Oracle JDK 21 builds released through September 2026 stay free under Oracle's No-Fee Terms. From the Critical Patch Update of 20 October 2026, new Oracle JDK 21 updates are under the Java SE OTN license, which is not free for production. A CI job, Dockerfile or script that pulls the latest Oracle JDK 21 switches licence that day without anyone editing it.
| Date | What Oracle says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | Last Oracle JDK 21 releases under the No-Fee Terms (free, also in production). | Oracle JDK licence FAQ |
| 20 October 2026 | Critical Patch Update. From here, new Oracle JDK 21 updates are under the Java SE OTN license: free for development and test, not for production. | Oracle Java blog, 2026-08-14 |
| Same day | The October 2026 CPU date on Oracle's own calendar (third Tuesday of the month). | Oracle Critical Patch Update calendar |
| After that | Production use of new Oracle JDK 21 updates needs Java SE Universal Subscription, priced per employee: $15 per employee per month at list for 1-999 employees, counting the whole company. | Java SE Universal Subscription price list |
At list price a 250-person company pays 250 x $15 x 12 = $45,000 a year. The unit is the payroll, not the server.
Paste a Dockerfile, a GitHub Actions workflow or a provisioning script. The check names every line that pulls an Oracle build, counts down to 20 October and gives the free Temurin or Corretto line for each. It runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Oracle bills Java SE on the whole headcount, so one forgotten repository is enough. The record lists every Oracle line in a workspace with file, line, licence basis, date and the free swap, plus a SHA-256 of each file, so procurement or an audit can see what was checked and when. You get a licence key; the extension below writes the record in your workspace.
Dated record for one workspace - $29 onceTeam key - every repository and pull request in CI, 5 seats - $149 once
In your editor: the free VS Code extension (also on Open VSX for Cursor and VSCodium) does the same check on every file you open. VS Code Marketplace · Open VSX · getreadystack.com/tools/oracle-jdk-license-gate
The builds Oracle released through September 2026 stay under the No-Fee Terms. New Oracle JDK 21 updates from the 20 October 2026 Critical Patch Update are under the Java SE OTN license, which does not allow free production use.
An OpenJDK build such as Eclipse Temurin or Amazon Corretto, or Oracle JDK 25, which Oracle keeps under the No-Fee Terms until October 2028. The check gives the exact replacement line for each place.
Java SE Universal Subscription is priced per employee across the whole company, $15 per employee per month at list for 1-999 employees.
Sources (read 2026-10-10): Oracle JDK licence FAQ · Oracle Java blog, 2026-08-14 · Oracle Critical Patch Update calendar · Java SE Universal Subscription price list
Not legal advice. Your own agreement with Oracle, if you have one, is what governs.