Discontinuation of 30 Day Late Renewal Grace Period FAQ

What is Symantec changing?

Symantec is removing its 30 day late renewal grace period. The late renewal grace period historically
provided our Customers and Partners with 30 additional days to place a renewal order without
incurring any late penalties. From 9th May 2016, these 30 additional days will no longer apply,
meaning that renewal orders must be placed prior to Customers Maintenance expiration date as
indicated below:

When is this change effective from?

This change takes effect from 9th May 2016 (Japan will go live in October 2016).
Does this change affect all regions?
Yes, this is a global change; however Japan will implement the change later than the rest of the
world, in October 2016.
Does this change affect all Symantec products?
Yes, this is a widespread policy change affecting the renewal of all Symantec Enterprise products.
Note: This policy does not apply to Norton core security products.

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Does this change affect all licensing methods?

Yes, this is a widespread policy change affecting both perpetually licensed products with
Maintenance, and subscription products.
Does this change to the late renewals grace period have any impact on the grace policy that is
included in Symantec License Files (.SLF)?
No. The removal of the 30 day late renewal grace period only changes when we classify a renewal
order as being late. As of May 9, 2016 (Oct 3, 2016 for Japan), any renewal orders received after
the Maintenance expiration date will be subject to late penalties and higher overall renewal costs.
This policy change therefore affects the late renewal ordering process only. It does not change the
in-product licensing feature known as grace policy which for now, remains unchanged. The inproduct grace policy is responsible for shutting off product updates.
Regardless of product functionality, customers are not entitled to continued access beyond their
Maintenance expiration date. Per the Symantec EULA and corresponding compliance obligations,
customers must renew for continued entitlement to product updates including critical security
content. Refer to Symantecs Global Enterprise Renewals Policy for more information.
Does the current grace period provide continued entitlement to Maintenance benefits?
No, Customers are not entitled to access any Maintenance benefits during the grace period. Access
to Maintenance benefits cease after Maintenance expiration date.
Why is Symantec implementing this change in policy?
Symantec is the global leader in cyber security and wants to deliver on its security promise to all its
Customers. Maintenance upholds the value of Symantecs products and enables uninterrupted
security protection. Customers must keep their Maintenance current at all times to remain
protected.
The 30 day late renewal grace policy does not support Symantecs security strategy and is deemed
no longer appropriate. If Maintenance is not renewed before expiry, Customers immediately lose
their entitlement to access their benefits and leave themselves vulnerable. Renewing within the 30
day grace period means that Customers are already exposed to security threats and are therefore
taking undue security risk.
In addition, Customers with perpetually licensed products risk non-compliance if they continue to
access Maintenance benefits beyond the expiration date. With subscriptions, Customers lose their
entitlement to both the software and Maintenance after the expiration date so are immediately out
of compliance if they continue to use the product without renewing their subscription. Find out
more about customer compliance obligations in the Global Enterprise Renewals Policy.
This change in policy is part of Symantecs global initiative to reduce the incidence of lapsed
Maintenance and to improve the practice of on-time renewals.
A Maintenance term is typically 12 months in duration. We are asking Customers and Partners to
always plan ahead, schedule upcoming renewal events, and submit renewal orders on time.

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What does the change in policy mean in terms of renewal orders?

From 9th May 2016 (Oct 3, 2016 for Japan), Symantec will only accept Renewal SKUs for renewal
orders that are received before or up to Maintenance expiration date.
What happens if a renewal order is late?
From 9th May 2016 (Oct 3, 2016 for Japan), Renewal SKUs will not be accepted for orders after the
Maintenance expiration date. Customers renewing after the Maintenance expiration date must
reinstate their Maintenance and will be subject to late renewal penalties.
Is there a change to how late renewal orders are transacted?
No, there is no change to the late renewal order handling process. The only difference is that from 9th
May 2016 (Oct 3, 2016 for Japan), a renewal will be considered late if received after the Maintenance
expiration date. Late renewals will still be subject to Symantecs usual Proof of Purchase requirements
and will only be transacted with the correct SKU:

Version Upgrade SKUs*

*For products without Version Upgrade SKUs, Renewal SKUs are to be used, back-dated to the
previous expiration date, plus an additional reinstatement fee of 25% of the total lapsed
Maintenance. Partners should work with their Symantec Account Manager for support in such
scenarios. Note: Subscriptions are renewed with Subscription SKUs.

Late renewal orders received after 9th May 2016 (Oct 3, 2016 for Japan), with incorrect SKUs and/or
missing Proof of Purchase will be rejected. The use of any other Symantec SKU types for renewal
purposes (e.g. new, cross-grade or competitive upgrade SKUs), is considered relicensing and is NOT
permitted.
For a renewal falling due on the April 30th, will the customer still have 30 days grace during which
to renew, without being penalized for being late?
No. The customer does not have an entitlement to 30 days grace.
The important variable is the order date.
Order Services will note the date on which they receive the renewal order and how that date relates
to the effective late renewal policy. The following scenarios address what will happen during the
period in the lead up to the new policy effective date.
Scenario 1: 30 Day Grace pre May 9th
Maintenance expires on the 30-APR-2016. Symantec receives the order with a Renewal SKU
up to 08-MAY-2016, as a result the order will be processed according to existing policy (the
order is late but the 30 day grace policy is still effective as the order was placed before May
9th).
Scenario 2: 0 Day Grace post May 9th
Maintenance expires on the 30-APR-2016. Symantec receives the order with a Renewal SKU
on 13-May-2016 (after the effective date of May 9th), as a result, the order will be rejected

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and will have to be resubmitted in accordance with the renewals policy (VU SKU or
Reinstatement Fee SKU as appropriate).

Does the policy change apply to the renewal of subscription orders?

Yes. Note that for Symantec standard buying programs, the rule is that hosted or on premise
renewal subscriptions must always be submitted with Proof of Purchase (POP). If POP is not
submitted with the order, then Symantec Order Services has no way of identifying the order as a
renewal since no subscription renewal SKUs exist. If no POP is provided, then the order will be
treated as a new subscription where the subscription start date will correspond with the order
date (and not the end date of the existing subscription). This leads to customer issues regarding
subscription dates.
Providing Proof of Purchase will activate the Symantec order process rules:
The start date of the subscription renewal order will always be tied to the end date of the
previous subscription and back-dated as necessary.
If Proof of Purchase is provided but the subscription order is late (after subscription expiration
date), then the order is rejected and late renewal process is triggered.
For subscriptions, the following are acceptable forms of Proof of Purchase (POP)
Renewal ID contains 9 digits preceded by RNW example - RNWXXX-XXX-XXX
Certificate number contains 7 or 8 digits, example: 7534002
License ID contains 8 digits, example: 14456496

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Serial number starts with Capital M or B and contains 10 digits, example: M5964495055 or
B4593288854
Reference number contains 8 digits, example: 18219120
Previous SO/PO number
ERP / Customer number
Quote ID starts with number 61./71/51. (depends on Region)
SAN Number Could be EXP, REW, GOV or ACD san provided
Note: Customers can provide history on Quotes attached to Deal ids in SFDC (Example = Co Term
Quotes)
Will exceptions be considered?
Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis only, and in accordance with Symantec policy.
Partners are reminded that exceptions to Symantecs late renewal policy are only approved where
sound business reasons exist. Simply forgetting to renew on time will not be considered an exception.
Does this change to the late renewal grace period affect our policy regarding the purchase of initial
Maintenance for products where Maintenance can be purchased separately?
No. For products that have the option of purchasing Maintenance separately, the 30 day rule for
delayed purchase of Maintenance still applies. The customer may purchase initial Maintenance
within 30 days of the initial purchase of their Software licenses. If however, a customer chooses to
purchase Maintenance more than 30 days after the initial purchase of their Software licenses, then
penalties will apply.
For more information, refer to the Global Enterprise Renewals Policy. Note that this policy applies to
a minority of our products. The majority are always sold as a bundle where the license and
maintenance are bundled in the initial SKU so the option for purchasing Maintenance separately
does not exist.
What action do I need to take at this time?
The current 30 day late renewal policy will continue to be honoured up until 9th May 2016 (Oct 3, 2016
for Japan). However, from this date, Symantec will be operating strict enforcement of the new policy
per the order requirements outlined above.
We encourage you therefore to remind Customers about the policy change, and to engage early with
them to ensure they renew on time, avoid the increased costs associated with renewing late, and
avoid the potential risks to their security and compliance health. Find out more about the importance
of keeping Maintenance current and how to renew.
How do Customers know about their upcoming renewal?
Symantec has various methods of alerting Customers to upcoming renewals. Renewal notification emails are typically sent to Customers starting 60 days prior to Maintenance expiration date (customer
segment and frequency vary by region, but as a minimum globally, Symantecs unmanaged Customers

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are notified). Symantec Account Managers and Partners also contact their Customers directly to
remind them about their impending renewals.
Additionally, many Symantec products issue automatic alerts from the products management console.
Finally, Symantecs diagnostic tool (SymDiag) provides licensing information and alerts for several of
our products.
What happens if a Customer fails to renew on time?
Customers who fail to renew on time leave themselves open to a variety of risks, including risks to
their security, financial, brand and compliance health.
Customers entitlement to access Maintenance ends on expiration date, meaning no further access to:

Critical security content updates that provide continuous first line defense against the latest
attacks and vulnerabilities.
Version upgrades that deliver major security advances, cutting-edge features and technology
innovations to stay ahead of cybercrime.
Important product updates that improve functionality and optimize product performance.
24/7 technical support for rapid response and issue resolution to minimize downtime.

Find out more about the value of Maintenance and on-time renewal here.

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