Trimble licensing is the set of terms under which Trimble licenses its software for construction, structural engineering, architecture, surveying and other geospatial work. The main products covered here are Tekla Structures and the other Tekla tools, SketchUp, the Trimble Connect collaboration platform and Trimble Business Center (TBC) survey office software. Since 2026 most purchases fall under one contract set: the Trimble Offering Terms and the Supplemental Terms for Software. They “apply for purchases of offerings and services from Trimble or its affiliates, unless there is a separate written agreement between the parties”. The current versions are Offering Terms v4.0 and Supplemental Terms for Software v3.0, both last updated on 2026-08-13.[1] Catalog proof: Current versions: Offering Terms v4.0 and Supplemental Terms for Software v3.0.
Conflicts are resolved in the order “(1) Order, (2) Supplemental Terms, (3) these Offering Terms, (4) SOW (if applicable), and (5) Support Terms”.[2] The Supplemental Terms carry the product rules that matter most for a licence position, such as Tekla’s territory limits or TBC’s virtual-server rule. They also incorporate the Trimble User Assignment and Device Management Policy for all architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) offerings.[3] Tekla still publishes its own Tekla EULA with Tekla-specific license types.[10] Catalog proof: Order of precedence: Order, Supplemental Terms, Offering Terms.
Editions
| Product line | How it is sold | Deeper article |
|---|---|---|
| Tekla Structures (Carbon, Graphite, Diamond) and other Tekla tools | Named User subscriptions, recurring or fixed term; legacy perpetual floating licences on a license server[5] | Tekla Structures licensing |
| SketchUp Go, Pro, Studio | Per-user subscriptions; perpetual Classic licences retired in 2020[7] | SketchUp licensing |
| Trimble Connect Business, Business Premium | Per-user monthly or annual subscriptions[9] | Trimble Business Center and Trimble Connect licensing |
| Trimble Business Center | Subscription editions by Trimble ID, or perpetual Sentinel HASP licences[8] | same |
The general contract framework is covered in Trimble Offering Terms and Supplemental Terms.
Metrics
The Offering Terms do not fix a single metric. They define Usage Limitations as the customer’s “authorized scope of use for the Offering as specified in the Order, Supplemental Terms, or Documentation”. These limits may be expressed as the type of Authorized User (Named User or Concurrent User), seat, copy, instance, data storage, CPU, computer, field of use, location, asset, project, budget, automation or rate limiting.[2]
| Metric | Where used |
|---|---|
| Named User | SketchUp, Tekla subscriptions, Trimble Connect, TBC subscriptions |
| Concurrent User | Products sold for simultaneous users, such as RealWorks Forensics or Viewpoint Vista |
| Tekla Floating License | Legacy perpetual Tekla licences on a license server |
| Tekla User License / Named User License | Tekla subscriptions, incl. legacy Standard, Flex and Worldwide tiers |
| SketchUp activation | Two devices or instances per application |
| TBC multi-user license seat | Perpetual TBC network keys |
Counting / floors
Named Users. User IDs “are granted to individual, named persons”, and credentials may not be shared.[2] The User Assignment and Device Management Policy allows a Named User to be reassigned only in four cases: when the person leaves or changes to a role that does not need the software, when a contractor’s engagement ends, when the licence was assigned to the wrong person at purchase, or at renewal. In a bundle, the person assigned to one product “consumes a Named User for all Software in that bundle”. The number of devices one Trimble ID may use simultaneously is three, one or unlimited, as the Order or Documentation states.[4] Catalog proof: Named User reassignment only in four situations; One person assigned in a bundle consumes a Named User for every product in it; Simultaneous devices per Trimble ID: three, one or unlimited.
Overage. If the customer exceeds its Usage Limitations during the Subscription Term, Trimble may invoice the excess “at Trimble’s then-current list price”.[2] The Offerings may send usage, Key status, compliance and activation data to Trimble for licence metering, and the customer may not disable that function.[2] Catalog proof: Excess use invoiced at Trimble's then-current list price; Offerings transmit usage, Key status, compliance and activation data for licence metering.
Virtualization & partitioning
As a default rule, Licensed Software may not be used or hosted “in a virtual server environment” unless the Order, Supplemental Terms or Documentation expressly allow it.[2] The Supplemental Terms allow it for Trimble Business Center, provided the customer “does not virtualize any license server component”.[3] The Tekla EULA forbids “duplication through virtualization or comparable technology” beyond the number of licences purchased.[10] No core or processor metrics were found. Catalog proof: Licensed Software may not be hosted in a virtual server environment unless expressly permitted; Trimble Business Center may run on a virtual server if the license server is not virtualized; Tekla: no duplication through virtualization beyond licences purchased.
Cloud / BYOL
Trimble Connect and the hosted parts of SketchUp are SaaS under the same Offering Terms. Trimble Connect has a fair-use clause: it is for project files, and using it “as a general cloud backup or personal media archive is strictly prohibited”.[3] No bring-your-own-licence programme for public clouds was found. Catalog proof: Trimble Connect: no general backup use; heavy use may be limited.
Programs
- Subscription and renewal. Unless the Order says otherwise, each Subscription Term renews for the same duration unless either party gives at least 30 days’ notice. Renewal fees are at Trimble’s then-current rates “regardless of any discounted pricing in a prior Order”.[2] Catalog proof: Subscriptions auto-renew for the same duration unless 30 days notice; renewal at then-current rates.
- Perpetual licence. A perpetual licence continues “in perpetuity”; Support is purchased separately.[2]
- Non-Commercial Offerings and Educational Versions. Free Versions are for non-production, non-commercial use, and trials run 30 days by default. Educational versions exclude any for-profit use.[2]
- Purchase from Reseller. The contract remains with Trimble, and the entitlement confirmation states the quantities. Trimble may end access if the reseller does not pay Trimble.[2]
Perpetual to subscription
Trimble’s design products have moved from perpetual licences to subscriptions over several years:
- SketchUp. “On November 4, 2020, we stopped selling our perpetual Classic license.”[7]
- Tekla. “It is no longer possible to buy new perpetual licenses.” Existing perpetual licences may still be used.[5] Maintenance for perpetual Tekla licences is no longer sold, and contracts renewed for 2027 end on 2027-12-31. “From 2028 Tekla software products are available as a subscription only.”[6] Legacy Standard, Flex and Worldwide subscriptions cannot renew beyond 2027 either.[6]
- Trimble Business Center still documents perpetual licences on Sentinel HASP keys alongside timed subscriptions.[8]
Catalog proof: SketchUp Classic perpetual licence sale ended 2020-11-04; New perpetual Tekla Structures licences can no longer be bought; Tekla maintenance for perpetual licences ends 2027-12-31.
Audits and compliance
Under the Offering Terms, Trimble may ask the customer to certify compliance in writing and may inspect records and use “upon prior reasonable notice of at least ten (10) days”. The customer pays inspection costs only if non-compliant use is found.[2] The Tekla EULA allows audits on five days’ notice, or electronically through “the audit functionality of the Software” without notice.[10] That telemetry was the main evidence in Trimble Solutions v. Quantum Dynamics. In that case the Federal Court of Canada awarded damages based on a perpetual licence plus maintenance for each device where unlicensed use was detected.[11] Catalog proof: Compliance certification on request and inspection on ten days notice; Tekla audit on five days notice, or electronically through the software. For the general discipline see software license audit.
Out of scope
- Trimble hardware and firmware (receivers, total stations, machine control), Correction Services and Trimble’s transportation, agriculture and ERP (Viewpoint, Spectrum) software, apart from rules quoted for comparison.
- Signed enterprise agreements and Orders, which prevail over the published terms and are not public.
- Prices outside the published SketchUp and Trimble Connect list prices.