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---
layout: docs
page_title: Consul Enterprise License FAQ
description: Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to Consul Enterprise Licensing.
---
# Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This FAQ is for the license changes introduced in Consul Enterprise version v1.10.0+ent.
Consul Enterprise automatically load Consul licenses when a Consul server agent starts using Consul Enterprise.
## Q: Can I get a quick summary of the Consul changes?
Starting with Consul Enterprise v1.10.0, the license enablement process is different.
HashiCorp Enterprise servers will no longer start without a license. When the server instance initializes the license watcher, the server reads from either an environment variable or file.
If the license is missing, invalid, or expired, the server will immediately exit.
This check is part of the server boot-up process.
In previous versions of HashiCorp enterprise products, one server could distribute a license to other servers via the Raft protocol.
This will no longer work since each server must be able to find a valid license during the startup process.
## Q: What resources are available?
The list below is a great starting point for learning more about the license changes introduced in Consul Enterprise v1.10.0+ent.
- [Consul Enterprise Upgrade Documentation](https://www.consul.io/docs/enterprise/upgrades)
- [Consul License Documentation](http://localhost:3000/docs/enterprise/license)
<!-- - [License configuration values documentation]() -->
- [Install a HashiCorp Enterprise License Tutorial](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/nomad/hashicorp-enterprise-license?in=consul/enterprise)
## Q: Do these changes impact all customers/licenses?
The license changes introduced in v1.10.0 only affect Consul Enterprise.
This impacts customers that have an enterprise binarie (EVAL / non-EVAL licenses) downloaded from releases.hashicorp.com.
The license changes do not, at this time, impact customers with the baked-in licensed binaries (Pro/Premium). In a later release of Consul Enterprise, baked-in binaries will be deprecated.
## Q: What is the product behavior change introduced by the licensing changes?
Starting with Consul Enterprise 1.10.0+ent, a valid license is required on-disk (auto-loading) or as an environment variable for Consul Enterprise to successfully boot-up.
The in-storage license feature will not be supported starting with Consul Enteprise 1.10.0+ent. All Consul Enterprise clusters using v1.10.0+ent must ensure that there is a valid license on-disk (auto-loaded) or as an environment variable.
## Q: What is the impact on EVAL licenses due to this change?
The 6-hour trial period for EVAL licenses will be deprecated as of Consul Enterprise 1.10.0.
This means that any clusters deployed with Consul 1.10.0+ent binaries will need to have a valid license on the disk (auto-loaded) or as an environment variable.
Failure in providing a valid license key will result in the Consul server agent not starting.