If the License Authorization Wizard (LAW) does not open, try the following steps:
Windows
Start the wizard via the Start menu
- Click the Windows Start button.
- Type: IBM SPSS License Authorization Wizard or License.
- Right-click the result and select Run as administrator.
Start the wizard via the SPSS installation folder
- Navigate to the folder where SPSS is installed. Typically: C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS\Statistics\<version>
- Find the file LicenseAuthorizationWizard.exe.
- Right-click the file and select Run as administrator.
Start the wizard via Windows Search
- Press Windows key + S.
- Type: LicenseAuthorizationWizard.exe.
- When it appears, right-click and select Run as administrator.
If the wizard still does not start or hangs
- Ensure SPSS is fully installed and that you are opening the wizard from the correct version folder.
- Close all SPSS processes via Task Manager before starting the wizard.
- Open SPSS once; sometimes a message appears saying no license is installed, allowing you to launch the wizard from that message.
- Check that firewall or antivirus software is not blocking the wizard.
Mac
Start the wizard via the SPSS application
- Open the Applications folder.
- Go to the SPSS folder, for example:
IBM SPSS Statistics <version> - Open the License Authorization Wizard.
- It may be listed as LicenseAuthorizationWizard.app inside the Utilities folder within the SPSS folder.
Start the wizard via Spotlight
- Press Command (⌘) + Space to open Spotlight.
- Type LicenseAuthorizationWizard and press Enter.
Start the wizard via Terminal
- Open Terminal (via Spotlight or Applications → Utilities → Terminal).
- Type the path to the wizard, for example: /Applications/IBM\ SPSS\ Statistics\ 29/LicenseAuthorizationWizard.app/Contents/MacOS/LicenseAuthorizationWizard
- Press Enter to launch the wizard with administrative privileges.
If the wizard still does not start
- Make sure SPSS is fully installed and you are using the correct version.
- Check macOS security settings: Go to System Settings → Security & Privacy → General, and see if the app was blocked. Click Allow if needed.
- Close SPSS completely before starting the wizard.
- If multiple SPSS versions are installed, use the wizard from the version you want to license.