How does ISV licensing work with the License Management App (LMA)?

ISVs selling managed packages on AppExchange use the License Management App (LMA) to manage subscriber licences:

How it works: The ISV installs the LMA in their Partner Business Org. When a subscriber installs the managed package, Salesforce creates a Lead and License record in the ISV's LMA org. The licence record controls:
- Licence status: Active, Trial, Expired, Free.
- Licence seats: Number of users allowed.
- Expiry date: For time-limited trials or subscriptions.

Licence enforcement in Apex: The package can call PackageLicense.isEnabled() or check the UserPackageLicense object to verify a user has an active licence seat. Unlicensed users can be blocked from specific features.

Site licences: Some packages use site licences (all users in the org are licensed). The LMA manages this at the org level rather than per user.

ISV Harmony: Salesforce's programme linking LMA, Channel Order App, and Analytics for ISVs to manage the complete subscriber lifecycle.