Windows Server – upgrade Evaluation to Standard

Step-by-step guide for upgrading the Windows Server edition from Evaluation to Standard.

This guide shows you how to upgrade the edition of your Windows Server from Evaluation to Standard. It’s applicable for versions 2019, 2022, and 2025.

Step-by-step guide

1. Verify the current version

Open Command Prompt as administrator.

Type the following command and press Enter to check the current edition of your server:

DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

2. Determine the available target editions

To see the editions you can upgrade to, run the following command:

DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions

Make sure that ServerStandard is listed as a target edition.

3. Enter the product key

Now, you need to change the product key to the one you have (MAK key). To do this, use the following command:

DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula

IMPORTANT! The XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX need to be replaced with your MAK key for the command to work.

4. Restart the server

After the process completes, restart the server for the changes to take effect.

5. Verify the upgrade

Once the server restarts, you can verify the upgrade by checking the edition again with the following command:

DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

It should now display ServerStandard.