A license management system having a license server and an image forming apparatus, wherein: the license server has a holding unit configured to hold an application and a license issuing unit configured to issue first and second licenses; the second license has information indicating a contract duration of the application in the image forming apparatus and the first license has information indicating a using period which makes the application available for the purpose of setting in the image forming apparatus before the contract duration; the license server further has a transmitting unit configured to transmit the application held in the holding unit and the first or second license issued by the license issuing unit to the image forming apparatus; the transmitting unit transmits the first license issued by the license issuing unit to the image forming apparatus in response to a request from the image forming apparatus including an identifier of the application and transmits the second license issued by the license issuing unit to the image forming apparatus in response to a request from the image forming apparatus including an identifier of the image forming apparatus; the image forming apparatus has a discriminating unit configured to discriminate, based on the using period of the first license, as to whether the using period set in the image forming apparatus expires on a present date; a controlling unit configured to control in such a manner that when the license received from the license server is the first license, if the discriminating unit discriminates such that the using period does not expire on the present date, the application is made available for the using period, and if the discriminating unit discriminates such that the using period expires on the present date, a request of acquiring the second license is transmitted to the license server, to acquire the second license from the license server; and when the license received from the license server is the second license, the controlling unit makes the application available for the contract duration. the license server has a holding unit configured to hold an application and a license issuing unit configured to issue first and second licenses; the second license has information indicating a contract duration of the application in the image forming apparatus and the first license has information indicating a using period which makes the application available for the purpose of setting in the image forming apparatus before the contract duration; the license server further has a transmitting unit configured to transmit the application held in the holding unit and the first or second license issued by the license issuing unit to the image forming apparatus; the transmitting unit transmits the first license issued by the license issuing unit to the image forming apparatus in response to a request from the image forming apparatus including an identifier of the application and transmits the second license issued by the license issuing unit to the image forming apparatus in response to a request from the image forming apparatus including an identifier of the image forming apparatus; the image forming apparatus has a discriminating unit configured to discriminate, based on the using period of the first license, as to whether the using period set in the image forming apparatus expires on a present date; a controlling unit configured to control in such a manner that when the license received from the license server is the first license, if the discriminating unit discriminates such that the using period does not expire on the present date, the application is made available for the using period, and if the discriminating unit discriminates such that the using period expires on the present date, a request of acquiring the second license is transmitted to the license server, to acquire the second license from the license server; and when the license received from the license server is the second license, the controlling unit makes the application available for the contract duration.