Your Microsoft Office account can view documents, but it doesn’t allow editing on a Mac

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The message means the account is not currently licensed for editing in the Mac desktop apps, so Office has dropped into a view‑only state.

To fix it, follow these steps in order:

Verify that a license with desktop apps is assigned

  1. A Microsoft 365 admin must:
    1. Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Users → Active users.
    2. Select the affected user.
    3. In the right pane, select Licenses and Apps.
    4. Under Licenses, make sure a plan that includes the desktop Office apps for Mac is checked.
    5. If it is already checked, uncheck it, select Save changes, then check it again and Save changes once more to refresh the assignment.
    6. If the user only has a plan such as Microsoft 365 Business Basic (web and mobile only), the desktop Mac apps will remain view‑only. In that case, upgrade/assign a plan that includes desktop apps.
  2. Sign out of Office on the Mac and sign back in
    1. Open any Office app (for example, Word).
    2. Select the name/profile icon at the top.
    3. Choose Sign out and close all Office apps.
    4. Reopen Word, choose Sign in, and use the work or school account that has the proper license (not a personal Microsoft account).
    5. Confirm activation completes and editing is enabled.
  3. Remove old Mac license files if the problem persists
    1. Run the Mac license removal steps from How to remove Office license files on a Mac. This clears corrupted or stale license data.
    2. After removal, reopen an Office app and sign in again with the correctly licensed account.
  4. If activation still fails, reinstall Office for Mac
    1. Uninstall Office for Mac using the steps in Uninstall Office for Mac.
    2. Reinstall from the account portal using Download and install or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 on a PC or Mac.
    3. Open an app, sign in with the licensed work/school account, and complete activation.

If the device cannot contact the Office Licensing Service for an extended period (for example, more than 30 days), Office also goes into reduced functionality mode (view‑only). Ensuring the Mac is online and successfully signing in with a properly licensed account restores full editing.

Ref: Troubleshoot Office Activation on a Mac

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