Problem
When attempting to run builds on CircleCI Server, you encounter the following error message:
"This job has been blocked because no user seats are available on your plan. Please purchase more user seats to continue building."
This error occurs when your CircleCI Server installation has reached its maximum number of licensed user seats. All available seats are currently occupied by active users, preventing new users from triggering builds or existing users from continuing their work. This is specific to CircleCI Server installations and does not apply to cloud-based CircleCI accounts.
Solution
Follow these steps to resolve the error and prevent it from recurring.
Step 1: Check Your Seat Usage
Log into CircleCI Server as an administrator
Go to Admin Dashboard > License
Note your total seats vs active users
If seats available = 0, continue to Step 2.
Step 2: Remove Inactive Users
In Admin Dashboard, go to Users
Suspend users who:
Left your organization
Haven't used CircleCI in 30+ days
Have duplicate accounts
Remove these same users from your VCS (GitHub/Bitbucket/GitLab)
Test: Try running a build. If it works, skip to Step 4. If not, continue to Step 3.
Step 3: Purchase Additional Seats (If Needed)
Calculate required seats:
Active team members + 20% buffer = Total needed
Contact CircleCI Account Team:
Request additional seats
Provide current license details
Apply new license when received:
Upload file in Admin Dashboard > License
Verify new seat count shows correctly
Step 4: Prevent Future Issues
Set an alert for 80% seat usage
Review monthly: Remove inactive users
Maintain a 20% seat buffer
Outcome
Your builds should now run successfully. You'll have:
Sufficient seats for your team
A process to manage seats going forward
Alerts before hitting limits again
Additional Notes
Seats become available immediately when users are suspended
Only administrators can manage users and licenses
Unregistered users (those who commit but don't log in) also use seats
Still blocked? Contact CircleCI Support with your license details and a description of the steps you completed.
Additional Resources
Managing User Accounts - CircleCI Server Documentation
Server License Details - How to check your license details via API
What is an Active User? - Understanding how user seats are allocated