If a PS5 game displays a padlock, restore its license first. Open Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses, select the affected license, and then try the game again. You can also highlight the game on the Home screen or in Game Library, press the options button, and choose Restore License. PlayStation Support says this process does not affect saved data or other data on the console.
A padlock is not a diagnosis by itself. The game may be tied to a different purchasing account, depend on a PlayStation Plus entitlement, be shared from another account whose console setting changed, or be affected by service, software, or local database problems. The checks below separate those possibilities without deleting the game.
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Restore the license from the PS5 menu
Use the system-wide method when you are unsure which title is affected or when the per-game shortcut is unavailable:
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- From the PS5 home screen, open Settings.
- Select Users and Accounts.
- Choose Other.
- Select Restore Licenses.
- Choose the license for the locked game and allow the process to finish.
PlayStation Support lists a padlock icon as a situation in which restoring licenses can help. The operation is designed to refresh the console’s recognition of content associated with the signed-in account; it is not an uninstall or a save-data reset.
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Use the per-game shortcut
For one specific title, highlight it on the PS5 Home screen or in Game Library, press the controller’s options button, and select Restore License. This shortcut is useful when the title is visible but will not start. If the shortcut does not appear, use the Settings path instead.
PlayStation Support’s wording is explicit: “Please note, restoring licenses won’t affect your data.” That means the procedure should not remove the installation, saved games, screenshots, or captures. It also does not grant ownership to an account that never purchased or otherwise obtained the game.
What the padlock can indicate
The icon means the PS5 cannot currently validate access to that game for the account and console state it is using. Several different access arrangements can produce the same visual symptom, so do not assume that a single cause applies to every locked title.
- Individual purchase: The signed-in account should be the account that bought the game, and the transaction should have completed successfully.
- PlayStation Plus entitlement: Access depends on an active subscription and on the game still being available through the applicable PlayStation Plus service.
- Another account’s purchase: A different user may own the game and share it to this PS5 through Console Sharing and Offline Play.
- Service or console state: PlayStation service availability, system software, sharing settings, or the local database can prevent an otherwise valid entitlement from being recognized.
Because these causes overlap in appearance, restoring a license is the safest first action, followed by an entitlement check that matches how you obtained the game.
Identify which entitlement you are using
Use the table to choose the relevant verification before moving to deeper console troubleshooting.
| How you got the game | What to verify | What a positive check means | Next action if it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchased by the signed-in account | The current PS5 user is the purchasing account, and the transaction history shows a successful purchase. | The account has a recorded entitlement that can be restored. | Sign in with the purchasing account, then restore its license. If the transaction is missing or unsuccessful, contact PlayStation Support. |
| Obtained through PlayStation Plus | The subscription is active and the title remains available through the service. | The account still meets the service conditions for access. | Resolve the subscription or catalog-availability issue; a padlock alone does not prove that a subscription expired. |
| Purchased by another account on this PS5 | The owning account is present and has Console Sharing and Offline Play enabled for this PS5. | Other users on this console can use the owner’s purchased and downloaded games, including while offline. | Have the owner enable the setting on this PS5. It can be enabled on only one PS5 at a time. |
Step-by-step troubleshooting sequence
1. Restore the license
Start with either Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses or the game’s options-menu shortcut. Wait for the operation to complete before launching the title. Restoring the license does not affect data, so there is no reason to delete the game or saved files as an initial response.
2. Confirm the purchasing account
Look at the account currently signed in on the PS5. Compare it with the account that originally purchased the game. Then check that account’s transaction history and confirm that the purchase succeeded. A download appearing in Game Library is not, by itself, proof that the current user owns the license; a different family member or an older account may have completed the transaction.
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If the purchase is recorded under another account, switch to that account and restore its license. If you need other users on the console to play the title, use the Console Sharing and Offline Play check described below rather than assuming every local profile receives ownership automatically.
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3. Check PlayStation Plus access
If the game was claimed or accessed through PlayStation Plus, confirm two separate conditions: the subscription associated with the entitlement is active, and the game remains available through the service. Both matter. A title can be installed but become unavailable when its service entitlement no longer applies.
Do not use the padlock alone as evidence that a PlayStation Plus subscription has expired. Sony’s restore-license guidance identifies the padlock use case separately, while the locked-game troubleshooting guidance asks users to verify subscription status and availability when Plus is the source of access.
4. Check Console Sharing and Offline Play
When another account owns the game, sign in with that owning account and confirm that Console Sharing and Offline Play is enabled for this PS5. Sony explains that this setting lets users of the console play games the owner purchased and downloaded, even when the console is offline.
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5. Check PlayStation service status
If the account, purchase or subscription, and sharing arrangement all look correct, check PlayStation service status. A service interruption can interfere with entitlement checks even when the local installation and account are unchanged. Retry the game after the relevant service has recovered.
6. Install the latest system software
Check the PS5 for a system-software update and install the latest available version. Sony includes current system software in its escalation sequence for locked games. Restart the console after an update if the system requests it, then test the title again.
7. Reconfirm Console Sharing and Offline Play, then restore again
Sony’s documented sequence places activation of Console Sharing and Offline Play and another license restoration after the service and software checks. This order matters when a console setting changed or a system update left the entitlement state out of sync. Make sure the owning account is the one performing the sharing change, and use the restore-license command while signed in to the account that should hold the entitlement.
8. Use Safe Mode’s Clear Cache and Rebuild Database option
If access is verified and the game is still locked, Sony lists PS5 Safe Mode’s Clear Cache and Rebuild Database option as a later-stage step. Choose that named option from Safe Mode and allow the console to complete it before testing the game. This is distinct from restoring a license: restoration addresses entitlement recognition, while the Safe Mode step addresses local console data organization and cache-related problems.
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Do not choose a different Safe Mode action merely because its name sounds similar. The documented option for this escalation is specifically Clear Cache and Rebuild Database. If the padlock remains after the account, subscription, sharing, service, software, license, and database checks, contact PlayStation Support with the account and transaction details available.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to distinguish the common cases
The game was bought by you, but the padlock remains
First verify that the current profile is the purchasing account and that the transaction history records a successful purchase. Restore the license from that account. If the purchase is present but the lock survives, continue with service-status and system-software checks, then the Safe Mode database option. A valid purchase does not eliminate the possibility of a temporary service or local-console problem.
The game belongs to a family member or another local user
Being able to see another user’s installed game does not automatically make it available to every profile. The owning account must enable Console Sharing and Offline Play on this PS5. Remember the one-PS5 limit: enabling the feature elsewhere can remove the sharing entitlement from this console. After the owner corrects the setting, restore the license and test from the intended user account.
The game came from PlayStation Plus
Check the subscription account rather than relying on the console’s installed copy. Confirm that the subscription is active and that the title is still included in the service. If both conditions are satisfied, restore the license and proceed through the service, software, and Safe Mode checks if necessary. If either condition is false, restoring cannot recreate an entitlement that is no longer available.
Only one title is locked
Use the per-game options shortcut first, then verify the title’s purchase or service source. A single locked game points you toward that title’s entitlement and transaction history before broad console repair steps. Do not delete the installation as a first response; the official restoration procedure is non-destructive to data.
Several games are locked
Check which account is signed in, whether Console Sharing and Offline Play is enabled on this PS5, and whether PlayStation services are operating normally. Multiple affected titles make an account, sharing, service, or system-software check more relevant than treating each game as an isolated installation failure. Restore licenses after correcting the account or console setting.
What restoring a license does—and does not do
- It can: refresh the PS5’s recognition of a qualifying purchase or service entitlement and address a padlock associated with that recognition.
- It does not: transfer ownership between accounts, reactivate an expired or unavailable PlayStation Plus entitlement, override the one-console sharing limit, or repair a PlayStation service outage.
- It does not erase data: Sony specifically says restoring licenses will not affect your data.
These boundaries explain why the entitlement checks belong immediately after restoration. If the account has no successful transaction, the subscription no longer provides access, or another console currently holds the sharing activation, repeating the same restore command will not change the underlying condition.
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Escalate after you have confirmed the purchasing account and transaction, checked any PlayStation Plus conditions, corrected Console Sharing and Offline Play, checked service status, installed the latest system software, restored the license, and run Safe Mode’s Clear Cache and Rebuild Database option. Provide the account used, the game’s title, the transaction information, and the steps already completed. That gives support enough context to distinguish an entitlement record problem from a console or service issue.
Do not purchase the game again solely because a padlock appears. The icon does not establish that the original purchase failed, and buying another copy would not correct a sharing configuration, service outage, or local database problem.
Quick Recap
Final checklist
- Open Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses, or use the game’s options-menu Restore License command.
- Verify that the signed-in user is the purchasing account and that its transaction history shows a successful purchase.
- For PlayStation Plus games, verify an active subscription and continued service availability.
- For another user’s purchase, have the owner enable Console Sharing and Offline Play on this PS5; the setting works on one PS5 at a time.
- Check PlayStation service status and install the latest PS5 system software.
- Restore the license again after correcting account or console settings.
- Use Safe Mode’s Clear Cache and Rebuild Database option if the entitlement is valid but the lock remains.
- Contact PlayStation Support when the complete sequence does not restore access.
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