Windows Server

"No Remote Desktop License Servers Available" on a Workgroup Server? Use Per-Device CALs

Q: Why can't I use Per User CALs in a workgroup?

Per-User CAL usage is tracked in Active Directory (msTSManagingLS on the user object). With no domain, there's nowhere to track them, so Microsoft doesn't permit Per-User mode off-domain — it won't license sessions.

Q: It worked for 120 days then stopped.

That was the licensing grace period. Once it expires, the host needs a reachable, activated license server with the correct CAL type — configure it as above.

Published June 10, 2026 · by The FixHub Team

Users connect to your Remote Desktop Session Host and, once the grace period ends, get:

“The remote session was disconnected because there are no Remote Desktop License Servers available to provide a license.”

On a domain this is usually a quick console fix. On a standalone / workgroup (non-AD) server, there’s a rule that most guides skip — and ignoring it makes the fix silently fail.

The thing nearly every article gets wrong: in a workgroup RDS deployment you must use Per Device CALs. Per User CALs are not permitted. Per-User tracking depends on an Active Directory attribute (msTSManagingLS) that simply doesn’t exist in a workgroup, so if you install Per-User CALs the license server appears configured but hands out nothing — and you keep getting “no license servers available.” This is the #1 reason the standard advice doesn’t work off-domain.

This error has several possible causes; the workgroup/Per-Device-CAL trap is the one specific to non-AD servers. The grace period (120 days) having simply expired with no license server configured is the other common one.

Fix: configure licensing in Local Group Policy (no AD, no Connection Broker)

For the common small setup — RD Session Host + RD Licensing role on the same box, no Connection Broker — the console GUI path isn’t available, so you set it in Local Group Policy.

Make sure the Remote Desktop Licensing role is installed and you’ve activated the license server (Server Manager → Tools → Remote Desktop Services → RD Licensing Manager) with Per Device CALs installed.
Open gpedit.msc → Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Licensing.
“Use the specified Remote Desktop license servers” → Enabled → enter the license server (use localhost or the server’s own name if it licenses itself).
“Set the Remote Desktop licensing mode” → Enabled → choose Per Device.
Apply, then gpupdate /force, and reconnect.

Need this applied repeatably across rebuilds, or to confirm it landed? See batch-applying local group policy with LGPO.exe.

Verify it’s actually licensing

In RD Licensing Diagnoser (Tools → Remote Desktop Services → RD Licensing Diagnoser), confirm it reports the license server is discoverable and the mode matches the installed CAL type (Per Device).
A green diagnoser but still-failing clients almost always means a Per User CAL installed in a workgroup — reissue as Per Device.

FAQ

Why can’t I use Per User CALs in a workgroup? Per-User CAL usage is tracked in Active Directory (msTSManagingLS on the user object). With no domain, there’s nowhere to track them, so Microsoft doesn’t permit Per-User mode off-domain — it won’t license sessions.

It worked for 120 days then stopped. That was the licensing grace period. Once it expires, the host needs a reachable, activated license server with the correct CAL type — configure it as above.

Do I need a Connection Broker? No. For a single RD Session Host that also runs RD Licensing, the two Local Group Policy settings above are the supported path. See also setting up & hardening a standalone Windows Server.

Sources: Microsoft Learn — Can’t connect: no Remote Desktop License Servers available, Microsoft Learn — Remote Desktop Services client access licenses (CALs)