RHEL 10 End of Life: Full Support to 2030, Maintenance to 2035 — Every Phase Dated
The direct answer: RHEL 10, released May 20, 2025, gets full support until May 31, 2030 and maintenance support until May 31, 2035 — with the paid Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) add-on available beyond that. But "when does RHEL 10 die" is usually the wrong question, because Red Hat retires support in phases, and what most teams actually feel first is a phase change on the version they run today: RHEL 9's full support ends May 31, 2027 — ten months from this page's publication.
Key Dates at a Glance
- RHEL 10: full support ends 2030-05-31; maintenance support ends 2035-05-31; extended life cycle support ends 2039-05-31
- RHEL 9: full support ends 2027-05-31; maintenance support ends 2032-05-31; extended life cycle support ends 2036-05-31
- RHEL 8: full support ends 2024-05-31; maintenance support ends 2029-05-31; extended life cycle support ends 2033-05-31
- RHEL 7: full support ends 2019-08-06; maintenance support ends 2024-06-30; extended life cycle support ends 2029-05-31
- RHEL 6: full support ends 2016-05-10; maintenance support ends 2020-11-30; extended life cycle support ends 2024-06-30
- RHEL 5: full support ends 2013-01-08; maintenance support ends 2017-03-31; extended life cycle support ends 2020-11-30
Every RHEL version, every phase
| Version | Released | Full support ends | Maintenance ends (EOL) | ELS available to | Phase (July 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10 | May 20, 2025 | May 31, 2030 | May 31, 2035 | May 31, 2039 | Full support |
| RHEL 9 | May 18, 2022 | May 31, 2027 | May 31, 2032 | May 31, 2036 | Full support |
| RHEL 8 | May 07, 2019 | May 31, 2024 | May 31, 2029 | May 31, 2033 | Maintenance |
| RHEL 7 | Jun 10, 2014 | Aug 06, 2019 | Jun 30, 2024 | May 31, 2029 | ELS only |
| RHEL 6 | Nov 10, 2010 | May 10, 2016 | Nov 30, 2020 | Jun 30, 2024 | End of life |
| RHEL 5 | Mar 15, 2007 | Jan 08, 2013 | Mar 31, 2017 | Nov 30, 2020 | End of life |
| RHEL 4 | Feb 15, 2005 | Mar 31, 2009 | Feb 29, 2012 | Mar 31, 2017 | End of life |
Dates from our tracked dataset, cross-checked against Red Hat's Life Cycle page (verification pass 2026-07-17, re-confirmed via independent sources 2026-07-28). Each version links to its own page with per-release detail.
What the three phases actually deliver
Full support (~5 years): minor releases roughly every six months, new features, new hardware enablement, and the complete range of security and bug-fix errata. This is the only phase where the OS moves forward.
Maintenance support (~5 more years): security fixes rated Critical and Important, plus selected urgent bug fixes — and that's it. No new features, no new hardware enablement, no minor releases. Your OS is safe but frozen. For anything purchased after the full-support cutoff, "does RHEL support this hardware" becomes a real question.
ELS (paid add-on, after maintenance ends): critical/important security fixes continue for a defined window. This is how RHEL 7 — maintenance ended June 30, 2024 — is still on a supported track today. It's a migration bridge with a meter running, not a destination; if you're weighing it, our RHEL support-options guide and decision guide walk the paths.
The deadline that matters before RHEL 10's
RHEL 10's dates are comfortably far. The working deadline for most estates is May 31, 2027, when RHEL 9 exits full support. From that day, RHEL 9 stops gaining features and hardware support — so fleets planning hardware refreshes in 2027+ effectively choose between buying hardware RHEL 9 already supports, or moving to RHEL 10. In-place upgrades via Leapp run 8→9→10, one major at a time; the same-day May 31 rhythm means a single planning cycle can cover both the 9→10 move and the RHEL 8 maintenance countdown (ends May 31, 2029).
RHEL currently carries an EOL Risk Score™ of 70/100 — Grade D, high risk, recalculated at every site build from EOL recency, attack surface, CISA KEV exposure, and extended-support availability. Per-version scores and dates are on the RHEL lifecycle page.
The right response comes down to one question: how many more years does this system need to run? Under a year, extended support (where it exists) is usually cheaper than an emergency migration. One to three years, migrate — support fees paid repeatedly cost more than doing the project once. Indefinitely, migrate now and plan the next one before it surprises you. Extended support is often the more expensive choice over a multi-year horizon — a bridge, not a destination. And if this deadline feels like vendor caprice, it isn’t — why end of life is inevitable for every version, with the receipts.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does RHEL 10 reach end of life?
RHEL 10's full support phase ends May 31, 2030, and its maintenance phase — the date usually quoted as EOL — ends May 31, 2035. The paid Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) add-on runs beyond that. RHEL 10 was released May 20, 2025.
When does RHEL 9 full support end, and what changes?
May 31, 2027. After that, RHEL 9 enters the maintenance phase until May 31, 2032: security and selected urgent bug fixes continue, but new features, hardware enablement, and minor releases stop. If you need new hardware support or features, the maintenance phase is effectively the signal to plan the move to RHEL 10.
Is RHEL 8 still supported?
Yes, in maintenance phase: full support ended May 31, 2024, and maintenance runs to May 31, 2029. After that, the paid ELS add-on is the only supported path short of upgrading.
What is RHEL ELS (Extended Life Cycle Support)?
A paid add-on that continues critical and important security fixes after the maintenance phase ends. It is how RHEL 7 — whose maintenance ended June 30, 2024 — remains on a supported track today. ELS is a bridge for migration planning, not a permanent home: scope is narrower than standard support and pricing reflects that.
When will RHEL 11 be released?
Red Hat has not announced RHEL 11. The recent cadence has been roughly three years between majors (RHEL 8 in 2019, 9 in 2022, 10 in 2025), which would suggest around 2028 — but that is a pattern, not a commitment, and this page does not present projections as dates.