Extended support for Dynamics NAV 2018 ends on 12 January 2028, according to Microsoft’s lifecycle page. Microsoft says Dynamics NAV versions before version 14 cannot migrate directly to the cloud, so the first step is an upgrade to Business Central on-premises. Starting the planning in 2027 leaves about a year before that end date.
When does support for Dynamics NAV 2018 end?
Microsoft lists two dates for Dynamics NAV 2018: mainstream support ended on 11 January 2023, and extended support ends on 12 January 2028. The second is the date to plan against.
Microsoft publishes these dates in US Pacific Time, so confirm the exact cut-off against Microsoft’s lifecycle page when you set your own deadline, and keep a copy of it with your planning papers.
If you are on an older release, the dates are different and generally earlier. Extended support for Dynamics NAV 2017 ends on 12 January 2027, and NAV 2016 and NAV 2015 are already out of support, having ended on 15 April 2026 and 15 January 2025 respectively. Check your own version’s lifecycle page rather than assuming it shares the NAV 2018 dates.
What extended support covers
NAV 2018 follows Microsoft’s Fixed Lifecycle Policy. Under that policy, extended support includes paid support and security updates at no additional cost. It does not include warranty support, design changes or new features, and Microsoft will not accept requests for those during that phase. The policy’s phase table also lists non-security updates as not available in extended support.
The same policy says older products may not meet today’s security requirements, and that Microsoft may be unable to provide security updates for them. For a business running core operations on NAV, set the migration date with enough contingency to complete testing and cutover before extended support ends.
Why plan in 2027?
Microsoft describes six high-level phases for moving from Dynamics NAV to Business Central online, from preparation through to post-migration follow-up. The middle phases cover the on-premises upgrade, cloud migration setup, data replication and the final data upgrade. Beginning early in 2027 can leave roughly a year for assessment, upgrade, testing and cutover before extended support ends. After the on-premises upgrade, Microsoft’s guidance says you follow the standard cloud migration workflow, unless you choose the reimplementation tool instead, which migrates only essential data and needs no extension conversion.
What to plan in 2027
- Confirm your exact NAV version. The dates above apply to NAV 2018 only. Check Microsoft’s lifecycle information for your own version rather than assuming it shares the same dates.
- List your changes to standard NAV. Microsoft’s guide says data from tables with code changes cannot be carried forward unless those changes are converted to AL extensions. Write down each C/AL change, what it does, and which tables it touches. Any that nobody uses are candidates to drop before the conversion starts.
- Choose your migration path. A full migration moves all data and changes, which means converting the C/AL code to AL extensions. A reimplementation moves essential business data such as master data, balances and setup, skips the extension conversion, and keeps only a subset of posted historical entries. Both paths start with the upgrade to Business Central version 14.
- Clean the data before you upgrade. Microsoft suggests archiving obsolete history, shrinking oversized transaction and log tables where appropriate, and confirming the SQL Server version and compatibility level.
- Run a dry run. For a full migration, Microsoft recommends at least one dry run in a sandbox environment before the production cutover, so schedule time for it and for the fixes that follow.
- Check licences. Business Central Essentials and Premium are licensed per user, and internal users with certain Microsoft 365 plans can get read-only access from within Microsoft Teams. Prices are on Microsoft’s Business Central pricing page.
Questions people ask
Does NAV 2018 stop working in January 2028?
The cited sources establish the end of extended support but do not say whether NAV 2018 will keep running afterwards. They do warn that security updates may not be available for older products, and that is the risk to plan around.
Can we move from NAV straight to the cloud?
No. Microsoft says Dynamics NAV versions before version 14 cannot migrate directly to the cloud. The system has to be upgraded to Business Central on-premises first, and the cloud migration follows that upgrade.
Do we have to convert our custom code?
For a full migration, C/AL changes have to become AL extensions, and data from tables with code changes cannot move across until that is done. A reimplementation avoids that conversion and carries across only essential data, so decide early which history you need to keep.
Is every NAV version on the same date?
No. These dates apply to NAV 2018 only. NAV 2017 ends on 12 January 2027, and NAV 2016 and earlier are already out of support. Check Microsoft’s lifecycle information for your own version before you set your plan.
Who can help with the upgrade?
Austral Dynamics, implementing Microsoft Dynamics from Sydney for 19+ years, offers upgrade planning, data migration, user training and post-launch support for Microsoft Dynamics 365 upgrades, including upgrades from Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
Book an upgrade assessment with Austral Dynamics and plan your NAV upgrade before the deadline.