Report direct license counts

Script 2 min read Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7

Documentation: Microsoft Learn

Written and tested by Dhrub Bharali · Updated 02 October 2026

Get-MgUser -All requests AssignedLicenses alongside the display name.

The script

1Get-MgUser -All -Property DisplayName,UserPrincipalName,LicenseAssignmentStates -ErrorAction Stop |

2 Select-Object DisplayName, UserPrincipalName,

3 @{Name='DirectLicenseCount'; Expression={

4 @($_.LicenseAssignmentStates |

5 Where-Object {

6 $null -eq $_.AssignedByGroup -and

7 $_.State -in @('Active', 'ActiveWithError')

8 } |

9 Select-Object -ExpandProperty SkuId -Unique).Count

10 }}

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Get-MgUser -All -Property DisplayName,UserPrincipalName,LicenseAssignmentStates -ErrorAction Stop |
    Select-Object DisplayName, UserPrincipalName,
        @{Name='DirectLicenseCount'; Expression={
            @($_.LicenseAssignmentStates |
                Where-Object {
                    $null -eq $_.AssignedByGroup -and
                    $_.State -in @('Active', 'ActiveWithError')
                } |
                Select-Object -ExpandProperty SkuId -Unique).Count
        }}

Inspection only — no command has run.

Show reference output

1DisplayName UserPrincipalName DirectLicenseCount

2----------- ----------------- ------------------

3Sample User sample@contoso.com 1

Inspect this example’s structure

Read the command and its supplied arguments. This example requires real PowerShell or its module; this diagram does not execute it.

Get-MgUser -All -Property DisplayName,UserPrincipalName,LicenseAssignmentStates -ErrorAction Stop |
    Select-Object DisplayName, UserPrincipalName,
        @{Name='DirectLicenseCount'; Expression={
            @($_.LicenseAssignmentStates |
                Where-Object {
                    $null -eq $_.AssignedByGroup -and
                    $_.State -in @('Active', 'ActiveWithError')
                } |
                Select-Object -ExpandProperty SkuId -Unique).Count
        }}

Stage 1Get-MgUser-All -Property -ErrorAction
Stage 2Select-ObjectPositional values or no named parameters

How it works

LicenseAssignmentStates distinguishes the origin of each SKU assignment. AssignedByGroup is null for a direct assignment. This report counts distinct directly assigned SKU identifiers whose state is Active or ActiveWithError; active-with-error assignments need investigation. Group-assigned licenses are deliberately excluded.

Adapting it

For the totals a renewal conversation needs, Get-MgSubscribedSku reports consumed and enabled units per SKU directly and skips per-user aggregation entirely.

Requirements

Microsoft.Graph module and a Graph session with approved user-read permissions such as User.Read.All. Tenant SKU totals are a separate query and may require additional permissions.

If the result is unexpected

The license-count report does not match purchased seats or group-assignment expectations.

User assigned-license counts, assignment origin and tenant subscription capacity are different measures.

Inspect a sample user's license identifiers and assignment-state data before interpreting aggregate counts.

Validate the result

Inspect two users in the licensing view and compare their assignment origins and SKU IDs. Zero here does not mean unlicensed: a user may hold licenses assigned through groups. This counts SKU assignments, not purchased seats or enabled service plans.

Keep the check reliable

Keep the assignment-origin check when adapting the report. Produce a separate assignment-error report before interpreting active-with-error counts as healthy access.