Assign Vault licenses

To search, hold, export, or retain a user's Google Workspace data with Google Vault, the user must have a Vault license. If your organization has a Google Workspace edition that doesn't include Vault licenses for everyone, you can buy add-on licenses and assign them to users in the Google Admin console. You can assign licenses to all users in a domain (full-domain licensing) or individual users or organizational units (partial-domain licensing). To decide who needs a license, review the business and legal requirements for your organization.

Before you begin

  • In the Admin console, under Billing, make sure you have Vault licenses available. If not, buy Vault licenses for your organization.
  • If you use partial-domain licensing, you have a specific number of licenses available to assign to users or organizational units. That number can't be exceeded, and you can't auto-assign Vault licenses.

Assign Vault licenses

Assign licenses to everyone automatically

You can automatically assign Vault licenses to all users and any users you add later.

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Billingand thenLicense settings.
  3. Click Google Vault.
  4. Click the Down arrow  and select On.
  5. Click Save.
Use a spreadsheet to assign licenses

If you’re assigning licenses to a lot of users, you can create a CSV file with a list of the users.

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Billingand thenSubscriptions.
  3. Click Google Vault.
  4. Under License settings, confirm that Auto-assign is set to OFF. If not, click Manage licensing settings and set it to OFF. Then, return to the Google Vault subscription page.
  5. Click Assign licenses.
  6. Click Download User Info in CSV file. A CSV file with all your users downloads.
  7. Edit the file to add the Vault license in the license column for each user you want to assign a license. Learn more
  8. Click Attach CSV File and select the CSV file you updated.
  9. Click Upload.
Assign licenses to individual users or organizational units

If you add new users to Google Workspace after you complete these steps, repeat the steps to assign Vault licenses to them. If you use all of your licenses, contact your account manager or reseller to increase your order.

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Billingand thenSubscriptions.
  3. Click Google Vault.
  4. Under License settings, confirm that Auto-assign is set to OFF. If not, click Manage licensing settings and set it to OFF. Then, return to the Google Vault subscription page.
  5. Click Assign licenses.
  6. To assign Vault to individual users:
    1. From the list or search results, check the box next to each user.
    2. At the top of the list, click Moreand thenAssign licenses.
    3. Select Google Vault.
    4. Click Assign.
  7. To assign Vault to all users in an organizational unit:
    1. At the left, click Users from selected organizational units and click the organizational unit. To select multiple organizational units, click Select multiple.
    2. At the top of the list, click Moreand thenAssign licenses.
    3. Select Google Vault.
    4. Click Assign.

    Note: When you add new users to the organizational unit, they aren't automatically assigned Vault licenses.

Manage Vault licenses

View the users who have Vault licenses assigned to them
  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Billingand thenSubscriptions.
  3. Click Google Vault.
  4. Click Assign licenses.
  5. Click Add a filterand thenAssigned licenseand thenGoogle Vault.
Remove licenses from individual users or organizational units

Before you remove any licenses, make sure that you understand the implications. For details, see Vault license FAQ.

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Billingand thenSubscriptions.
  3. Click Google Vault.
  4. Click Assign licenses.
  5. To remove Vault licenses from individual users:
    1. From the list or search results, check the box next to each user.
    2. At the top of the list, click Moreand thenRemove licenses.
    3. Select Google Vault.
    4. Click Remove.
  6. If you want to remove Vault licenses from all users in an organizational unit:
    1. At the left, click Users from select organizational units and click the organizational unit. To select multiple organizational units, click Select multiple.
    2. At the top of the list, click Moreand thenRemove licenses.
    3. Select Google Vault.
    4. Click Remove.

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