---
sourceDocument: Australia Asset Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-asset-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Asset Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itam

bundleId :

    - itam

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Consumption rule evaluation

# Consumption rule evaluation {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated September 30, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
Consumption rules control which installations or users can consume a license. After you link a consumption rule to an entitlement, the license metric type determines how the system evaluates the rule during
allocation.

Consumption rules restrict license consumption to specific organizational entities, such as a company, cost center, department, or country. You use consumption rules to allocate licenses to particular groups or locations within
your organization. For example, a consumption rule could limit a license to users in the Finance department or devices in a specific company.

After you [create consumption rules](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/rb9iNH6jTjgln~IIrgw6Wg "Create consumption rules to restrict license consumption to certain entities within your organization."), you must [link them to entitlements](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nn0EtG7cy1RniLf4AMPzDw "After you've created a consumption rule, you must link the rule to one or more entitlements."). When the system allocates a license, it evaluates each software installation against the linked consumption rule to determine whether that installation can
consume a license from the entitlement.

The field that the system evaluates depends on the license metric allocation type configured on the entitlement. The system reads this field from the Software Installation \[cmdb_sam_sw_install\] table.  
{#consumption-rule-evaluation__table_consumption_rule_field_evaluation__entry__2}

| License metric allocation type | Field evaluated on the Software Installation record |
|-|-|
| Device-based (for example, Per Core or Per Device) | Installed on |
| User-based (for example, Per User or User Subscription) | Assigned to |
[Table 1. Field evaluated by license metric allocation type]

{#consumption-rule-evaluation__table_consumption_rule_field_evaluation}

The license metric on the linked entitlement determines which field the system evaluates, regardless of the consumption rule values you set such as country, company, or cost center.

## Evaluation scenarios {#consumption-rule-evaluation__section_scenarios}

Per Device evaluation scenario

:   An entitlement uses the Per Device license metric and is linked to a consumption rule that specifies a company. When a software installation attempts to consume a license from this entitlement, the system checks
    the device's company. That device is the one referenced in the Installed on field of the Software Installation record.

    If the device's company matches the consumption rule's company, the installation can consume a license from the entitlement. If it doesn't match, the installation can't consume against that entitlement.

Per User evaluation scenario

:   An entitlement uses the Per User license metric and is linked to a consumption rule that specifies a department. When a software installation attempts to consume a license from this entitlement, the system checks
    the user's department. That user is the one referenced in the Assigned to field of the Software Installation record.

    If the user's department matches the consumption rule's department, the installation can consume a license from the entitlement. If it doesn't match, the installation can't consume against that entitlement.
**Related tasks**   

* [Create consumption rules](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/rb9iNH6jTjgln~IIrgw6Wg "Create consumption rules to restrict license consumption to certain entities within your organization.")
* [Link consumption rules to entitlements](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nn0EtG7cy1RniLf4AMPzDw "After you've created a consumption rule, you must link the rule to one or more entitlements.")