The Java SE Universal Subscription replaced the now legacy Java SE Subscription and legacy Java SE Desktop Subscription as of January 23, 2023. Customers of the legacy Java SE Subscription may, to the extent permitted in their existing order, renew their legacy Java Subscription, subject to confirmation that current usage is reflective of license counts in such existing order. The Java SE Universal Subscription is unique over the legacy Subscription product in the following ways:

• Permitted use is universal across desktop, servers, and third party clouds – greatly simplifying tracking and management of your licensed environment.
• Java SE Universal Subscription Customers get triage support of their entire Java portfolio, including third party libraries and runtimes. This means Oracle support will assist customers with general Java SE related questions and work with third party library and runtime vendors on any customer issues. As the stewards of the Java platform, Oracle is uniquely positioned to provide this offering.

The Java SE Universal Subscription is sold by an Employee-based metric. Pricing starts at $15/employee per month. Published tier pricing is as low as $5.25 per month and can be even lower for customers with more than 50k employees. Please see the Oracle Java SE Universal Subscription Price List (PDF) for more information on how the Employee for Java SE Universal Subscription metric is calculated.

The standard term is one year.  Contact sales for other options.

Comprehensive Java SE Support is central to the Java SE Universal Subscription and is provided via My Oracle Support (MOS)

A Java SE Universal Subscription permits the use of, and includes support for, the “Java SE Commercial Features” from Java SE 8 and other versions where relevant.  The licensing details are available at the Java SE Documentation Page
For more information on the Java SE Universal Subscription offering for current Java SE Advanced licensees, please refer to the section “Current Java SE Advanced Licensees” later in this FAQ.

At the end of your Java SE Universal Subscription, your rights to any commercial software downloaded under the subscription, and your access to Oracle Premier Support, will end. We recommend transitioning your Java SE applications to OpenJDK binaries from Oracle (under a GPL license) before the end of your subscription if you do not intend to continue with the subscription. This will allow you to continue running your applications uninterrupted.

Perpetual-licensed software has an up-front cost plus additional annual support and maintenance fees. A subscription provides license, updates, upgrades, and support in a single price. You only pay for what you need, for the time-frame you need it. Also see the previous question “What happens if I do not renew a subscription” for more information.

The system requirements and certified configurations for Java SE Universal Subscription are listed on the Java SE Documentation Site

Yes, using My Oracle Support. A wizard will guide you through the process of specifying product information and attaching configuration information to your Service Request (SR).

If you are a customer, use My Oracle Support. If you are not a customer and have technical feedback related to Java SE, please visit https://java.com/report.  For all other inquiries related to sales, support, product and/or licensing, please contact us at https://www.oracle.com/corporate/contact/global.html

Java SE Universal Subscription includes support for JavaFX on Java SE 8 through Oracle Premier Support timelines as described in the Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap. For more information, see The Future of JavaFX and Other Java Client Roadmap Updates.

Java SE 8 is the last Java SE release targeting Desktop deployment (eg, Java Web Start and a stand-alone system JRE). Java SE 8 reached end of public updates in January 2019. Commercial users need to either transition to other technologies, or purchase a Java SE Universal Subscription. Oracle will provide commercial support for Java SE 8 through at least 2030 including Java Web Start technology.

Java Applets have been deprecated and may be removed at any time. For more information, see the Java Client Roadmap Update - Oracle White Paper (PDF).

Java SE Universal Subscriptions are available per Employee. The underlying application architecture and deployment model does not affect pricing.

If you embed Java SE in a device or application, and/or distribute “shrink wrapped” software, please contact sales for more information on our ISV products under a “Binary License and Redistribution Agreement”.

Your Java SE Advanced, Java SE Advanced Desktop, and Java SE Suite licenses and related support offerings will continue as usual.  Existing licensees do not need to do anything related to this new product offering. If your business is growing, and you desire to expand your current desktop, server/cloud licensing, please contact sales for assistance.

Java SE Universal Subscription is a monthly license and support solution for your Java SE Desktop, Server, and Cloud needs. It provides the same features as Java SE Advanced, but in a more convenient offering.  It provides more flexibility in how and when you manage your upgrades and updates to Java SE Applications.

Oracle provides OpenJDK builds under the GPL and has been working to make it interchangeable with Oracle JDK. These OpenJDK builds are available on a six-month cadence with scheduled quarterly security updates and targeted to developers. Organizations who would like more flexibility on when they migrate their production applications can benefit from a Java SE Universal Subscription, which provides long-term support and tools on the current and on a number of older versions.

A Java SE Universal Subscription enables your business to select Java SE versions that meet your industries compliance requirements and business needs. Java SE Subscription also provides access to My Oracle Support (MOS) online and telephone support. It provides direct access to performance, stability and security updates for all supported versions of Java.

Java SE 8 is the last major release of Java targeting browser deployment via Web Start.  Newer Java SE versions should follow modern application packaging and deployment practices where the JRE is bundled, and distributed, with the application. 

A Java SE Universal Subscription provides long-term access to Java SE 8 Desktop Management Commercial Features that simplify the management of Java SE on your desktops.

The Java SE Universal Subscription does not impact your use of OpenJDK or the Oracle JDK in any way – continue as you were and Oracle Support will assist you with its use.

If you use any Oracle product that requires Java SE, you are already licensed to use the Oracle Java SE runtime with, and for the sole purpose of running, that Oracle product. Java SE Universal Subscription provides licensing and support if you need to use the Oracle Java SE runtime for running products not licensed by Oracle. For more information see My.Oracle.Support Note 1557737.1 - (Support Entitlement for Java SE When Used As Part of Another Oracle Product – Requires Support Login).