Fix STATUS_CTX_LICENSE_NOT_AVAILABLE (0XC00A0013)

Yeah, this error is a real pain

You’re mid-session, trying to RDP into your Windows Server 2019 or 2022 box, and bam—STATUS_CTX_LICENSE_NOT_AVAILABLE (0XC00A0013). Your users are staring at a “The system has reached its licensed logon limit” message. I’ve been there, and the fix is simpler than you’d think once you know where to look.

Let’s cut the crap. The most common cause: your Remote Desktop Licensing (RDLS) server is either out of CALs or the grace period expired. Orphaned licenses from disconnected sessions can also clog things up. Below I’ll walk you through the two fastest fixes, plus a cleanup step that often does the trick without a reboot.

Fix 1: Reset the licensing grace period (fastest)

Windows Server gives you a 120-day grace period where you don’t need a license server. If your server’s past that (or the license server went AWOL), you can reset it with a simple registry tweak. This works on Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and even 2025 preview builds.

Open an elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator.

Run:

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TermService\Parameters" /v LicenseGracePeriod /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Now run:
```
net stop TermService && net start TermService
```
(or reboot the server if you’re feeling cautious).
That resets the grace timer to 120 days. Try RDP’ing again.

Why it works: The LicenseGracePeriod key is a counter. Setting it to 0 forces the service to re-evaluate licensing state on startup. It doesn’t delete anything—just gives you a fresh clock. I’ve used this on dozens of servers, and it’s usually all you need unless you’re truly out of CALs.

Fix 2: Reclaim orphaned CALs via RD Licensing Diagnoser

If the grace period reset didn’t help, you’ve likely got “stale” CALs from disconnected sessions that never released. Here’s the real fix for that:

Open Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnoser (search for it in Start or run licensingdiag.exe).
Look at the License Status section. If you see red “X” marks saying “License server is not available” or “CALs exhausted,” proceed.
Click Actions > Refresh License Server List. Then click Check Connectivity.
Next, go to Remote Desktop Licensing Manager (run licmgr.exe). Right-click your license server and select Properties.
Under the Connection tab, ensure the server is pointed to the correct RDLS. If it’s wrong, update it and restart the Remote Desktop Services service.
Now the cleanup: In Licensing Manager, click Actions > Manage RDS CALs. Look for any licenses with status “Revoked” or “Temporary”. Manually revoke them right-clicking and selecting Revoke.
Finally, run quser from an elevated prompt to see disconnected sessions. Force log them off with logoff followed by the session ID.

In my experience, step 6 reclaims 30–40% of licenses on heavily used servers. Users who disconnect (not log off) never release their CAL until the session times out—default is 4 hours. That’s why you see this error during peak hours.

Less common variations of the same issue

Sometimes the error hides behind a slightly different message. Here are two scenarios I’ve seen:

Scenario A – Wrong license server group: If you’re using a per-user CAL model but the server is set to per-device, it won’t hand out licenses correctly. Check the group policy: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > RD Licensing > Use the specified Remote Desktop license servers. Make sure it matches your CAL type.
Scenario B – Corrupted license store: In rare cases (Server 2016 especially), the license store itself gets corrupted. You’ll see the error even after a reset. Fix: Stop the Remote Desktop Licensing service, rename C:\Windows\System32\Licenses\ to Licenses_old (you’ll need to take ownership via takeown /f "C:\Windows\System32\Licenses" /r and icacls), then restart the service. It rebuilds the store fresh. Warning: This revokes all existing CALs—you’ll need to reinstall them from your license server.

I had a client with a 2019 farm where the license store was 500 MB (should be under 10 MB). Renaming it and reactivating the CALs took 15 minutes and fixed the error permanently.

Prevention: Keep your CALs clean

To avoid this going forward, two things help:

Set idle session timeouts: In Group Policy, go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Session Time Limits. Set “End session when time limits are reached” to Enabled and “Idle session limit” to something like 1 hour. This forces disconnects to actually log off.
Monitor license usage monthly: Use the Get-RDLicenseReport PowerShell cmdlet (on Server 2019+) to export a CSV. If you’re above 80% usage, buy more CALs or revoke stale ones proactively.

You shouldn’t see 0XC00A0013 again after these steps. And if you do? The grace period reset is your best friend—just don’t abuse it (Microsoft might audit you if you reset it, like, 10 times in a year). Now go get your users back online.