Dynamics 365 Business Central On-Premises End of Life by Version: 26 Ends October 13, 2026
Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises, 2025 release wave 1 (version 26.x), reaches the end of its support window on October 13, 2026. The date is from the Releases table on Microsoft's lifecycle page for Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises (Modern Policy), which gives version 26 a start date of April 1, 2025, and from Microsoft's 2026 end-of-support roll-up, which lists the version under the same day. Business Central is Microsoft's business management (ERP) application; this guide is about the on-premises deployment, which customers install and update themselves. The online service is updated by Microsoft and has no per-version end dates. Version 26's live status and EOL Risk Score are on its page.
The Modern Lifecycle Policy, in Microsoft's words
Microsoft's lifecycle page states the rule in one line: "Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises (Modern Policy) follows the Modern Lifecycle Policy." Its listing row shows the product as a whole as In Support, with a start date of October 1, 2019; the dates that matter are in the Releases table beneath it, one row per version. Microsoft's servicing page for Business Central on-premises explains what that means for a customer:
"Dynamics 365 Business Central (on-premises) 2019 release wave 2 and later updates are covered by the Modern Lifecycle Policy. The Modern Lifecycle Policy offers support and servicing, including bug fixes, new features, and latest tax updates. The customer is in full control of its on-premises deployments and must follow this policy. The customer is in control of installing updates in its on-premises environments. Microsoft will support the Dynamics 365 Business Central (on-premises) software as indicated on the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy for Business Central on-premises page, but only if the customer keeps the deployed software current according to this policy."
The general Modern Lifecycle Policy page adds the three conditions under which "the product or service remains in support": "Customers must stay current as per the servicing and system requirements published for the product or service", "Customers must be licensed to use the product or service", and "Microsoft must currently offer support for the product or service." The first condition is the one with teeth for an on-premises ERP. Keeping current means being on a version whose row in the Releases table has not reached its end date. The table shows the pattern: Microsoft ships a new major version in each of two release waves a year, on or about April 1 and October 1, and each version's end date falls about eighteen months later. A Business Central installation that is deployed and then left alone drops out of support within two years of its release, even though it keeps running.
| Phase | What Microsoft says | What it means for a version 26 installation |
|---|---|---|
| In support (current version) | "support and servicing, including bug fixes, new features, and latest tax updates" | Until October 13, 2026, version 26 receives its cumulative updates and Microsoft takes support cases on it |
| Past the version's end date | Microsoft supports the software "only if the customer keeps the deployed software current according to this policy" | After that day a version 26 deployment is not current. There is no extended phase, no paid extension and no separate security-only period on Microsoft's page; the way back into support is to update to a version that is still inside its window |
| Fixed Lifecycle Policy (versions 13 and 14 only) | "Dynamics 365 Business Central (on-premises) October'18 and April '19 Update software is covered by the Fixed Lifecycle Policy"; "Once a product version under fixed lifecycle is out of mainstream support, access to extended support requires Unified support status" | The two oldest on-premises releases had a mainstream and an extended phase. Both phases have ended for both versions (table below) |
Microsoft's page says "Support dates are shown in the Pacific Time Zone (PT) - Redmond, WA, USA" and stamps each retired version's end with the end-of-day marker it uses across its lifecycle pages. The calendar days on this page are the ones Microsoft itself prints in its end-of-support roll-ups (version 25 under April 4, 2026 and version 26 under October 13, 2026). For versions 27, 28 and 29 Microsoft currently prints a start-of-day stamp on the end date; this site serves the printed calendar day and re-reads the page at every build.
Every Business Central on-premises version and its dates
Start and end dates as Microsoft's Releases table prints them, with the two Fixed Lifecycle Policy versions from Microsoft's separate Fixed Policy page at the bottom. The status column is computed from the dates at every build of this site.
| Version | Microsoft's release name | Start date | End date (EOL) | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29.x | 2026 release wave 2 | October 1, 2026 | April 6, 2028 | Supported |
| 28.x | 2026 release wave 1 | April 1, 2026 | October 13, 2027 | Supported |
| 27.x | 2025 release wave 2 | October 1, 2025 | April 6, 2027 | Approaching |
| 26.x | 2025 release wave 1 | April 1, 2025 | October 13, 2026 | Approaching |
| 25.x | 2024 release wave 2 | October 1, 2024 | April 4, 2026 | EOL |
| 24.x | 2024 release wave 1 | April 2, 2024 | October 7, 2025 | EOL |
| 23.x | 2023 release wave 2 | October 2, 2023 | April 2, 2025 | EOL |
| 22.x | 2023 release wave 1 | April 3, 2023 | October 8, 2024 | EOL |
| 21.x | 2022 release wave 2 | October 3, 2022 | April 14, 2024 | EOL |
| 20.x | 2022 release wave 1 | April 1, 2022 | October 10, 2023 | EOL |
| 19.x | 2021 release wave 2 | October 1, 2021 | April 12, 2023 | EOL |
| 18.x | 2021 release wave 1 | April 1, 2021 | October 11, 2022 | EOL |
| 17.x | 2020 release wave 2 | October 1, 2020 | April 12, 2022 | EOL |
| 16.x | 2020 release wave 1 | April 1, 2020 | April 12, 2022 | EOL |
| 15.x | 2019 release wave 2 | October 1, 2019 | April 13, 2021 | EOL |
| 14.x | Spring 2019 Update (Fixed Policy; mainstream support ended October 10, 2023) | April 1, 2019 | October 14, 2025 | EOL |
| 13.x | Fall 2018 Update (Fixed Policy) | October 1, 2018 | April 14, 2020 | EOL |
Two oddities in Microsoft's table are real, not transcription errors. Versions 16 and 17 share an end date of April 12, 2022, so version 16 was supported for two years while version 17 had eighteen months. And version 14 is the only release with a mainstream and an extended phase: Microsoft's servicing page notes that "In order to obtain mainstream support after April 14, 2020, customers must update to the April 2019 release or a later update for the April 2019 version", and the Fixed Policy page carries its extended support end of October 14, 2025. Nothing in either table is marked long-term; Microsoft uses no such label for Business Central on-premises.
What changes on October 13, 2026
Less than a version 26 customer might hope and more than the servers will show. Business Central on-premises keeps running on October 13, 2026 exactly as it did the day before; nothing in Microsoft's policy switches the software off. What ends is the version's place inside the Modern Lifecycle Policy: version 26 stops being a current version, so the monthly cumulative updates, the bug fixes and "latest tax updates" that the servicing page promises, stop arriving for it, and Microsoft's commitment to support the software "only if the customer keeps the deployed software current" is no longer met. For an ERP system that files tax returns and payroll, the tax updates are the sharp edge: a regulatory change after the date is delivered to version 27 and later, not to 26.
The same day is a dense one on Microsoft's calendar. Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021 reach end of support on October 13, 2026 too, alongside Windows 11 24H2 for Home and Pro and the final Windows Server 2012 ESU year. A Business Central server and the desktops that run its client may be losing support together.
How to tell which version you are on
Microsoft's release names and version numbers line up: 2025 release wave 1 is version 26, 2025 release wave 2 is version 27, and so on, with the first wave of a year arriving in April and the second in October. In the Business Central web client, the Help & Support page lists the platform and application version; a version beginning 26. is 2025 release wave 1. On the server, the Business Central Administration Shell reports each server instance's version through Get-NAVServerInstance. Our EOL Checker and API resolve a version number against the dates above.
What to do
- On version 26: update before October 13, 2026. The natural target is version 27 (2025 release wave 2, supported to April 6, 2027) or, with one more step, version 28 (supported to October 13, 2027). Microsoft's upgrade documentation describes the technical upgrade from one major version to the next; extensions and per-tenant customisations are what take the time, so inventory them first.
- On version 25 or earlier: Microsoft's end dates have passed. The version is already outside the policy, and each missed wave adds another major-version step to the upgrade. Treat it as the first item on the list, not a scheduling question.
- Plan for the cadence, not the date. With a new version every six months and an end date about eighteen months after each release, a customer who updates once a year is always inside the window; one who updates every two years is always outside it for a stretch. Decide which wave you follow and keep to it.
- Consider whether on-premises is still the right deployment. Microsoft's online service has no per-version end date because Microsoft updates it. The reasons to stay on-premises (data residency, integrations, partner customisations, licensing) are real for many customers, but the lifecycle cost of staying is a twice-yearly upgrade decision, and it is worth pricing against the alternative.
- Watch the page, not the pattern. Microsoft's Releases table is the source for every date here, and it prints versions 27 to 29 with a different time stamp from the retired ones. The Business Central on-premises page re-reads the table at every build and shows each version's live status.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises version 26 end support?
Microsoft's lifecycle page for Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises (Modern Policy) lists 2025 release wave 1, version 26.x with a start date of April 1, 2025 and an end date of October 13, 2026. Microsoft's own 2026 end-of-support roll-up names the same day. After it, version 26 is no longer a version Microsoft services.
What does the Modern Lifecycle Policy mean for Business Central on-premises?
Microsoft's servicing page says Business Central on-premises 2019 release wave 2 and later updates are covered by the Modern Lifecycle Policy, which offers support and servicing, including bug fixes, new features, and latest tax updates, and that Microsoft will support the software only if the customer keeps the deployed software current according to this policy. Each version has its own end date on the lifecycle page, about eighteen months after its release.
Which Business Central on-premises versions are still in support?
On Microsoft's lifecycle page, version 27 (2025 release wave 2) is supported until April 6, 2027, version 28 (2026 release wave 1) until October 13, 2027 and version 29 (2026 release wave 2), released October 1, 2026, until April 6, 2028. Version 25 ended on April 4, 2026 and version 26 ends on October 13, 2026.
Is there extended support for an old Business Central on-premises version?
Not under the Modern Lifecycle Policy: Microsoft's lifecycle page prints one end date per version and no extended phase. Only the first two on-premises releases, versions 13 and 14, followed the Fixed Lifecycle Policy; version 14's mainstream support ended on October 10, 2023 and its extended support on October 14, 2025, and Microsoft notes that extended support for a fixed-lifecycle version requires Unified support status.
Related
- Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises — every version, live status and EOL Risk Score
- Dynamics NAV — the predecessor product, still on the Fixed Lifecycle Policy
- Office 2021 end of life: October 13, 2026 — the same day
- Windows 11 24H2 end of support — the same day for Home and Pro
- Office Online Server end of support — another Modern Lifecycle Policy product with a dated end