# Obtaining a license key

The open-source Saxon-B product does not require any license key. For Saxon-SA, however, you need to obtain a license key from Saxonica. You can order a free license key for a 30-day evaluation, or purchase an unrestricted license key, from the Saxonica web site.

You need to specify when ordering a license key that you intend to use Saxon on the Java platform, because the license keys are not compatible between the two platforms.

The license key will arrive in the form of a file named `saxon-license.lic` attacted to an email message. You need to copy the file into a directory that is listed on your Java classpath. Note that it is the directory that must be on the classpath, not the `saxon-license.lic` file itself. Remember also that when you use a command in the form `java -jar saxon9.jar`, the Java VM does not search the classpath, so the license key will not be found. You need to use the full form of the relevant command, for example `java com.saxonica.Transform`.

If you acquire Saxon-SA as a component of an application with which it has been integrated, the application may activate the software automatically using an OEM license key. In this case you do not need to acquire an individual license key of your own.

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