Table of Contents

• Eligibility and License Options 
• Cost Options 
• Important License Notes 
• How to Sign in to Adobe Software 
• Enterprise Users (Active Full-time and Part-time Faculty and Staff) 
• Populations who are Ineligible for Enterprise 
• Installing Adobe Software 
• Troubleshooting Adobe 

 

Eligibility and License Options

 

Active, Permanent Full-Time or Part-Time Faculty and Staff  

Permanent Full-Time or Part-Time Faculty and Staff are eligible for an Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) for Adobe Creative Cloud at no cost. Those eligible may claim a license from the Adobe Account Analysis self-service tool and sign in to Adobe products using as their username, then entering their Pennkey credentials. 

Departments in need of licenses for Work-Study Students, Student Workers, Drexel Co-Ops, and sponsored students. 

Student workers, temporary employees, and graduate associates require a University VIP license to be purchased on their behalf. Supervisors must submit requests through the Brokered Product Request Survey. A valid budget code and Business Office (RBO) contact are required for all non-department-funded purchases. Staff paid on departmental (zero fund) accounts will have license costs covered through FY2027. 

Temporary Staff, Contractors, and other non-eligible employees 

A Retail license can be purchased on behalf of Temporary Staff, contractors, and other non-eligible employees. Their supervisor must submit requests through the Brokered Product Request Survey. A valid budget code and Business Office (RBO) contact are required. 

Emeritus Faculty 

Emeritus faculty with university funds can submit a request through the Brokered Product Request Survey, a valid budget code and Business Office contact is necessary to complete the request. 
If University funds are not available, licenses must be purchased directly from Adobe or a retailer such as B&H or Best Buy. Discounted rates are available for educators, including emeritus faculty. 

 

All Students (Undergraduate, Graduate, Professional, Doctoral) 

Students in SAS who are not sponsored by their department and who need Adobe for coursework or personal use can purchase a license directly through Adobe or another retailer.

 

Important License Notes 

IMPORTANT: Licenses purchased directly from Adobe or other resellers are not part of the University’s Adobe Creative Cloud ETLA and not managed by Penn. Sign in credentials are entirely separate from Pennkey credentials.  

Adobe Cloud Storage

Adobe cloud storage is not recommended for any Penn users. Users who need consultation on appropriate cloud storage should contact their local IT support provider. 

Device Limitations 

Users with an Adobe license can install Creative Cloud on multiple computers. However, the user may be signed in on no more than two computers at the same time, and the applications can be actively used on only one computer at a time. 

IMPORTANT: Adobe does not offer any plans that allow for more than two activated devices. If a user needs to use Adobe Creative Cloud on more than two devices, they will see a message that they have reached their activation limit and must sign out of one of the other two devices first.  

How to Sign in to Adobe Software

 

Enterprise Users (Active, Full-Time or Part-Time Faculty and Staff) 

1. Claim an Enterprise Adobe License by navigating to the Adobe Account Analysis self-service tool.
2. Click on "Claim Adobe License"
   
   
   
   
3. Wait a few minutes, then sign in to Adobe software.
   
   • This license includes the full Creative Cloud suite (including Acrobat) 
   • Access and install all available apps via the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app. 
   • Licenses that have been inactive for over 90 days must be reclaimed. 
   • Please avoid storing files in Adobe Cloud Storage (data may be lost if the license is removed). 

 

Sign in to Adobe Software 

1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud app, or navigate to Adobe.com 
2. Enter as username (where pennkey = your PennKey name). 
3. Click Continue 
4. This will redirect to the familiar Single Sign-On (SSO) page and prompt for Pennkey credentials 
5. Complete two-step authentication 

Emeritus faculty, students, doctoral candidates, student workers, temporary staff, contractors, and others will need to log in with the credentials created when the license was activated. 

Populations who are Ineligible for Adobe Enterprise License 

Emeritus faculty, students, doctoral candidates, student workers, temporary staff, contractors and all others will need to sign in to Adobe with the credentials created when the Adobe license was activated.  

When activating a purchased Adobe license, the user will be prompted to set up an account by entering an email address and a new password. We suggest entering or another subdomain as the username and setting a unique password.  

IMPORTANT: Licenses purchased directly from Adobe or other resellers are not part of the University’s Adobe Creative Cloud ETLA and not managed by Penn. Sign in credentials would be entirely separate from Pennkey credentials.  

Adobe cloud storage is not recommended for any Penn users. Users who need consultation on appropriate cloud storage should contact their local IT support provider. 

Installating Adobe Software

Personal Machine

1. Always uninstall any old or non-licensed Adobe versions before installing new ones. 
2. Close all other programs, especially Microsoft Office, before installation. 
3. Log in at www.adobe.com 
4. Download and install Adobe Creative Cloud. 
5. Click Open Creative Cloud, then select Desktop Creative Cloud → Download. 
6. Follow the installation prompts (admin credentials required). 
7. Once installed, use the Creative Cloud app to install Acrobat, Photoshop, and other applications. 
8. Installation can take up to 30 minutes; closing all programs will help avoid issues. 

University-Owned Machine

Check if Creative Cloud is installed. If not, Install via BigFix SSA, or Contact your LSP for assistance.
From the Creative Cloud App, you can download and install any of the Adobe software available under our license.

 

Troubleshooting 

Confirm You’re Using the Correct Login Format- this is for Permanent Faculty and Staff

1. Make sure you’re signing in with your address — not your personal email or another format
2. Go to adobe.com
3. Click Sign In (top right)
4. Enter
5. If prompted, select “Company or School Account”
6. You should then be redirected to the PennKey login screen

Check for Account Not Found or Access Errors

If you see “Account doesn’t exist” or “You don’t have access”, try these steps:

1. Double-check the email address format (must be )
2. Clear your browser cache and cookies, or try using a private/incognito window
3. Try another browser (Chrome and Edge generally work best)

If the issue persists, go to the Adobe Account Analysis Self-Service Tool to verify your license status. If you see a button on this page that says Claim Adobe License, you will need to click on that to restore your access. 

If the analysis returns a result that indicates you are not eligible for a license but you are an active staff, faculty, or Emeritus professor in the School of Arts and Sciences, fill out the Adobe Survey to request a license. If you are eligible, one will be granted to you in 1-3 days.

Check for Dormant or Expired Licenses

If your license has been inactive for 90 days, it may have been automatically removed. You can reclaim your license using the Adobe Account Analysis Self-Service Tool.

Error: HTTP Status 400 – Bad Request 
This is an issue with the browser, try to log in via a different browser or clear your browsers cache for "all time".

• For Google Chrome: Click the three dots in the top right corner, then go to More tools > Clear browsing data or Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data.
• For Microsoft Edge: Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data or type edge://settings/clearbrowserdata into the address bar.
• For Mozilla Firefox: Go to Menu > Preferences > Privacy & Security and find the "Cookies and Site Data" and "Cached Web Content" options.
• For Safari: Go to Safari > Preferences.

Verify Internet Connection

Make sure you’re on a stable internet connection.

 

If you have any Adobe-related questions, please reach out to your LSP.