Data Protection Issues

Azure Information Protection Licensing Requirements for Sensitivity Labels

Steve K Oct 8, 2026 868 views

Question details

Understand the minimum enterprise licensing needed for manual and automatic sensitivity labeling across various Microsoft environments.

Azure Information Protection Licensing Requirements for Sensitivity Labels

Product: Microsoft 365 / Azure Information Protection
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Determining the necessary licenses to configure and apply sensitivity labels in Microsoft 365, SQL environments, and on-premises file servers.
Observed behavior: Administrators must assign the correct premium plan licenses to users before they can fully utilize advanced sensitivity labeling features.

Before you start

Ensure you have global administrator or billing administrator permissions to access the Microsoft 365 admin center and manage user licenses.

Solution 1Recommended

Assign Azure Information Protection Premium Plan 2

Manual and automatic sensitivity labeling require the Azure Information Protection (AIP) Premium Plan 2 license, which is bundled with specific enterprise suites.

AIP Premium Plan 2 is generally included with higher-tier enterprise suites such as Microsoft 365 E5 and Enterprise Mobility + Security E5. It is licensed as part of the suite and cannot generally be purchased alone through standard licensing.

Once the suite license is assigned, administrators have the flexibility to disable individual, unneeded service plans for specific users.

Log in to the Admin Center

Navigate to Active Users

In the left-hand navigation pane, go to 'Users' and then select 'Active users'.

Select a User Profile

Find and click on the specific user you want to manage to open their properties pane.

Assign Enterprise License

Click on the 'Licenses and apps' tab. Ensure the user is assigned a Microsoft 365 E5 or Enterprise Mobility + Security E5 license.

Manage Specific Service Plans

Scroll down to the 'Apps' section. Here, you can check or uncheck individual apps and services to enable or disable specific unneeded service plans for that user.

Assign Azure Information Protection Premium Plan 2

Standalone Availability: The AIP plan is licensed as an integrated part of the enterprise suite and usually cannot be purchased alone through the Microsoft 365 admin center.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I purchase Azure Information Protection Premium Plan 2 as a standalone license?

Generally, the AIP Premium Plan 2 is licensed as an integrated part of larger enterprise suites like Microsoft 365 E5 or Enterprise Mobility + Security E5, and cannot be purchased alone through standard admin center licensing.

How do I disable specific service plans for an individual user?

Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center, navigate to Users > Active users, select the user's name, and click the Licenses and apps tab. Expand the Apps section to uncheck any unneeded service plans.

Which environments are supported by automatic sensitivity labeling?

Automatic and manual sensitivity labeling can be applied across Microsoft 365 applications, on-premises file servers, SQL environments, and Azure SQL, provided the users have the correct E5 licenses assigned.

Microsoft Office Security Issues