Windows License Types Explained: Retail, OEM and Volume

Not all Windows licenses are equal. Knowing whether your key is Retail, OEM or Volume tells you whether you can move it to another PC — and how it activates.

Bought directly from Microsoft or a store, retail keys are the most flexible. They can be transferred to a new PC, though Microsoft limits how often. Most keys sold by PCKEY.NET for personal use are retail or digital-license keys.

OEM keys are tied to the first machine they are installed on. They cannot legally be moved to another computer, which is why they are cheaper. They activate automatically on the original hardware.

Volume licenses (Open, Enterprise agreements, and so on) are sold to organizations, usually per core for servers or per user for Office. They use KMS or MAK activation and are managed centrally.

1. 1Open Terminal (Admin).
2. 2Run slmgr /dlv.
3. 3Read the Description line — it names the channel (Retail, OEM, VOLUME_KMSCLIENT…).