transfer office 2019 license to a new computer

Office Home & Business, Home & Student, and Professional 2019 are one-time purchases that can be installed on only one computer at a time. When moved to a new computer, activation can fail with a message that Office is still installed elsewhere.

To complete the transfer to the new computer:

1. Confirm Office 2019 is fully uninstalled from the old computer
   • If the old PC is still available, remove Office completely using the standard uninstall steps or the uninstall troubleshooter, as described in Uninstall Microsoft 365 from a PC.
2. Install Office 2019 on the new computer (if not already)
   • Follow the instructions in the Office 2019 install article referenced by Microsoft: Download and install or reinstall Office 2021, Office 2019, or Office 2016.
3. Activate Office 2019 on the new computer by phone
   • For one-time purchases like Office 2019, when moving to a different computer, activation may need to be completed by telephone.
   • The official guidance states: if the transfer terms in the Software License Terms are followed, Office can be moved to a different computer, but it must be activated by phone and then uninstalled from the original computer.
   • Use the phone activation flow shown in the activation article and follow the prompts to speak to an agent if automatic activation fails.
4. Verify and follow the transfer terms
   • Open an Office app on the new PC (for example, Word).
   • Go to File > Account > About [program name] > View the Microsoft Software License Terms.
   • For Office 2019, see section 3. Transfer to a Third Party to confirm the transfer rules.

If the error persists even after phone activation and confirming the uninstall on the old PC, contact Microsoft support so they can reset the activation state for the license.

References:

• Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device
• Transfer your Office license to another device or another person
• Find your Office apps in Windows
• Fixing "too many installations" issue - Microsoft Q&A