diff --git a/observability-kit-micrometer/pom.xml b/observability-kit-micrometer/pom.xml
index 68e09f6..5d56b70 100644
--- a/observability-kit-micrometer/pom.xml
+++ b/observability-kit-micrometer/pom.xml
@@ -16,11 +16,19 @@
     <name>Observability Kit :: Micrometer</name>
     <description>Framework-agnostic Micrometer instrumentation for Vaadin Flow.</description>
 
+    <properties>
+        <cvdl.name>vaadin-observability-kit</cvdl.name>
+    </properties>
+
     <dependencies>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.vaadin</groupId>
             <artifactId>flow-server</artifactId>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>com.vaadin</groupId>
+            <artifactId>license-checker</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>io.micrometer</groupId>
             <artifactId>micrometer-core</artifactId>
@@ -50,6 +58,46 @@
             <artifactId>mockito-core</artifactId>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.mockito</groupId>
+            <artifactId>mockito-junit-jupiter</artifactId>
+            <scope>test</scope>
+        </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
+    <build>
+        <resources>
+            <resource>
+                <directory>src/main/resources</directory>
+                <filtering>false</filtering>
+                <excludes>
+                    <exclude>observability-kit.properties</exclude>
+                </excludes>
+            </resource>
+            <resource>
+                <directory>src/main/resources</directory>
+                <filtering>true</filtering>
+                <includes>
+                    <include>observability-kit.properties</include>
+                </includes>
+            </resource>
+        </resources>
+        <plugins>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
+                <configuration>
+                    <archive>
+                        <manifest>
+                            <addDefaultImplementationEntries>true</addDefaultImplementationEntries>
+                        </manifest>
+                        <manifestEntries>
+                            <CvdlName>${cvdl.name}</CvdlName>
+                        </manifestEntries>
+                    </archive>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+        </plugins>
+    </build>
+
 </project>
diff --git a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListener.java b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListener.java
index 0a3696a..9a78ff9 100644
--- a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListener.java
+++ b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListener.java
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 import io.micrometer.core.instrument.MeterRegistry;
 import io.micrometer.core.instrument.observation.DefaultMeterObservationHandler;
 import io.micrometer.observation.ObservationRegistry;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import com.vaadin.flow.server.ServiceInitEvent;
 import com.vaadin.flow.server.VaadinRequest;
@@ -44,6 +46,9 @@
  */
 public class MetricsServiceInitListener implements VaadinServiceInitListener {
 
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory
+            .getLogger(MetricsServiceInitListener.class);
+
     private final MeterRegistry meterRegistry;
     private final ObservationRegistry observationRegistry;
     private final ObservabilitySettings settings;
@@ -152,6 +157,16 @@ public void serviceInit(ServiceInitEvent event) {
         if (r == null || s == null) {
             return;
         }
+        boolean productionMode = event.getSource().getDeploymentConfiguration()
+                .isProductionMode();
+        if (!ObservabilityLicense.isLicensed(productionMode)) {
+            LOGGER.warn(
+                    "No valid {} license found. Observability Kit instrumentation "
+                            + "will not be registered and no telemetry will be collected. "
+                            + "See https://vaadin.com/commercial-license-and-service-terms",
+                    ObservabilityLicense.PRODUCT_NAME);
+            return;
+        }
         ObservationRegistry or = observationRegistry != null
                 ? observationRegistry
                 : ObservabilityKit.getObservationRegistry();
diff --git a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/ObservabilityLicense.java b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/ObservabilityLicense.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba8b47d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/ObservabilityLicense.java
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2000-2026 Vaadin Ltd
+ *
+ * This program is available under Vaadin Commercial License and Service Terms.
+ *
+ * See <https://vaadin.com/commercial-license-and-service-terms> for the full
+ * license.
+ */
+package com.vaadin.observability.micrometer;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.BuildType;
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.Capabilities;
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.Capability;
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.LicenseChecker;
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.LicenseException;
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.MissingLicenseKeyException;
+
+/**
+ * Validates the Observability Kit commercial license.
+ * <p>
+ * Unlike a license-checking {@code VaadinServiceInitListener}, this does not
+ * fail application startup. It is consulted by
+ * {@link MetricsServiceInitListener} as a gate: when the kit is not licensed,
+ * the instrumentation (meter and observation registries, binders and trackers)
+ * is simply not registered, and the application keeps running without
+ * telemetry.
+ */
+final class ObservabilityLicense {
+
+    static final String PROPERTIES_RESOURCE = "observability-kit.properties";
+
+    static final String VERSION_PROPERTY = "observability-kit.version";
+
+    static final String PRODUCT_NAME = "vaadin-observability-kit";
+
+    static final String PRODUCT_VERSION;
+
+    static {
+        final var properties = loadAllProperties(PROPERTIES_RESOURCE);
+        PRODUCT_VERSION = properties.getProperty(VERSION_PROPERTY);
+    }
+
+    private ObservabilityLicense() {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Checks whether Observability Kit is licensed for use.
+     * <p>
+     * Production builds are validated at build time, so this returns
+     * {@code true} without a runtime check. Development builds are validated
+     * against the local license key; a missing, invalid or outdated key makes
+     * this return {@code false} instead of throwing, so the caller can skip
+     * registering instrumentation rather than failing the whole application.
+     *
+     * @param productionMode
+     *            whether the deployment runs in production mode
+     * @return {@code true} if the kit may register its instrumentation
+     */
+    static boolean isLicensed(boolean productionMode) {
+        if (productionMode) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        try {
+            // A null BuildType allows trial licensing builds. The no-key
+            // handler throws instead of opening a browser so the check stays
+            // non-blocking, and the zero timeout avoids waiting for a download.
+            BuildType buildType = null;
+            LicenseChecker.checkLicense(PRODUCT_NAME, PRODUCT_VERSION,
+                    buildType, url -> {
+                        throw new MissingLicenseKeyException(
+                                "No license key present");
+                    }, 0, Capabilities.of(Capability.PRE_TRIAL));
+            return true;
+        } catch (LicenseException e) {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    static Properties loadAllProperties(String propertiesResource) {
+        final var cl = ObservabilityLicense.class.getClassLoader();
+        try (final var stream = cl.getResourceAsStream(propertiesResource)) {
+            final var properties = new Properties();
+            properties.load(stream);
+            return properties;
+        } catch (NullPointerException | IOException e) {
+            throw new ExceptionInInitializerError(e);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/resources/observability-kit.properties b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/resources/observability-kit.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2fa87a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/main/resources/observability-kit.properties
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+observability-kit.version=${project.version}
diff --git a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerLicenseTest.java b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerLicenseTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29e4b39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerLicenseTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2000-2026 Vaadin Ltd
+ *
+ * This program is available under Vaadin Commercial License and Service Terms.
+ *
+ * See <https://vaadin.com/commercial-license-and-service-terms> for the full
+ * license.
+ */
+package com.vaadin.observability.micrometer;
+
+import io.micrometer.core.instrument.simple.SimpleMeterRegistry;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import com.vaadin.flow.server.ServiceInitEvent;
+import com.vaadin.flow.server.UIInitListener;
+import com.vaadin.flow.server.VaadinRequestInterceptor;
+import com.vaadin.flow.server.VaadinService;
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.LicenseChecker;
+import com.vaadin.pro.licensechecker.LicenseException;
+
+import static com.vaadin.observability.micrometer.ObservabilityLicense.loadAllProperties;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyInt;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mockStatic;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+class MetricsServiceInitListenerLicenseTest {
+
+    private VaadinService service;
+    private ServiceInitEvent event;
+
+    @BeforeEach
+    void setUp() {
+        service = mock(VaadinService.class, RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS);
+        event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
+        when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
+        ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
+                ObservabilitySettings.builder().build());
+    }
+
+    @AfterEach
+    void tearDown() {
+        ObservabilityKit.reset();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void developmentMode_withoutValidLicense_skipsInstrumentation() {
+        when(service.getDeploymentConfiguration().isProductionMode())
+                .thenReturn(false);
+
+        try (var licenseChecker = mockStatic(LicenseChecker.class)) {
+            licenseChecker
+                    .when(() -> LicenseChecker.checkLicense(any(), any(), any(),
+                            any(), anyInt(), any()))
+                    .thenThrow(new LicenseException("no valid license"));
+
+            new MetricsServiceInitListener().serviceInit(event);
+        }
+
+        verify(service, never()).addSessionInitListener(any());
+        verify(service, never()).addUIInitListener(any());
+        verify(event, never()).addVaadinRequestInterceptor(any());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void developmentMode_withValidLicense_registersInstrumentation() {
+        when(service.getDeploymentConfiguration().isProductionMode())
+                .thenReturn(false);
+
+        // An unstubbed static checkLicense is a no-op, i.e. a valid license
+        try (var licenseChecker = mockStatic(LicenseChecker.class)) {
+            new MetricsServiceInitListener().serviceInit(event);
+        }
+
+        verify(service).addUIInitListener(any(UIInitListener.class));
+        verify(event).addVaadinRequestInterceptor(
+                any(VaadinRequestInterceptor.class));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void productionMode_registersWithoutCheckingLicense() {
+        when(service.getDeploymentConfiguration().isProductionMode())
+                .thenReturn(true);
+
+        try (var licenseChecker = mockStatic(LicenseChecker.class)) {
+            new MetricsServiceInitListener().serviceInit(event);
+
+            // Production builds are validated at build time, not at runtime
+            licenseChecker.verifyNoInteractions();
+        }
+
+        verify(service).addUIInitListener(any(UIInitListener.class));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void loadAllProperties_throwsError_whenResourceMissing() {
+        assertThrows(ExceptionInInitializerError.class,
+                () -> loadAllProperties("non-existent.properties"));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTest.java b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTest.java
index 98572f2..076429d 100644
--- a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTest.java
+++ b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTest.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import com.vaadin.flow.server.communication.RpcInvocationListener;
 
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
@@ -35,11 +36,22 @@ void tearDown() {
         ObservabilityKit.reset();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * A production-mode service, so the license gate passes without a runtime
+     * license check and these tests can focus on binder registration.
+     */
+    private static VaadinService licensedService() {
+        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class, RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS);
+        when(service.getDeploymentConfiguration().isProductionMode())
+                .thenReturn(true);
+        return service;
+    }
+
     @Test
     void registersSessionBinderWhenSessionsEnabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -66,7 +78,7 @@ void doesNothingWhenNotInstalled() {
     void skipsSessionBinderWhenSessionsDisabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().sessions(false).build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -81,7 +93,7 @@ void skipsSessionBinderWhenSessionsDisabled() {
     void registersUiInitListenerWhenUisEnabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -95,7 +107,7 @@ void registersUiInitListenerWhenNavigationEnabledAndUisDisabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().uis(false).navigation(true)
                         .build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -109,7 +121,7 @@ void skipsUiInitListenerWhenUisAndNavigationAndClientDisabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().uis(false).navigation(false)
                         .client(false).build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -123,7 +135,7 @@ void registersUiInitListenerWhenOnlyClientEnabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().uis(false).navigation(false)
                         .client(true).build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -136,7 +148,7 @@ void registersUiInitListenerWhenOnlyClientEnabled() {
     void registersRequestInterceptorWhenRequestsEnabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -151,7 +163,7 @@ void registersRequestInterceptorWhenOnlyErrorsEnabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().requests(false).errors(true)
                         .build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -166,7 +178,7 @@ void skipsRequestInterceptorWhenRequestsAndErrorsDisabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().requests(false).errors(false)
                         .build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -179,7 +191,7 @@ void skipsRequestInterceptorWhenRequestsAndErrorsDisabled() {
     void registersRpcInvocationListenerWhenRequestsEnabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -193,7 +205,7 @@ void registersRpcInvocationListenerWhenRequestsEnabled() {
     void skipsRpcInvocationListenerWhenRequestsDisabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().requests(false).build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
@@ -207,7 +219,7 @@ void skipsRpcInvocationListenerWhenOnlyErrorsEnabled() {
         ObservabilityKit.install(new SimpleMeterRegistry(),
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().requests(false).errors(true)
                         .build());
-        VaadinService service = mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = licensedService();
         ServiceInitEvent event = mock(ServiceInitEvent.class);
         when(event.getSource()).thenReturn(service);
 
diff --git a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTracesTest.java b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTracesTest.java
index 6eab547..17e106d 100644
--- a/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTracesTest.java
+++ b/observability-kit-micrometer/src/test/java/com/vaadin/observability/micrometer/MetricsServiceInitListenerTracesTest.java
@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@ void executorIsWrappedWhenTracesEnabled() {
                 new SimpleMeterRegistry(), obs,
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().build());
 
-        VaadinService service = Mockito.mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = Mockito.mock(VaadinService.class,
+                Mockito.RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS);
+        Mockito.when(service.getDeploymentConfiguration().isProductionMode())
+                .thenReturn(true);
         ServiceInitEvent event = new ServiceInitEvent(service);
         Executor original = Runnable::run;
         event.setExecutor(original);
@@ -57,7 +60,10 @@ void executorIsNotWrappedWhenTracesDisabled() {
                 new SimpleMeterRegistry(), obs,
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().traces(false).build());
 
-        VaadinService service = Mockito.mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = Mockito.mock(VaadinService.class,
+                Mockito.RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS);
+        Mockito.when(service.getDeploymentConfiguration().isProductionMode())
+                .thenReturn(true);
         ServiceInitEvent event = new ServiceInitEvent(service);
         Executor original = Runnable::run;
         event.setExecutor(original);
@@ -74,7 +80,10 @@ void executorIsNotWrappedWhenObservationRegistryAbsent() {
                 new SimpleMeterRegistry(), null,
                 ObservabilitySettings.builder().build());
 
-        VaadinService service = Mockito.mock(VaadinService.class);
+        VaadinService service = Mockito.mock(VaadinService.class,
+                Mockito.RETURNS_DEEP_STUBS);
+        Mockito.when(service.getDeploymentConfiguration().isProductionMode())
+                .thenReturn(true);
         ServiceInitEvent event = new ServiceInitEvent(service);
         Executor original = Runnable::run;
         event.setExecutor(original);
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index cb47b85..767975c 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@
         <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
 
         <maven.compiler.version>3.13.0</maven.compiler.version>
+        <maven.jar.version>3.4.1</maven.jar.version>
         <maven.source.version>3.2.1</maven.source.version>
         <maven.javadoc.version>3.4.1</maven.javadoc.version>
         <maven.surefire.version>3.2.5</maven.surefire.version>
@@ -149,6 +150,11 @@
                     <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                     <version>${maven.compiler.version}</version>
                 </plugin>
+                <plugin>
+                    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                    <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>${maven.jar.version}</version>
+                </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                     <artifactId>maven-source-plugin</artifactId>