FAQ

Adobe's VIP program dramatically simplifies and improves the customer licensing experience by allowing business, government, and education customers to easily purchase, deploy, and manage their desktop Adobe software through a term-based subscription licensing program. Learn more about VIP for business, government, and education.

The VIP program is available for business/commercial, education, and government organizations worldwide, except for countries where laws or other restrictions prevent Adobe from offering the program.

Call your reseller to enroll.

You'll get access to the Admin Console, which lets you deploy software immediately and manage your licenses.

EA offers several advantages to business/commercial and government customers:

• The most substantial product discounts of any Adobe Volume Licensing (AVL) program
• Predictable pricing for three years
• A minimum initial purchase of 100 new, upgrade, or upsell licenses for eligible Adobe products with Maintenance and Support to easily standardize software across the organization
• Annual true-ups for adding licenses while minimizing administrative overhead
• Additional discounts for customers that standardize on eligible Adobe products across 100% of the computers in their enterprises
• The ability to apply points accrued from EA purchases to improve CLP discount levels
• Comprehensive support coverage to help you deploy faster, maximize productivity, and mitigate risks
• Required Maintenance and Support, which provides automatic software upgrades

Yes. When you become an EA customer, you gain access to the web-based Adobe Licensing Website (LWS), through which you can track your order history, run reports, edit your account, and locate your serial numbers. In addition, IT staff and others as designated can be assigned their own unique login to the LWS to easily download and then deploy Adobe software to users across your organization.

Yes. Primary and secondary schools and higher education institutions can enter into an EA by participating in the Education Enterprise Agreement (EEA) program. EEA is a one-year or two-year term-based licensing program that helps minimize the cost and complexity of providing Adobe software to faculty, staff, and students on school-owned computers. Learn more in the EEA section of this FAQ or on the EEA page.

Yes. Be sure to sign up for CLP before you enroll in EA to take advantage of this benefit.

CLP offers several advantages:

• Significant discounts for purchasing in volume, letting you secure your discount position for the two-year membership by placing an initial minimum order
  
• Incremental orders throughout the two-year membership that add to the point total, which could qualify your organization for a better discount level, effective the month following the order
• Increased efficiency of license deployment with Electronic Software Delivery (ESD), provided free of charge on the LWS immediately after you complete your order
  
• Budget predictability through the two-year CLP membership and Upgrade Plan
• Reduced ordering and license administration, simplifying software management and streamlining internal business processes
• A web-based license management tool to efficiently manage Adobe licenses throughout the organization
• Upgrade Plan, which helps ensure technology consistency across your user base and deployment of the most current technology for perpetual licenses; term is the same as your CLP membership for streamlined management
• Cross-platform serial numbers (Mac OS and Windows®) on most products, so it's easy to switch platforms as your business or system needs change
• Greater ability to manage legal compliance

After Adobe processes your online enrollment, your organization is assigned a CLP membership number. You will receive an email containing your membership number and the link to the LWS. Your login ID will be your email address. You will have 30 days after enrolling online to place an initial order through your CLP reseller.

Yes. When you become a CLP member, you gain access to the web-based LWS, through which you can track your order history, run reports, edit your account, and locate your serial numbers. In addition, IT staff and others as designated can be assigned their own unique login to the LWS to easily download and deploy software to users across your organization.

Renewing your membership is easy; simply renew online and select the Returning CLP Membership option.

TLP offers several advantages:

• Reduced ordering and license administration, simplifying software management and streamlining internal business processes
• A web-based license management tool
• No required contract agreements or memberships
  
• Free-of-charge ESD
• The ability to better manage legal compliance

TLP brings the benefits of enterprise-class licensing to smaller volume orders typically placed by consultants, independent designers, creative services agencies, and marketing groups. TLP also provides the benefits of volume licensing to larger organizations whose orders don't meet CLP order thresholds.

When you place a TLP order, you'll receive an email containing confirmation of your order. You'll also receive a link to Adobe's LWS. Your login ID will be your email address. When you log in for the first time, you can create a new password through the Forgot Your Password link.

Yes. When you acquire a license through TLP, you gain access to Adobe's LWS, where you can track your order history, run reports, edit your account, and locate your serial numbers.

• Upgrade Plan is Adobe's upgrade insurance program for software purchased under a perpetual license program such as CLP or TLP. All organizations that purchase Upgrade Plan are entitled to all upgrades for covered products during the plan term, so employees always have the most current versions of their Adobe software.
• Adobe automatically sends notifications of available upgrades to Upgrade Plan participants to simplify upgrade planning.
• CLP members have the option to include previously acquired licenses of current software in Upgrade Plan during the first three months of their CLP membership (as long as no new version has been announced), so you can enjoy organization-wide technology consistency.
• Upgrade Plan simplifies software ordering and administration by eliminating the need to buy upgrades each time a new product version becomes available for perpetual licensed customers.
• Upgrade Plan contributes to the points accumulated in your CLP membership, potentially increasing the overall discounts your organization earns.

When you order Upgrade Plan, you receive notifications when new product versions become available, giving you the peace of mind of knowing when you need to upgrade. You can choose to receive notification via email or through messages within your LWS account, as well as choosing to upgrade via CD/DVD or through ESD when you first elect coverage.

Upgrade Plan pricing is determined as a percentage of volume licensing software purchased under perpetual license.

To be eligible, a higher education institution must:

• Be a qualified institution of higher education in the United States, Canada, or Japan
• Have an active CLP membership with Adobe and sign a Student and Teacher Licensing Enrollment Form

The following products are available to higher education institutions under the program:

• Adobe® Acrobat® Pro
• Adobe Creative Suite® Design Standard
• Adobe Creative Suite Design & Web Premium
• Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium
• Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection
• Adobe Dreamweaver®
• Adobe Flash® Professional
• Adobe Photoshop® Extended
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom®

No, there is no minimum order quantity for products purchased under the Student and Teacher Licensing Program. All orders can be at any quantity for titles offered under the program.

Higher education institutions receive one license and one CD/DVD per unit of product ordered.

Yes. Faculty and staff can now buy through the Student and Teacher Licensing Program.

No. Student and teacher licenses are treated like retail licenses, which are not eligible for Upgrade Plan. Students and teachers may purchase commercial upgrades for their licenses when new product versions are released.

Higher education institutions that are currently active CLP members should contact their Adobe Authorized Education Reseller for help with signing up and placing orders through the Student and Teacher Licensing Program. Schools that are not yet CLP members can learn more about CLP and enroll online. CLP membership must be active before the Student and Teacher Licensing Enrollment Form can be signed. Be sure to provide (1) your CLP membership number and (2) your Adobe End-User ID when you place an order. Resellers must have this information to ensure that the points are accurately credited to your CLP membership.

Yes. Every purchase you make through the program adds points to your CLP membership, which may improve the discount level for your institution. For example, an order of 25 units of Creative Suite at 400 points per unit would give you 10,000 points. A substantial order like this could help your institution improve its discount level.

The Adobe Authorized Education Reseller designated by the institution will receive one license and one CD/DVD per unit of product ordered. Each disc has a unique product coupon code. Once the student, faculty member, or staff member has received the license and disc, he or she must log in to a dedicated Adobe website to register the license and unlock the software.

Yes. Teachers are eligible to purchase commercial upgrades for their products, and students are eligible to purchase commercial upgrades upon graduation. If they are still students, they must purchase a separate copy of the new products through the Student and Teacher Licensing Program.

Yes. Students, faculty, and staff may purchase only one copy of a particular product within a 12-month period. They may purchase products for their personal use only and may not resell or distribute them.

Yes. Adobe provideds access to two types of support:

• Installation support, by contacting Adobe Customer Service toll free at 800-833-6687
• Coupon redemption support, by emailing an inquiry to custservice@adobe.studentlicensing.com

Those who obtain software under the Student and Teacher Licensing Program are responsible for registering the product through the Adobe website. The website address and unique product coupon code are provided on the CD/DVD. Registration provides users with a unique serial number, which activates a license to use the product. The license is personal to the individual, not the institution.

Students, faculty, and staff can send an inquiry via email to custservice@adobe.com. They should include their name, address, school name, coupon code (found inside the product box), and the name of the Adobe product in question. A response will be sent via email within one to two business days.

There is only one discount level under the Student and Teacher Licensing Program, regardless of the number of products purchased or your institution's CLP discount level. However, your institution does earn points toward its CLP discount level for all software ordered through the Student and Teacher Licensing Program.

The Student and Teacher Licensing Program is designed to complement the standard academic resale program that lets educational institutions provide Adobe shrinkwrapped software to students, faculty, and staff through their campus reseller. The Student and Teacher Licensing Program allows institutions to make a bulk purchase of select Adobe software, which it can then resell or otherwise distribute to students for use in coursework.

Adobe allows returns only for previous-version products purchased through the Student and Teacher Licensing Program at the time of a new product release. Returns are subject to the following terms:

• Returns are allowed on previous-version products only, after the new version has begun shipping.
• Previous-version products being returned must have been purchased within 75 days of the new version's First Customer Ship (FCS) date.
• Returns must be received by Adobe no later than 45 days after the FCS date (customers should contact their resellers immediately after the FCS to meet this deadline).
• At the time of the return, an Adobe software license purchase of equal or greater value must be made.

Adobe is offering all of its Creative Suite editions through the Creative Suite K–12 School Site License program. The program allows a school to install a Creative Suite edition on up to 500 school-owned or school-leased computers regardless of school enrollment size. School Site Licenses also come with DVDs that contain a ready-to-use curriculum, Digital Careers Teaching Resources, video tutorials, and other materials that help educators implement career and technical education programs for design, web, video, interactive, and mobile projects.

Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses are available to qualifying accredited K–12 public and nonpublic schools only, located at a single address.

No, a district must purchase a Creative Suite K–12 School Site License for each school that will be using the software. The licenses cannot be broken up and distributed among multiple schools or school locations. For example, if a district wants to purchase Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses for five schools within the district, that district must purchase five separate site licenses. The district or schools also have the option to purchase individual volume licenses through TLP or CLP from an Adobe Authorized Education Reseller.

District offices cannot install software from a Creative Suite K–12 School Site License but must purchase volume licenses through TLP or CLP, as they do not qualify as an accredited K–12 public or nonpublic school.

A school is welcome to duplicate and distribute the curriculum resources from the Adobe Digital Careers Teaching Resources DVD among educators within that school.

Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses can be purchased through TLP or CLP. Find an Adobe Authorized Education Reseller.

Deliverables include software licenses for the respective Creative Suite edition. When purchasing a K–12 School Site License, you will also need to purchase one media kit, which includes a K–12 Site End-User License Agreement (EULA), the Adobe Digital Careers Teaching Resources DVD, and video tutorials.

Yes, you can contact your Adobe Authorized Education Reseller for additional media kits. They will come with the Adobe Digital Careers Teaching Resources DVD and video tutorials only.

No, Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses are available only through Adobe Volume Licensing and must be purchased through an Adobe Authorized Education Reseller.

No, Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses are available only to K–12 schools and districts purchasing on behalf of schools.

Yes, the licenses qualify for points under the AVL program.

No, a Creative Suite K–12 School Site License for a suite edition can be installed only on a total of 250 or 500 machines, depending on the license purchased. For example, it would not be permissible to install one Creative Suite component on 500 machines and another component on 500 different computers. It is permissible to install a subset of components on any of the machines covered by the license.

Yes, each Creative Suite K–12 School Site License comes with an additional 25 or 50 teacher home-use-rights licenses, depending on the license purchased. These licenses must be used exclusively for teaching purposes related to the teachers' employment with the school (such as lesson planning, classroom preparation, and so on).

No, Creative Suite K–12 School Site License software can be installed only on school-owned or school-leased computers. Students can purchase education versions of Creative Suite through an Adobe Authorized Education Reseller. Learn more about the Adobe Student and Teacher Licensing Program, which offers even larger discounts (requires a signed CLP agreement with the student's school or district).

For up-to-date information on system requirements for Adobe Creative Suite editions, visit the Creative Suite family page and select the edition you are interested in.

Yes, Adobe offers Upgrade Plan for all Adobe Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses. Contact your Adobe Authorized Education Reseller for additional information.

Where applicable, Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses allow use of software on Mac OS and Windows platforms. Customers can install software on both platforms at their school provided the total number of installations does not exceed 500.

For more information about Creative Suite K–12 School Site Licenses, visit the AVL for education page.

The Adobe K–12 EA Program is designed to help K–12 schools and districts standardize on Acrobat and Creative Suite software. K–12 EA delivers significant savings and simplified software management over a three-year term.

Adobe is discontinuing K–12 EA based on the changing market landscape and customer demand. To meet the additional needs of K–12 organizations, Adobe is now offering the Education Enterprise Agreement (EEA) program. For more information on EEA, contact your Adobe Authorized Education Reseller or Adobe account manager.

K–12 EA will no longer be available for new enrollments as of May 4, 2013.  Existing K–12 EA agreements will continue per the terms of the original agreement.

Customers with active K–12 EA agreements on May 4, 2013, may complete the full term of their agreement. Yearly renewals allowing existing K–12 EA customers to fullfill their three-year agreement will be accommodated.

The TSL program offers higher education CLP members worldwide a low-cost option for deploying Adobe software throughout their sites.

Adobe is discontinuing the TSL program based on the changing market landscape and customer demand. Adobe will continue to focus resources on the TLP, CLP, and EA offerings. For more information on transitioning your TSL to one of these programs, contact your Adobe account manager. 

Excluding Asia Pacific, Adobe discontinued new TSL enrollments for all regions on October 15, 2012.  Effective May 4, 2013, Adobe will no longer offer new TSL enrollments in Asia Pacific.

Existing TSL agreements will continue per the terms of the original agreement.

Upgrade Plan is automatically included for all perpetual software products licensed through TSL. All TSL Upgrade Plans will be honored until the expiration date of the TSL agreement.

An alternative solution to TSL is Adobe’s Education Enterprise Agreement (EEA).  EEA is a term-based, flexible volume licensing program designed to enable broad usage of Adobe’s products. For more information on this program, contact your Adobe account manager or reseller.