Intel® FPGA Licensing Support Center

Welcome to the Intel® FPGA Licensing Support Center. Here you will find information on license types, getting a license file, setting up a license file, and resolving license-related issues.

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Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing (HTML | PDF)

Many of the Intel® FPGA software tools and intellectual property (IP) cores require a license file to operate. License entitlements are set up and accessible to customers once their order has been processed. Entitlements are then managed in the Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center (SSLC) enabling the users to generate a license.dat file. This file supports the software or IP product licensed, all previous versions, and all versions released within a year of the purchase date.

In your license file, you will see two dates: the maintenance expiration date and the license expiration date. The maintenance expiration date controls the latest version of the product the user is entitled to use. The license expiration date controls the entire license system. The license stops working when it reaches the expiration date. Few Intel FPGA software and IP products are licensed with a full license expiration date – most are licensed on a perpetual basis with no expiration.

The following table details on the license requirements for various Intel FPGA software tools and IP cores.

Software / IP	Is a license key required?	Is a license fee required?
Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition	Yes	Yes Note: Intel Quartus Prime Pro Edition software seat licenses include licenses for to Intel Quartus Prime Standard Edition software. Comparison between Editions
Intel Quartus Prime Standard Edition	Yes	Yes
Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition	No	Beginning with version 8.1, a license file is no longer required for this or future versions of the Intel Quartus II Web Edition or Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition software. There is no charge for this version of Quartus Prime.
ModelSim* - Intel FPGA Edition	Yes	Yes, a license fee is charged per seat. License fee includes 12-months of maintenance renewable annually.
ModelSim -Intel FPGA Starter Edition	No	No
Nios® II Embedded Design Suite	No	No, tool is free but users must have a seat license to the Nios II IP core or a development kit to generate an FPGA programming file and flash programming files. No license fee to develop software using only the Nios II Software Build Tools for Eclipse.
DSP Builder for Intel FPGA	Yes	Yes
Intel FPGA SDK for OpenCL™	No	No
Intel SoC FPGA Embedded Development Suite (SoC EDS)	Yes	ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Intel SoC FPGA Edition License Yes 30-day Evaluation of ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Intel SoC FPGA Edition License Free Related Information: ARM DS-5 License Options (Chapter: Licensing) (HTML \| PDF) Comparison between Editions
MAX+PLUS® II (Legacy)	Yes for legacy licensees only	No longer available for purchase.
IP	Varies, contact your local sales or distributor for information	Varies. All IP is enabled for evaluation (at a minimum) upon installation of the combined Quartus / IP release. Contact your local sales or distributor for details. Production licenses for the IP Base Suite are provided at no extra charge with each seat license of the Intel Quartus Prime Standard Edition and Pro Edition design software.

Types of License

The following table lists the types of licenses available.

Software / IP	License Type
Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition	Fixed node and floating license
Intel Quartus Prime Standard Edition	Fixed node and floating license
ModelSim*-Intel FPGA Edition	Fixed node and floating license
DSP Builder for Intel FPGAs	Fixed node and floating license
Intel SoC FPGA Embedded Development Suite	ARM* Development Studio 5* (DS-5*) Community Edition License: Fixed node license
	ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Intel SoC FPGA Edition License: Fixed node license
	30-day Evaluation of ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Intel SoC FPGA Edition License: Fixed node license
MAX+PLUS® II (Legacy)	Fixed node and floating license
IP	IP supported in the Intel Quartus Prime Pro and Standard Edition software: Fixed node and floating license
IP	IP supported in the Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition software: Fixed node license

How to Activate and Request for the License File ?

License	How to Activate and Request for the License File ?
Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition	Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center
Intel Quartus Prime Standard Edition	Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center
Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition or Intel Quartus II Web Edition Licensing	Get a license for previous versions (prior to version 8.1) of the Intel Quartus II Web Edition software. Beginning with version 8.1, a license file is no longer required for this or future versions of the Intel Quartus II Web Edition or Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition software.
ModelSim* - Intel FPGA Edition	Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center
DSP Builder for Intel FPGAs	Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center Request a 30-day trial of MATLAB and Simulink* products for use with DSP Builder for Intel FPGAs.
Intel SoC FPGA Embedded Development Suite (SoC EDS)	Getting the ARM* Development Studio 5* (DS-5*) license SoC EDS Registration DS-5 Community Edition DS-5 Intel® SoC FPGA Edition 30-Day Evaluation ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Intel SoC FPGA Edition License: If you have purchased a SoC development kit or a stand-alone license for DS-5 AE, then you have already received an ARM license serial number. Use this serial number to activate your license in DS-5.
MAX+PLUS® II (Legacy)	Intel FPGA University Program: MAX+PLUS II Licensing for Students and University Program Members MAX+PLUS II Baseline Development (Limited Support): MAX+PLUS II BASELINE Licensing MAX+PLUS II: Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center Note: After evaluating the MAX+PLUS II development software, you may want to purchase a subscription for the software. With the Intel Quartus Prime Pro Edition and Standard Edition software subscription, you will receive all MAX+PLUS II and Quartus Prime software releases and updates for 12 months.
IP	Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center
Intel FPGA University Program	The Intel FPGA University Program offers licensed and unlicensed FPGA software to participating universities. Free academic licenses for software and IP.
Legacy License	The legacy software and IP license generator will generate only licenses with maintenance expiration prior to January 1, 2009. For software and IP licenses with a maintenance expiration date after January 1, 2009, please log on to the Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center. Legacy License Generator

You may find the Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center by clicking on Support > My Intel Support > Intel FPGA Self Service Licensing Center (Demonstration).