Dynamics NAV End of Sale in 2031: The Deadline That Is Not the One That Matters
Microsoft will stop selling Dynamics NAV on 30 April 2031. It set that date in a migration announcement in July 2026, and at Directions EMEA 2026, the Business Central partner conference held in Paris at the end of October, it came back together with the programmes meant to fund the move. For a group still running several companies on NAV, that date is the arrival point, not the starting line. Support for the last NAV version ends more than three years earlier, and those incentives expire well before that. The date that decides your calendar is the closest one, not the latest.
What exactly did Microsoft announce for Dynamics NAV?
Four things, all subject to Microsoft’s final programme terms:
- End of sale of Dynamics NAV on 30 April 2031, announced by Microsoft in July 2026.
- Business Central on-premises licences sold through CSP from 1 February 2027, the Cloud Solution Provider channel already used for Business Central online, announced in the same July 2026 communication.
- Business Central migration vouchers of up to $100,000 per project, for deals above $25,000 in annual contract value, a threshold Microsoft lowered in April 2026 so that smaller migrations qualify. The current programme runs until 30 June 2027, or until the vouchers run out, and cannot be combined with Bridge to the Cloud 3.
- Bridge to the Cloud 3, the third edition of Microsoft’s licence promotion for on-premises customers moving to Business Central online, running until December 2027.
Check eligibility and amounts with your partner before building a business case on them. Programmes like these are adjusted from one year to the next.
Is end of sale the same as end of support?
No, and the gap is the trap. End of sale means you can no longer buy NAV. End of support means Microsoft no longer fixes it. For NAV, support ends first.
Microsoft’s lifecycle pages give the dates. Dynamics NAV 2018, the last NAV version, left mainstream support on 10 January 2023 and leaves extended support on 11 January 2028. NAV 2017 leaves extended support on 11 January 2027. After those dates there are no more security updates, no non-security fixes and no assisted support.
So between January 2028 and April 2031, NAV may still be on sale while nothing Microsoft ships protects it. Buying extra licences for a system in that state is extending the problem, not solving it. We covered what the support calendar forces, and what can wait, in our article on Dynamics NAV vs Business Central.
Why does 2031 arrive sooner for a multi-entity group?
Because a group does not migrate once. It migrates company by company, or in batches, and every batch goes through the same steps.
Microsoft Learn describes the route from NAV 2015 to NAV 2018: upgrade to Business Central version 14 on-premises, then to version 25 or later on-premises, then run the cloud migration to Business Central online. Older NAV versions add steps before that. Every C/AL customization must be converted to an AL extension on the way, or the data in customized tables does not come across. The alternative Learn offers is the Business Central 14 reimplementation tool, which brings essential data only (master data, opening balances, setup and, depending on the page you read, a subset of posted history) and leaves the old customizations behind.
Learn also asks for at least one full dry run in a sandbox before the production cutover, and advises designing company batches early so timing and validation can be repeated. In practice, in a group, that means one dry run per batch, each validated by the people who close the books in those companies. Then add the work that is specific to groups: intercompany flows, consolidation, shared master data, local tax rules. The NAV to Business Central migration checklist lists the phases; a group repeats several of them.
None of this fits in the last year before a deadline. Counted backwards from 2031, a group with several companies to move starts years ahead, not months.
Which dates come first?
Put them in order and the picture changes.
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 11 January 2027 | End of extended support for NAV 2017 | Microsoft lifecycle |
| 1 February 2027 | Business Central on-premises licences available through CSP | Microsoft announcement, July 2026 |
| 30 June 2027 | End of the migration voucher programme, or earlier if vouchers run out | Microsoft partner programme |
| December 2027 | End of Bridge to the Cloud 3 | Microsoft partner programme, Directions EMEA 2026 |
| 11 January 2028 | End of extended support for NAV 2018 | Microsoft lifecycle |
| 30 April 2031 | End of sale of Dynamics NAV | Microsoft announcement, July 2026 |
The incentives and the end of support all land in a window of about twelve months. A group that wants a voucher or the promotion (it has to pick one, they do not combine) while still on a supported version has to decide in 2027, not in 2030.
What about staying on Business Central on-premises?
It is a real option, and the move to CSP licensing from February 2027 makes it easier to buy. It does not remove the update discipline. Business Central on-premises follows Microsoft’s Modern Lifecycle Policy: support depends on staying current. Learn’s lifecycle pages show it plainly: version 25 reached end of servicing on 4 April 2026, and version 26 on 13 October 2026.
For a group, on-premises means running that upgrade cycle on every environment, with every extension, through two major releases a year, for as long as you stay. Some groups have good reasons to accept that: hosting constraints, integrations that need a local server, code that cannot yet run online. The point is to choose it with that cost in view, not by default because the cloud project looked too big.
What should a group decide in the next twelve months?
- The inventory. Which companies run which NAV version, with how many customized objects, and which integrations. Without that list there is no calendar.
- The target per company. Business Central online, on-premises, or reimplementation through the version 14 tool. Different companies in one group can land on different answers.
- The batches. Which companies move together, in what order, and who validates each dry run.
- The funding. Whether a voucher or Bridge to the Cloud 3 fits better, since they cannot be combined, and the latest date the project can start to use it.
- The support exposure. Which companies will still be on NAV after 11 January 2028, and what the group accepts for them in the meantime.
The Asio Services way
We start from the dates, not the product. For a group, we build the calendar backwards from the first deadline that bites, batch by batch, and only then talk about scope and tools. Most of the risk in a NAV exit sits in the order of the companies and in the customizations nobody has listed yet. That is the work behind our NAV to Business Central migration service. If you run several companies on NAV and want a calendar you can defend in front of your board, start with a clarity session.
FAQ
When does Microsoft stop selling Dynamics NAV?
Microsoft announced in July 2026 that Dynamics NAV will stop being sold on 30 April 2031. Support for NAV 2018, the last version, ends earlier, on 11 January 2028, according to Microsoft’s lifecycle pages.
Can we keep using Dynamics NAV after 2031?
The end of sale stops new purchases; it does not switch off an installed system. But NAV 2018 will have been without security updates for more than three years by then, and no version of NAV will have been supported since January 2028.
What are the Business Central migration vouchers?
Microsoft funds Business Central migrations through vouchers of up to $100,000 per project, for deals above $25,000 in annual contract value. The current programme runs until 30 June 2027 or until vouchers run out, and cannot be combined with Bridge to the Cloud 3. Eligibility goes through the partner and should be confirmed before it enters a business case.
Can a NAV customer move to Business Central on-premises instead of the cloud?
Yes. Microsoft announced that Business Central on-premises licences will be sold through CSP from 1 February 2027. On-premises versions follow the Modern Lifecycle Policy, so each version is supported only while you keep up with updates.
How long does a NAV migration take for a group?
It depends on the number of companies, the NAV versions, the customizations and the integrations. What Learn makes clear is the structure: an upgrade path through version 14, a conversion of every customization to AL, and at least one dry run per batch before cutover.