ACT! License Expired or Won't Open? Get Your Data Out (2026)

An expired ACT! licence or a Windows 11 block stops the software, not your data. The contacts, notes and history still sit in the .adf database file on your disk. Find the .adf and its matching .alf file, open them in a reader that needs no licence. Then export the data to CSV, Excel, vCard or PST.

Maybe your ACT! subscription ran out. Maybe ACT! shows a licence error. Maybe the version you own will not run on Windows 11. Now the program will not open and years of contacts feel locked away.

Here is the good news. A licence controls the software, not the file. The database is still on your disk and the records inside it are intact. This guide shows how to reach that data and save it somewhere you can keep, without paying for another year you do not want.

📋 On This Page

Why ACT! Suddenly Locks You Out
Is Your ACT! Data Gone When the Licence Expires?
How Do You Get Your ACT! Data Out in 3 Steps?
Step 1: Find the .adf and .alf files on the old PC
Step 2: Open the .adf in a reader that needs no licence
Step 3: Export the contacts, notes and history you need
Does the 30-Day ACT! Trial Trick Work?
What You Can Save Your ACT! Data As
Which Way Should You Use to Recover ACT! Data?
How Do You Check You Got Everything Out?
ACT! Lockout Questions

Why ACT! Suddenly Locks You Out

ACT! moved to a subscription years ago. When the subscription runs out, the software stops opening the database and shows a licence message. Two other things cause the same lockout: an old one-time-purchase version that will not install on Windows 11, and a lost install disc or key after you reinstall Windows.

In every case the block is on the program, not on the file. That difference is what makes recovery possible.

Univik ACT ADF Converter · Locked out, data intactScreenshot 1 of 2

Swipe sideways to see the whole screen

Univik ACT ADF Converter reading ACT! contacts from a database whose licence has expired

Locked out, data intactEven with the ACT! licence expired, the .adf still holds every contact. Here 227 records read out with no working ACT! on the PC.

Is Your ACT! Data Gone When the Licence Expires?

Everything you built in ACT! lives in the .adf database file. The licence check happens when the ACT! program starts, long before it touches your contacts. So an expired licence hides the data, but the data itself is untouched on the disk.

Open the .adf with a tool that does not run that licence check and the records come straight back. No renewal, no reinstall.

How Do You Get Your ACT! Data Out in 3 Steps?

This works from a copy of the database files, even if the original PC no longer runs ACT!.

Find the .adf and .alf files on the old PC

Look in Documents, under ACT then ACT Data then Databases

Browse to your Documents folder and open ACT, then ACT Data, then Databases. Take the .adf together with the .alf that has the same name, and copy the pair to a USB stick or a new folder. A .pad file is often there too, but it is only a pointer and you can leave it.

Open the .adf in a reader that needs no licence

Load the .adf in Univik ACT ADF Converter

Launch Univik ACT ADF Converter and choose the copied .adf file. It reads the database with no ACT! and no licence, and lists every contact in seconds. Nothing is sent online, so the data stays on your PC.

Export the contacts, notes and history you need

Save the data to CSV, Excel, vCard or PST

Use the Export menu to save the records. A CSV suits a spreadsheet or a new CRM, a vCard suits a phone and a PST puts the contacts into Outlook. Notes and history export along with the contacts, so nothing is left behind. Our guides cover importing into Outlook, making a vCard for your phone and exporting notes and history in more detail.

Univik ACT ADF Converter · Export and move onScreenshot 2 of 2

Swipe sideways to see the whole screen

Univik ACT ADF Converter export log showing recovered ACT! contacts saved to a file

Then export and move onThe log shows a clean vCard export finishing. Your contacts are out of ACT!, ready for a new tool.

Does the 30-Day ACT! Trial Trick Work?

A common tip on forums is to install the ACT! 30-day trial, open the database and export before the 30 days end. It can work, and it is worth knowing. It also has three problems. The trial may not install on Windows 11 for an old database. The 30 days can end before you finish. And you still have to load the database and learn ACT!'s export screens.

Reading the .adf directly skips all three. There is no time limit, no install trouble and no ACT! screens to learn. For a one-time job that is the easier way.

What You Can Save Your ACT! Data As

Once the database is open you are not stuck with one format. A CSV or Excel sheet is best for review or a CRM import. A vCard moves contacts to a phone. A PST puts them in Outlook. A PDF makes a printed record for an archive. Pick the one your next tool wants and export.

A lapsed subscription does not delete your contacts. We have opened databases from ACT! licences that expired years ago and pulled every record out. The file on your disk is still yours.

Univik Research Team, Univik ACT ADF Converter

Get your data out of a locked ACT!

Univik ACT ADF Converter opens the .adf file with no licence and no ACT! installed. Recover every contact, note and history record, then export to CSV, Excel, vCard, PDF or PST and move on.

⬇️ Download Free Trial See All Features →

Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7 · no ACT! licence needed · the free trial recovers and exports the first 10 contacts

Which Way Should You Use to Recover ACT! Data?

Three options, with the honest pros and cons.

Option	Needs a working ACT!	Risk	Best for
Renew the ACT! subscription	Yes, and payment	Cost keeps recurring	You want to keep using ACT!
Install the 30-day trial	Yes, for 30 days	The 30 days end, may not run on Windows 11	A one-time quick export
Univik ACT ADF Converter	No	One-time cost, reads the file directly	Getting your data out and moving on

Renewing makes sense only if you plan to keep using ACT!. If the goal is to leave ACT! or only to get the data back, reading the file directly costs less over time and does not depend on the software running at all.

How Do You Check You Got Everything Out?

You have it all when

The exported file holds every contact, not only a sample, when you use the full version
Notes and history appear next to the contacts they belong to
A record you remember well shows the right phone, email and company

Keep the .adf and .alf backup even after the export. It is your original, and you can always open it again if you need another format later.

The short version

An expired ACT! licence or a Windows 11 block stops the software, not your data.
The contacts, notes and history still sit in the .adf file on your disk.
Find the .adf and its .alf file, then open them in a reader that needs no licence.
Univik ACT ADF Converter reads the .adf and exports to CSV, Excel, vCard, PDF or PST.
The 30-day trial can work once, but it expires and may not run on Windows 11.

Try Univik ACT ADF Converter free

ACT! Lockout Questions

My ACT! subscription expired. Is my data lost?

No. An expired subscription stops the ACT! software from opening, but your contacts, notes and history are still in the .adf database file on your disk. Open the .adf with a reader that needs no licence and export the data.

ACT! will not run on Windows 11. How do I get my contacts?

The database does not depend on the program running. Copy the .adf and .alf files and open the .adf in Univik ACT ADF Converter, which reads it on Windows 11 with no ACT! installed. Then save the contacts as a CSV, a vCard, an Excel sheet or a PST.

Can I export from ACT! without renewing the subscription?

Yes. You do not need a live subscription to read the .adf file. A reader built for the format opens the database directly and exports the data, so you can leave ACT! without paying for another year.

Does the 30-day ACT! trial let me export my data?

Often yes, if the trial installs and your database opens within the 30 days. The problems: the trial may not run on Windows 11 for older databases, the 30 days can end before you finish and you still learn ACT!'s export screens. Reading the .adf directly avoids all three.

Where are my ACT! database files if the program will not open?

Look in your Documents folder, under ACT then ACT Data then Databases. The .adf and .alf files sit there, named for your database. Copy both together to a safe place before you open them.

Will my notes and history come out, or only the contacts?

Notes, history, companies and opportunities all live in the .adf along with the contacts. A converter that reads the whole database exports them together, so you keep the full record, not only names and numbers.

About This Guide

Written and maintained by Leena Taylor Paul and the Univik team, developers of Windows data conversion and recovery software since 2013. We recovered data from ACT! databases with expired licences on a Windows 11 PC in September 2026, reading the .adf file directly with no ACT! installed. Last verified September 19, 2026. Need a hand? Contact our support team.

Sources checked: Act! Knowledge Base · Univik ACT ADF Converter