Primavera P6 restricted use licenses. What you can and cannot do.

A restricted use license in Primavera P6 lets you run the software only as part of another Oracle product you have licensed, never as a standalone application. Treat it as standalone and you create an audit exposure that is easy to trip and hard to defend.

This guide is for Oracle Primavera owners and procurement teams checking their P6 entitlements in 2026. Read it with the Oracle Primavera compliance guide, the Oracle licensing guide, and the Oracle Practice page.

What is a restricted use license in Primavera P6?

It is a limited grant. The P6 software is included with another Oracle product so that product can use scheduling features, but the grant does not let you run P6 freely on its own.

How does the restricted grant work?

The right to use P6 flows from the host product. You may use P6 only in support of that product, under its license terms, and only for as long as you license it.

• Tied right: P6 use is bound to the host Oracle application.
• Bounded scope: only the functions the host product calls on.
• No standalone: no right to deploy P6 as a general tool.

How is restricted use different from full use?

A full use Primavera P6 license is bought on its own metric and lets you deploy P6 as a standalone product. Restricted use grants neither. Oracle sets out the distinction in its licensing and contract documentation.

Where is the compliance risk?

The risk sits in the gap between what is installed and what is licensed. P6 looks like a full product once deployed, so teams use it as one without realizing the grant is restricted.

What are the common audit findings?

The frequent finding is staff using restricted P6 to schedule unrelated projects, or connecting it to data outside the host product. Both turn a restricted grant into unlicensed full use.

How do you stay compliant?

Map every P6 install to the license that authorizes it, and confirm the use stays inside the host product. Where the business needs standalone P6, buy a full use license rather than stretching the restricted grant.

Restricted use P6 fails audits not because it is rare, but because it works too well. The software does everything, so people use it for everything, and the grant never stretched that far.

What to do next

1. Inventory every Primavera P6 install across the estate.
2. Identify which host Oracle product each restricted install shipped with.
3. Confirm each P6 use stays inside the scope of that host product.
4. Flag any standalone or cross project use of restricted P6.
5. Buy full use P6 licenses where the business genuinely needs standalone use.
6. Document the mapping so it can be shown quickly during an audit.
7. Re check the inventory before any renewal or Primavera upgrade.

Frequently asked questions

What does restricted use mean in Primavera P6?

It means P6 may be used only as part of the Oracle product it was bundled with, never as a standalone application. The right to use P6 comes from the host product and is bounded by its license terms.

Can I use restricted use Primavera P6 for any project?

No. You may use it only for work tied to the host Oracle product that included it. Using restricted P6 to schedule unrelated projects is treated as unlicensed full use and is a common audit finding.

What is the difference between restricted and full use P6?

Full use P6 is licensed on its own metric and can run as a standalone product. Restricted use grants neither standalone rights nor an independent license, so the two are not interchangeable in deployment.

Why is restricted use P6 an audit risk?

Because the installed software behaves like the full product, teams often use it beyond the grant without realizing it. That gap between installed capability and licensed right is exactly what an Oracle audit looks for.

How do I move from restricted to full use?

You purchase a full use Primavera P6 license on the appropriate metric. That converts the deployment to an authorized standalone product rather than stretching the restricted grant beyond its scope.

How do I prove compliance with restricted use P6?

Maintain a mapping of every P6 install to the host product that authorizes it, and evidence that use stays within scope. A clear inventory is the fastest way to close a restricted use question during an audit.