In this guide
You open AutoCAD — or you’ve just installed it and you’re launching it for the first time — and instead of the drawing environment, you get a small gray dialog box: “License Error. The license manager is not functioning or is improperly installed. AutoCAD will shut down now.” Underneath it, a second line: ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING, followed by a number and a short phrase.
That number matters more than the rest of the message. ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING is a wrapper code — it just means “the licensing handshake didn’t complete.” The number after it (1, 2, 3, 4, 20, 22, 25, 41…) is what actually tells you which part of Autodesk’s licensing stack broke. Fix the wrong thing because you didn’t read the number, and you’ll be stuck for hours.
This guide breaks down every code Autodesk documents, grouped by what’s actually broken, and gives you the fix for each — plus one “nuclear option” that resolves almost all of them if nothing else works.
Quick answer: ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING is a licensing handshake failure between AutoCAD and the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service. The fix depends on the number after it: corrupted cache files (codes 1/Agent internal error, 41), folder permissions (code 2), network/antivirus interference (codes 1/timed-out, 20, 22), or an authorization/entitlement problem (codes 1/no local user found, 3, 4).
If you don’t want to match the exact code, the universal fix is a clean reinstall of the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service — it resolves the large majority of these errors regardless of which number you’re seeing.
Common symptoms
- AutoCAD closes immediately on launch with a License Error dialog
- “ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING” followed by a number and short description
- Error appears right after a fresh install, or after a Windows update
- Error appears intermittently — works one day, fails the next
- Sign-in window flashes and closes without completing
What does ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING actually mean?
Every Autodesk product built on the 2020-and-later architecture uses a background service called the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service (also called AdskLicensing, or ODIS in newer versions) to validate your subscription or serial number every time you open the software. That validation is a multi-step handshake: check for a local user session, contact the Single Sign-On component, confirm entitlements, read cached license files, then hand control back to AutoCAD.
ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING just means that handshake stalled somewhere. The number tells you where. Autodesk documents each one separately because the causes — and the fixes — don’t overlap.
All the codes, at a glance
Here’s every code covered in this guide, what it means, and which fix group below applies to it:
| Code | Meaning | Fix group |
|---|---|---|
| 1: no local user found | Windows couldn’t confirm a local user session | Group D — Authorization |
| 1: Agent internal error | Corrupted local licensing cache file | Group A — Corrupted cache |
| 1: timed-out after 30.0 sec(s) | Licensing Agent didn’t respond in time | Group C — Connectivity |
| 2: Internal program error | Not enough permissions on Autodesk folders | Group B — Permissions |
| 3: user canceled authorization | Sign-in / Single Sign-On didn’t complete | Group D — Authorization |
| 4: not registered with licensing service | Product was never registered with the service | Group D — Authorization |
| 20: Generic license checkout error | Outdated licensing service, or serial-number activation issue | Group C — Connectivity |
| 22: Retry limit exceeded | Repeated failed connections to the licensing service | Group C — Connectivity |
| 25 / xx: Product key not found | License record doesn’t match an installed product key | Group E — Registration |
| 41: Product information file not found | Missing ProductInformation.pit file | Group A — Corrupted cache |
Now let’s go through each group. Find your code above, jump to the matching fix — you don’t need to read the whole article.
Group A — Corrupted licensing cache files
Covers: 1: Agent internal error and 41: Product information file not found
Both of these come from the same place: the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service keeps a small set of cache files in C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Adlm. If one of them gets corrupted — usually after an interrupted update or an unclean shutdown — the service can’t complete the handshake and throws one of these two codes.
Step 1. Close AutoCAD completely (check Task Manager for any lingering acad.exe process).
Step 2. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Adlm.
Step 3 — for “Agent internal error”: Find the file CascadeInfo.cas. Rename it to CascadeInfo.old (don’t delete it outright — renaming is safer and reversible).
Step 3 — for “Product information file not found”: Check whether ProductInformation.pit exists in this folder. If it’s missing, you’ll need to re-register the software (see the note below).
Step 4. Relaunch AutoCAD. The service will regenerate the missing/renamed files on the next successful license check.
Group B — Permissions
Covers: 2: Internal program error
This one is almost always a plain Windows permissions issue — the licensing service doesn’t have full control over the folders it needs to read and write to.
Step 1. Right-click each of the following folders → Properties → Security → Edit → select your Windows user account → check Full control:
C:\Autodesk
C:\Program Files\Autodesk
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared
Step 2. Apply the change, and tick “Apply to subfolders and files” when prompted.
Step 3. Restart AutoCAD as Administrator once to confirm the fix, then it should work normally afterward.
Group C — Connectivity, antivirus & outdated service
Covers: 1: timed-out after 30.0 sec(s), 20: Generic license checkout error, and 22: Retry limit exceeded
These three all share a root cause: something is preventing AutoCAD from completing a clean, timely connection to the licensing service running on your own machine — usually antivirus software, an outdated licensing service version, or a Visual C++ conflict.
Step 1 — Update the licensing service. An outdated Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service is the single most common cause of code 20. Check for and install the latest AdskLicensing update from Autodesk’s site before doing anything else.
Step 2 — Reinstall the service. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\AdskLicensing, right-click uninstall.exe, and run it as Administrator. (Skip this step if the folder is already empty.) Then reinstall the latest version.
Step 3 — Disable antivirus/firewall temporarily. Turn off real-time protection, or add the AdskLicensing folder to your exclusions list, then try launching AutoCAD again.
Step 4 — Check for sleep-mode conflicts. On some systems, a compatibility issue between Windows sleep mode and the licensing service causes exactly this timeout. A full restart (not just sleep/wake) often clears it.
Group D — Authorization & entitlements
Covers: 1: no local user found, 3: user canceled authorization, and 4: not registered with licensing service
This group is about the sign-in and entitlement side of licensing rather than files or permissions. Either Windows can’t confirm who’s logged in, the Autodesk Single Sign-On (AdSSO) component is corrupted, or your account genuinely doesn’t have an active entitlement assigned to it yet.
Step 1 — Sign out and back in. Open the Autodesk Licensing Assistant (or the sign-in prompt inside AutoCAD), sign out completely, then sign back in with your Autodesk ID.
Step 2 — Confirm your entitlement. Log into manage.autodesk.com and verify the product is actually assigned to your user under your subscription/contract. Missing entitlements are a common cause of code 3 and code 4, especially in team or education accounts.
Step 3 — Reinstall AdSSO (2020–2023 versions). If you’re on an older release that still uses the standalone Single Sign-On component, uninstall it from Programs and Features and let AutoCAD reinstall it on next launch, or download it fresh from Autodesk.
Step 4 — Check URL/port blocking. Code 1 (“no local user found”) can also be caused by a firewall or proxy blocking the ports the licensing service uses locally. Temporarily disable third-party firewalls to test.
Group E — Product key & registration
Covers: 25 / xx: Product key not found
This code shows up when the licensing service can’t match an installed product against a valid key or contract — often after a serial-number activation, a product upgrade, or a migration between named-user and serial-number licensing.
Step 1. Open the Autodesk Licensing Assistant and check what license type it thinks you’re using (network, standalone/serial, or single-user subscription).
Step 2. If you recently switched licensing types (e.g. serial number → subscription), re-run the product’s activation/registration from Autodesk Account rather than relaunching AutoCAD directly.
Step 3. If the key genuinely isn’t recognized, re-download the installer from your Autodesk Account — a mismatched installer build is a frequent cause of this specific code.
The universal fix — clean reinstall of the licensing service
If you’ve matched your code to a group above and it still doesn’t resolve, or you just want the fastest path without diagnosing the exact number, this fixes the large majority of ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING errors across all groups:
1. Close AutoCAD and any related Autodesk background processes.
2. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\AdskLicensing, run uninstall.exe as Administrator. On AutoCAD 2022+, also check C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AdODIS\V1 for a RemoveODIS.exe and run that too.
3. Restart your computer.
4. Download the latest Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service installer from Autodesk’s support site and install it fresh.
5. Launch AutoCAD and sign in again from scratch.
We cover this same “clean reinstall of the licensing service” step in more depth — with screenshots of the Services panel — in our AutoCAD Error 1603 guide, since it’s the same component behind both errors.
Why does this keep happening?
Here’s the honest version: this entire category of error exists because modern AutoCAD has to phone home — to a licensing service, a sign-in server, an entitlement database — every single time you open it. That’s a reasonable design if you’re Autodesk managing subscriptions at scale. It’s a much less reasonable design if you’re a single user just trying to open a drawing before a deadline, and Windows Update, your antivirus, or a stale cache file happens to sit in the way of that handshake.
None of the ten codes in this guide are caused by anything you did wrong in AutoCAD itself. They’re all licensing-layer failures — which is exactly the layer of the software you have the least control over and the least visibility into.
CAD software with no licensing service to break
I run a CAD software distribution site, so take this with a grain of salt — but the honest reason this error is so common is structural: every AutoCAD launch depends on a background service checking in with Autodesk’s licensing infrastructure. SmartCAD doesn’t have that layer at all.
SmartCAD is an IntelliCAD-based DWG editor with native .DWG support and AutoCAD-compatible commands. The license is a perpetual, one-time key — there’s no Desktop Licensing Service, no Single Sign-On component, no daily re-authorization, and nothing running in the background that can time out, get corrupted, or lose an entitlement. You install it, enter your key once, and it opens.
If chasing a licensing error code brought you here, there’s a free 30-day trial — full features, no credit card, no account sign-in required to test it.
Related reading
AutoCAD Tips AutoCAD Error 1603 — How to Fix It (Every Version) AutoCAD Tips Best AutoCAD Alternatives with Perpetual Licensing SmartCAD Support SmartCAD System Requirements Blog More CAD Tips & GuidesFrequently asked questions
What does ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING mean?
It’s a generic wrapper code from Autodesk’s licensing SDK meaning the license validation handshake between AutoCAD and the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service didn’t complete. The number that follows the code — such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 20, 22, 25, or 41 — identifies the specific sub-failure, and each number has a different root cause and fix.
What causes ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING 20: Generic license checkout error?
This is most often caused by an outdated or corrupted Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service version, or an issue activating with a serial number. Updating the licensing service to the latest version, or performing a clean uninstall and reinstall of it, resolves most cases.
What causes ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING 3: user canceled authorization?
Despite the name, this usually isn’t something the user actually canceled. It typically points to a corrupted Autodesk Single Sign-On component, a missing Identity Manager component, an outdated licensing service, or a user account that’s missing the product entitlement in Autodesk Account. Signing out and back in, and verifying entitlements at manage.autodesk.com, resolves most cases.
How do I fix ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING 22: Retry limit exceeded?
Code 22 means AutoCAD repeatedly failed to connect to the licensing service running locally on your machine. This is usually caused by antivirus or firewall software blocking the connection. Temporarily disabling real-time protection, or adding the AdskLicensing folder to your antivirus exclusions, typically resolves it.
Is ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING the same as Error 1603?
No. Error 1603 is a Windows Installer (MSI) failure that happens during installation. ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING is a licensing failure that happens when launching an already-installed product. They can share a root component — the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service — which is why the same “clean reinstall of the service” fix often resolves both.
Does this error affect AutoCAD LT too?
Yes. ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING and its numbered variants affect AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, Revit, Civil 3D, and any other Autodesk product built on the same 2020-and-later licensing architecture, since they all share the same Desktop Licensing Service.
What’s the fastest fix if I don’t want to diagnose the exact code?
A clean uninstall and reinstall of the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service resolves the large majority of ADLSDK_STATUS_AUTH_PENDING errors regardless of the specific number. Uninstall it from C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\AdskLicensing, restart your computer, then reinstall the latest version from Autodesk before signing in again.
