MC1509797 - Support for Office LTSC 2021 and additional apps ended on October 13, 2026
Microsoft 365 Message Center announcement MC1509797.
MS Message Center's Summary
Support for Office LTSC 2021 and related applications concluded on October 13, 2026. Without ongoing security patches or technical assistance, systems running these legacy versions face heightened risk. Administrators must audit their environments and plan upgrades to supported solutions like Microsoft 365 Apps or Office LTSC 2024.
- Administrator impact
- Administrators must identify devices running unsupported software and coordinate upgrades to maintain security and compliance.
- End user impact
- Users will experience no immediate service interruption, but their applications will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes.
- Importance
- 9/10: The end of support for core productivity software creates critical security and compliance exposure for organizations that fail to upgrade.
Blog post about end of support
Microsoft Summary
Support for Office LTSC 2021 and related apps ended on October 13, 2026, with no more security updates or support. Organizations should upgrade to Microsoft 365 Apps or Office LTSC 2024 to maintain security, compliance, and support. Admins must identify and update affected devices promptly.
- Message Center ID
- MC1509797
- Category
- plan For Change
- Severity
- high
- Services
- Microsoft 365 suite, Microsoft 365 apps, Project for the web
- Tags
- Admin impact, Retirement
- Published
- 2026-10-15
- Last updated
- 2026-10-15
- Expires
- 2026-12-13
[What and Why:] As previously communicated , support for Office LTSC 2021 ended on October 13, 2026. Microsoft no longer provides security updates, bug fixes, or technical support for this version of Office. Although the applications may continue to function, using unsupported software could expose your organization to potential security and compliance risks, system incompatibilities, and other issues. Support for Visio LTSC 2021, Project LTSC 2021, and several other products also ended on October 13, 2026. Organizations that continue to use these products should transition to a supported version as soon as possible to receive ongoing security updates, bug fixes, and technical support. [Rollout Schedule:] General Availability (Worldwide): Support for Office LTSC 2021, Visio LTSC 2021, Project LTSC 2021, and other affected products ended on October 13, 2026. [Impact on Your Organization:] Devices running Office LTSC 2021 or another affected product no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, or technical assistance. The applications do not automatically stop working, but continued use of unsupported software may increase your organization's exposure to security and compliance risks and could result in compatibility or reliability issues. [Action Required/Recommendations:] Identify any devices in your organization that are still running Office LTSC 2021 or another affected product and move them to a supported solution. For most organizations, we recommend upgrading devices to a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite that includes Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise or Microsoft 365 Apps for business. Microsoft 365 Apps provides always-up-to-date versions of familiar apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for desktop, mobile, and web with continuous support under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, and is eligible for use with Microsoft Copilot. Enterprises should review Microsoft 365 E3 , Office 365 E3 , or Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise . Organizations with fewer than 300 users should review Microsoft 365 Business Premium , Microsoft 365 Business Standard , or Microsoft 365 Apps for business . For scenarios that require a fully disconnected solution, we recommend upgrading to Office LTSC 2024 . Office LTSC 2024 is Microsoft's current supported on-premises version of Office for commercial customers and is supported until October 2029 under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy . Resources: Read the upgrade guidance for an overview of how to move from Office LTSC 2021 to Microsoft 365 Apps. Consider engaging Microsoft FastTrack , a Microsoft support service, for moving to Microsoft 365. Take action now to help maintain security, compliance, and access to supported Office apps. [Compliance considerations:] Question Answer Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Microsoft 365 service capability? Yes. Support for Office LTSC 2021 and other affected products ended on October 13, 2026. Organizations should move to supported versions to receive ongoing updates and support. Does the change require admin action? Yes. Admins should identify affected devices and move them to a supported Microsoft 365 Apps, Office, Visio, or Project version as appropriate.