Migration Assistant: Will my Microsoft Office license transfer to my new Mac?

It applies either way. Neither the subscription 365, nor the perpetual versions (such as 2008, 2011, 2016, 2019) require the user to purchase a new license just so you can install what you already own on another computer.

Diana2306 Said:

"Will my Microsoft Office license transfer to my new Mac when using Apple’s Migration Assistant?: Is buying another licence the only option? Can’t the license be transferred to my new Mac given that I won’t be using my old Mac?"

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See the above link.

Also, Contact Microsoft Support:

They are the Developer of the software.

Start Here:  Microsoft Contact Us Virtual Agent - Microsoft Support

Diana2306 Said:

"Will my Microsoft Office license transfer to my new Mac when using Apple’s Migration Assistant?"

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It will transfer, but you'll have to purchase a new license, being it is a new device you are using this software with.

In my experience, the answer is yes. That said, it may depend on the version of Office that you have. When I purchased my one time version of Office, I had to go on line to register it and activate it. Then when I purchased my new Mac, I transferred the apps to it. I then went to Microsoft's "Microsoft account Services & subscriptions" web site to change my registration to the new computer. I don't remember the details, but you may be asked for your original verification number. I'm certain that you can work with Microsoft to resolve any issues, unless you have an older version of Office which they no longer support. In that case, you will have to pay for a current version. I hope this helps you.

It will transfer, but you'll have to purchase a new license, being it is a new device you are using this software with.

Totally, completely, false.

For any perpetual license version of Office, you can install it on the new Mac from the original installer and go through the activation process. You can do this about 20 times before the key can't be used again without calling MS directly for a manual activation. There's no such thing as a license transfer with any perpetual version of Office as there's no way to deactivate it on the older computer. MS simply trusts you to uninstall the software from the older computer.

For Office 365, you control your registered devices online. Switch installs between computers as often, and whenever you want.

Kurt Lang Said:

“[...]There's no such thing as a license transfer with any perpetual version of Office as there's no way to deactivate it on the older computer. MS simply trusts you to uninstall the software from the older computer.[...]”

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Correct:

My points exactly. Didn’t go too much in depth with my reply.

Diana2306 Said:

"Will my Microsoft Office license transfer to my new Mac when using Apple’s Migration Assistant?: That’s not what you Said at all. You advised me that I would have to purchase a new license. Kurt is actually saying the opposite to what you said.”

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Which Version?:

There is no such thing as transferring. And it cannot be deactivated. If you are using 365, then my replies would mainly not apply.

Diana2306 Said:

"[...]You advised me that I would have to purchase a new license.[...]"

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Contact Microsoft Support:

For Note: I am no advisor - just an everyday Apple user like yourself - these are user to user forums. A pure example of why to take this up with Microsoft. They are the developer of the software. They'd have the say in all of the licensing.

Start Here:  Microsoft Contact Us Virtual Agent - Microsoft Support

Yes, that also works. Migration Assistant copies your entire home folder over to the new Mac. When you register newer versions of Office, a file is created in the Group Containers folder noting the software has been activated with a valid key. Since that same data gets copied over to the new Mac, it comes up as already registered.

Nice that MS works this way (in more recent versions of Office). Older versions wouldn't do that as it would create a hash file based on your hardware. Didn't matter that the registration file copied over, it was different hardware and would assume the user was trying to put an illegal copy onto another computer. Hence the need to install Office fresh and just go through the activation routine again.

Some are even more restrictive. Not the only one, but Quark XPress is like that. You can have two activations at a time. Period. Because of the same type of tying to hardware info, you can't just migrate the software over to a new Mac. You must deactivate it on the old computer, then install it fresh on the new one. If you don't, their servers will still think the software is active on an older Mac you already erased the drive on to sell. Do that twice, and you can't even install XPress again without contacting Quark and have them manually clear the activations for that product key. Better have proof of ownership before you even try to get them to do that.

I recently used Migration Assistant on 2 Macs and Office 2016 transferred no issue. I did not have to deal with any license issues.