The short answer
It depends on how Publisher was licensed, and the two cases end differently:
- Microsoft 365 subscription. Publisher is removed from the subscription on October 1, 2026. After that date, a Microsoft 365 plan no longer includes access to it, whether or not you want to keep using it.
- Bought outright, including Office LTSC 2021. Support ends on October 13, 2026, but the installed program keeps running on that machine. Microsoft's support article states that perpetual versions can still be installed and used after the support date; what stops is updates, bug fixes and security patches.
Source: Microsoft's support article, "Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026", announced February 2024.
What "unsupported" actually means
An unsupported program does not stop on its own. It keeps opening the way it always has, until something around it changes: a Windows update, a new computer, a font or printer driver it was never tested against. Because it gets no more security patches, it is also a program that opens other people's files without anyone checking it for new vulnerabilities. Neither risk is dramatic on day one. Both grow the longer an unsupported install stays in the loop for work that matters.
What does not change either way
Your .pub files are not deleted, locked or altered by either date. The retirement removes access to the program, not to the documents on disk. If Publisher genuinely stops being available to you, the files are still readable, just by something other than Publisher. See how to open a .pub file without Publisher for the practical routes.
A reasonable plan
- Check which case you are in. Subscription or bought copy. That decides whether October 1 or October 13 is the date that matters to you.
- Do not wait for the date to find out what breaks. Open your most-used .pub file in stillPUB now and read the conversion report, while Publisher is still available to compare against.
- Keep a working copy that does not depend on Publisher. Save it as .stillpub, or export a PDF for anything you only need to read or print.
- Stop treating Publisher as the plan, even if it still opens. An install that gets no security patches is not a long-term answer for live documents.
For the full timeline and a wider checklist, see what happens when Publisher is discontinued in 2026.