info:To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
To enable features of GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE), you need to activate your instance. Ensure you are running an enterprise edition. To verify, sign in to GitLab and browse to `/help`. The GitLab edition and version are listed at the top of the **Help** page.
When you install a new GitLab instance without a license, it only has the Free features
enabled. To enable all features of GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE), activate
your instance with an activation code or a license file. When [the license expires](#what-happens-when-your-license-expires),
some functionality is locked.
If you are running GitLab Community Edition (CE), upgrade your installation to GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE). For more details, see [Upgrading between editions](../../update/index.md#upgrading-between-editions). If you have questions or need assistance upgrading from GitLab CE to EE please [contact GitLab Support](https://about.gitlab.com/support/#contact-support).
## Verify your GitLab edition
As of GitLab Enterprise Edition 9.4.0, a newly-installed instance without an
uploaded license only has the Free features active. A trial license activates all Ultimate features, but after [the trial expires](#what-happens-when-your-license-expires), some functionality
is locked.
To activate your instance, make sure you are running GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE).
## Activate GitLab EE with an Activation Code
To verify the edition, sign in to GitLab and select
**Help** (**{question-o}**) > **Help**. The GitLab edition and version are listed
at the top of the page.
As of GitLab Enterprise Edition 14.1, you need an activation code to activate your instance. You can obtain an activation code by [purchasing a license](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) or by signing up for a [free trial](https://about.gitlab.com/free-trial/). This activation code is a 24-character alphanumeric string you receive in a confirmation email. You can also sign in to the [Customers Portal](https://customers.gitlab.com/customers/sign_in) to copy the activation code to your clipboard.
If you are running GitLab Community Edition (CE), upgrade your installation to GitLab
EE. For more details, see [Upgrading between editions](../../update/index.md#upgrading-between-editions).
If you have questions or need assistance upgrading from GitLab CE to EE,