How to Activate Office Home and Business for Mac (2019, 2021 and 2024)

September 8, 2026

Office Home and Business for Mac — 2019, 2021 and 2024 alike — is activated differently from the Windows version. The key is not typed into Word — it is redeemed once in a Microsoft account, and Office then activates by signing in. The whole thing takes a couple of minutes.

In short

Redeem the key at setup.office.com/redeem/enter-key with a Microsoft account — the licence attaches to that account permanently, so remember which one.
Download Office from the same account page and run the installer.
Open Word and sign in with the same account. No key is typed into the application — signing in is what activates it.

Before you start

A Microsoft account. Any free account works — outlook.com, hotmail.com, or one you create during the process.
Decide which account you will use, and remember it. The licence attaches to that account permanently. Redeeming on an account you rarely use is the one mistake that is awkward to undo.
Your product key, copied rather than retyped.

Step 1: redeem the key

Go to setup.office.com/redeem/enter-key.
Sign in with your Microsoft account, or create one on the spot.
Paste the key and confirm.

The key is now attached to that account. This is the step that actually uses your licence — everything after it is downloading and signing in.

Step 2: download Office

As soon as the key is accepted, Microsoft offers the download for your version directly on that page, and it stays available in your Microsoft account afterwards. Download it from there rather than from anywhere else: the installer is tied to the licence you just redeemed.

Step 3: install and sign in

Open the downloaded file and follow the installer.
Launch Word.
When it asks you to sign in, use the same Microsoft account you redeemed the key with.

Office activates itself at that point. To confirm, open Word → About Word, or check that the banner asking you to activate is gone.

The licence follows your account, not your Mac. Reinstall macOS, replace the hard drive, or move to a different Mac entirely — sign in with the same Microsoft account and Office is still yours. There is nothing to transfer and no key to re-enter.

If something goes wrong

Word still asks you to buy Office. You are almost certainly signed into a different Microsoft account. Sign out from Word → Account and sign back in with the one you redeemed the key on.
The key is refused at redemption. Check for a mistyped character — Microsoft keys contain no letter O and no letter I, those are the digits 0 and 1. If it is still refused, send us the key and your order number.
A trial of Microsoft 365 keeps taking over. Remove it from Applications, then open Word again.

Anything else — tell us what the screen says and include your order number through our support form. Activating Windows or Office on a PC instead? See how to activate Microsoft Office on Windows.

Last checked: September 2026