How to fix "Microsoft Home and Business 2010 cannot verify the license. Repair Office program by using Control Panel."

Bill Kuykendall 20 Reputation points
2026-10-07T23:01:01.06+00:00

Trying to trouble shoot the error notice in the title. Not an expert on W11 so is there an ap in Conrol Panel that helps older programs run in W11? It seems that Word is not working.

Thanks.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Licensing and activation
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Hendrix-V 19,940 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-10-08T04:31:31.55+00:00

Hi Bill Kuykendall,

Office Home and Business 2010 reached end of support on October 13, 2020. It may continue to run, but Microsoft no longer provides technical support, software updates, or security fixes for Office 2010.

You can still try the repair option in Windows 11:

  1. Right-click Start and select Installed apps.
  2. Find Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010.
  3. Select the three dots > Modify.
  4. If prompted with the Office setup window, select Repair, then Continue.
  5. After the repair completes, restart the computer and try opening Word again.

If the license verification message continues, upgrading to a currently supported version of Office would be the recommended longer-term option, particularly since Office 2010 no longer receives security updates.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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  1. Bill Kuykendall 20 Reputation points
    2026-10-09T12:34:08.7066667+00:00

    Actually I was asking for a friend who had this version of Office and was trying to install it on a W11 computer. She needed to create a document and Word was the only part of the installation that didn't work, naturally. She eventually went to Google and created it there but I haven't heard if your information fixed her licensing problem or not and haven't heard anything since. I figured 2010 was way too old to work in W11 anyway but I thank you for your information.

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