAS does not run; SAS UK: 30 days grace and 30 days warning for most products.

Cores and machines. Since SAS 9.2, SAS can be licensed on Windows “based on a limited number of cores and a specific machine name or computer name”, which SAS calls subcapacity licensing. SAS must then run on a machine with the designated name and no more than the designated number of cores.[7] For SAS Viya 3.5, CAS licence information can show a maxCPUs value.[5] Catalog: Subcapacity licences bind SAS to a named machine and core count; maxCPUs is omitted for unlimited CAS licenses.

Floors. SAS publishes no minimum quantities. Renewal terms are set per order. SAS UK keeps a single renewal date and prorates fees for software added mid-term.[9]

Virtualization & partitioning

SAS 9.1.3 and later are supported in hardware virtualization such as VMware, provided the combination is supported on physical hardware. Dynamic operations on virtual machines running SAS are not compatible; SAS names “VMware VMotion and VM snapshots” as examples.[13] For licensing, a subcapacity licence counts the CPUs configured on the virtual machine. The SAS CPUCOUNT option cannot be used to run on a machine with more cores than licensed.[7] See processor and core licensing and virtualization and partitioning. Catalog: CPUCOUNT cannot be used to fit a larger machine into a subcapacity licence; SAS is supported in virtualization, but VMotion and snapshots are not compatible.

Cloud / BYOL

SAS 9.4 and later are supported on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and other clouds under conditions SAS publishes.[13] Subcapacity licences for cloud machines such as Amazon are “different from the typical subcapacity licensing”.[7] Marketplace buyers can choose “pay-as-you-go” or “bring-your-own-license” (BYOL), and Azure Marketplace purchases can count toward a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment.[3] Catalog: Marketplace purchases: pay-as-you-go or BYOL, MACC-eligible on Azure; Cloud subcapacity licences differ from standard subcapacity.

Programs

Contract, support and audit terms are covered in SAS contracts, support and audit.

Contract terms

SAS states that its current contracts allow “non-production test, development or failover installations at no additional charge for most software licenses”. They also allow use for related entities globally, “by simply upgrading the license quantity”.[1] Universal Terms apply to all offerings except standalone training points.[1] Catalog: Non-production test, development and failover at no extra charge; Related entities may use the software by increasing the licence quantity; Universal Terms apply to all offerings except standalone training points.

Audits and compliance

The licence file is the first compliance control. Software without a current licence stops after the warning period.[5] A subcapacity licence stops SAS starting on a larger or differently named machine.[7] Contractual audit rights are in the Universal Terms, which were not available for this article. As an example of SAS drafting, the SAS Talon terms require the customer to keep records of where the software is installed and how much it is used “relative to the applicable pricing metrics”. They also give SAS an on-site audit right on fifteen business days’ notice, with the customer paying any additional fees and SAS’s reasonable audit expenses.[12] Catalog: Customer must keep records of installation and usage against pricing metrics; On-site audit on 15 business days’ notice. See software license audit.

SAS has also litigated over licence scope. Its case against World Programming concerned the Learning Edition licence and copyright in the SAS Language. See SAS Institute v. World Programming.

Out of scope

  • The SAS Universal Terms, Addenda and Master License Agreement texts, which are hosted outside sas.com and were not retrievable.
  • Prices, which SAS does not publish.
  • JMP, which has its own addendum and licensing.
  • SAS Cloud and managed services (Hosted and Remote Managed Services) service levels.

References

  1. Contracting with SAS | SASUndated. Catalog: Contracting with SASRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  2. How to Buy SAS® Viya® | SASUndated. Catalog: How to Buy SAS ViyaRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  3. How to Buy SAS Software | SASUndated. Catalog: How to Buy SAS SoftwareRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  4. SAS Viya Platform: Licensing (2025.12 - 2026.04)PDF; no publication date stated. Catalog: SAS Viya Platform: LicensingRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  5. SAS Viya 3.5 Administration: LicensingPDF; no publication date stated; describes the June 2024 change to grace and warning periods. Catalog: SAS Viya 3.5 Administration: LicensingRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  6. Software License Renewal Instructions: SAS 9.4 Foundation for Microsoft Windows, Basic DeploymentsDated 23 October 2025. Catalog: SAS 9.4 Foundation for Microsoft Windows: Software License Renewal Instructions (Basic Deployments)Effective 2025-10-23. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  7. Installation Note 41121: Starting in SAS 9.2, a SAS subcapacity license for a Microsoft Windows operating system is available and includes number of cores and computer nameDate Modified 2013-02-13. Catalog: SAS Note 41121: SAS subcapacity license for Microsoft WindowsEffective 2013-02-13. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  8. Get License Assistance | SAS SupportUndated. Catalog: SAS License AssistanceRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  9. Customer Licensing | SAS UKSAS UK licensing FAQ; undated. Catalog: SAS UK Customer Licensing FAQRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  10. Support Terms and Comparisons | SAS SupportUndated. Catalog: SAS Technical Support: Support Terms and ComparisonsRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  11. Support for SAS® 9.4 & Earlier Releases | SAS SupportUndated. Catalog: Support for SAS 9.4 and Earlier ReleasesRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  12. SAS Talon Master Subscription and Services Terms | SASUndated. Catalog: SAS Talon Master Subscription and Services TermsRetrieved 2026-10-02.
  13. SAS® Product Support for Virtualization Environments | SAS SupportUndated. Catalog: SAS Product Support for Virtualization EnvironmentsRetrieved 2026-10-02.

See also

Catalog Rows Cited

6SKUs5Metrics14Rules7Programs

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