how to fix 'Licence storage. Unable to connect to the licensing helper

For a one-time purchase of Word on Mac showing “Licence storage. Unable to connect to the licensing helper” and then “No license found”, use this order:

1. Check that Word and macOS are fully updated
   • Microsoft’s resolved guidance for Unknown Error 0x0 / License not found is to run macOS 12 or later and update Office.
   • Open Finder > Applications > Microsoft AutoUpdate.
   • Install all available updates, then open Word again and test.
   • If Word was installed from the App Store, update it from App Store > Updates instead.
2. Remove the current Office license files and reactivate
   • Quit all Office apps.
   • Download and run the license removal tool.
   • Important: have the correct Microsoft account details ready before doing this, because activation will need to be completed again.
   • After the tool finishes, open Word and sign in with the account associated with the Office license.
   • Restart the Mac after activation succeeds.
3. If Word still says “No license found,” verify the correct account
   • Sign out and sign in again with the Microsoft account associated with the purchase.
   • If needed, choose “Sign in with another account.”
   • To confirm the account has the license, sign in at https://account.microsoft.com/services and check whether the Office license appears after selecting Install Microsoft 365 or Office.
4. If the issue started after activation prompts and Word stays in read-only mode, clear Keychain license entries
   • Run the License Removal Tool again if needed.
   • Open Spotlight Search > Keychain Access.
   • Delete these items:
     • Microsoft Office Identities Cache 3
     • Microsoft Office Identities Settings 3
     • Microsoft Office Ticket Cache
   • This requires local admin privileges.
   • Restart the Mac and open Word to reactivate.
5. If this is a one-time purchase and activation still fails, check the PriviligedHelperTools folder permissions
   • Open Finder > Go > Computer > Macintosh HD > Library.
   • Find PriviligedHelperTools.
   • If there is a red stop icon next to it, the folder is not accessible.
   • Right-click it > Get info.
   • In Sharing and Permission, unlock with the admin password.
   • Change Everyone to Read and Write.
   • If the folder is accessible but empty, uninstall and reinstall Office for Mac, then activate again.
6. If the Mac uses a network account, switch to a local user account
   • Office for Mac can fail to write credentials to Keychain for network accounts because the keychain is read-only.
   • Sign out of the network account and sign in with a local user account, then activate again.
   • If no local account exists: Apple menu > System Preferences > Users & Groups > unlock > + > create a new local user.

If the problem is specifically the licensing helper, the most relevant self-service fixes are:

• update Office through Microsoft AutoUpdate
• run the license removal tool
• check PriviligedHelperTools access for one-time purchase installs
• use a local Mac account instead of a network account

• Unknown Error 0x0 or License not found error in Microsoft 365 or Office running on macOS
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• What to try if you can't install or activate Office for Mac
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