Fix “This server does not have a license key specified” in FiveM

Every FiveM server needs a free license key before it starts. If FXServer stops with “This server does not have a license key specified”, it did not find a key in the config it loaded. A rejected key, or a server that can't reach Cfx.re, fails in a similar way. Work through these checks in order.

By the Nodewave team · Updated 8 November 2026

1. Get a key in the Cfx.re Portal

License keys are created in the Cfx.re Portal with your Cfx.re account. Create a key for your server and copy it. Keep it private: anyone who has it can run a server under your account. If a key was ever posted in public, generate a new one in the Portal and replace the old one.

2. Put it in server.cfg

Add the key to server.cfg with straight quotes:

sv_licenseKey "your-license-key"

With txAdmin, you enter the key while setting up the server and txAdmin writes it into server.cfg. You can check the line in txAdmin's CFG editor.

3. Make sure the server loads that file

The most common reason for the error is a key that is set in a file the server never read. Check these:

• Start the server through txAdmin, or from the folder that holds server.cfg, with +exec server.cfg.
• If the console says “No such config file: server.cfg”, you started it from the wrong folder.
• On Windows, make sure the file is not really named server.cfg.txt. Turn on file name extensions in Explorer to see it.
• Keep exactly one sv_licenseKey line, not commented out and not left empty.

4. Check the quotes and spaces

Copying a key through a chat app, a document or a web page often turns straight quotes into curly ones, or adds a hidden space. FXServer reads those as part of the key. Retype the quotes by hand, remove any space inside them and paste the key again from the Portal.

5. Key rejected?

If the console says the key is invalid, or the server starts and then refuses it, generate a new key in the Portal, replace the old one in server.cfg and restart. Don't reuse a key that was revoked or replaced.

6. Can your server reach Cfx.re?

FXServer checks the key with Cfx.re over the internet when it starts. If your VPS can't look up names or outgoing traffic is blocked, the check fails even with a correct key. Test from the server:

curl -sI https://portal.cfx.re/ | head -n 1

Any HTTP status line means the connection works. “Could not resolve host” means DNS is broken on the server. On Ubuntu and Debian, check which resolver the server uses:

resolvectl status

If no working DNS server is listed, set one in /etc/systemd/resolved.conf, for example DNS=1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8, then restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved

Also make sure the firewall allows outgoing HTTPS on port 443 and DNS on port 53.

Still failing?

Send your host the console output from the start of the server and the sv_licenseKey line with the key hidden. Never share the key itself.