Subscription and Support is HCL's yearly agreement that gives support and the right to new versions when you have bought perpetual licences.
Subscription and Support, often shortened to S&S, is HCL's yearly agreement for companies that have bought perpetual licences. It gives two things: the right to new versions of the software, and access to HCL support. With a term licence this is always included, so S&S is only relevant for perpetual licences.
What do you get?
- The right to upgrade to new releases, such as Notes 2026 and Domino 2027.
- Access to every fix pack and security fix.
- The right to open support cases with HCL.
All or nothing
HCL requires that either all or none of your perpetual licences are covered by S&S. You cannot renew only part of them to save money. If you have 200 CCB users, all 200 must be covered.
What happens if it lapses?
If you stop paying for S&S, you may keep running the version you have. But you may not install new versions, and you get no help from HCL. Security holes found later are not fixed for you. Coming back later can be expensive, and you may be far behind on versions.
S&S in practice
Before renewal, HCL requires a count of users. Use the free tool DLAU and clean up users who have left first. Then you only pay for what you need. Also consider whether a term licence is a better fit, because it includes Domino IQ and unlimited Domino Leap.
Why does it matter?
Running without support is a risk. Domino gets new security fixes and new features every year. Without S&S you are left behind. Read more in our guide to HCL Domino licensing, and about the new releases in Notes 2026 and Domino 2027.