VB6 has no single end-of-support date for running applications. Microsoft supports the Visual Basic 6.0 runtime for the support lifetime of the Windows versions it runs on, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 included, while support for the VB6 development environment ended on 8 April 2008.
So your VB6 apps aren't about to stop working. What goes wrong with VB6 is change. Every fix depends on a development tool that has been unsupported for years, on 32-bit components, on third-party controls Microsoft doesn't cover, and on a shrinking number of people who know the language.
The pattern is the same one we described for .NET Framework 4.8: no end date of its own, and good reasons to plan anyway.
- VB6 apps have no single end-of-support date. Microsoft supports the VB6 runtime for the support lifetime of each Windows version, Windows 11 included.
- Support for the VB6 IDE ended on 8 April 2008. Every change to a VB6 app depends on a tool Microsoft stopped supporting long ago.
- Runtime support is narrow: serious regressions and critical security issues. It covers Microsoft's runtime files, not the third-party controls your app ships with.
- If you migrate to .NET, aim at .NET 10, supported until 14 November 2028. Support for .NET 8 ends on 10 November 2026.
What Microsoft's support statement says
Microsoft's Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows was last updated on 18 September 2026, and we checked it on 16 October 2026. It states the goal:
"Microsoft's goal is 'It Just Works' compatibility for pre-existing Visual Basic 6.0 applications on supported Windows versions."
It treats the two halves of VB6 differently. For the runtime, the Microsoft files your applications load when they run:
"The Visual Basic 6.0 runtime will be supported for the support lifetime of Windows versions."
For the tools you use to change those applications:
"The Visual Basic 6.0 IDE and Visual Studio 6.0 IDE are no longer supported as of April 8, 2008."
The runtime's cover is limited too: "The support bar is limited to serious regressions and critical security issues for existing applications." And Microsoft "strongly encourages you to migrate your applications off Visual Basic 6."
When did VB6 go out of support?
It depends which part of VB6 you mean.
| Part of VB6 | Microsoft's position | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| VB6 runtime files | Supported for the support lifetime of Windows versions | Apps keep running on supported Windows, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 included |
| Support bar | Serious regressions and critical security issues | Microsoft deals with breakage in its runtime, not with bugs in your code |
| VB6 IDE | No longer supported as of 8 April 2008 | Every change is made with a tool nobody supports |
| 64-bit Windows | Runtime is 32-bit only; apps supported only in the WOW emulation environment | Every component the app loads has to be 32-bit |
| Third-party controls (OCX) | Not part of the statement, which covers Microsoft's runtime files | Each control is its own vendor's concern |
Is VB6 end of life?
For development, effectively yes: the IDE has been out of support since 8 April 2008. For running applications, no, within the narrow bar above.
Can VB6 run on Windows 11?
Yes. Microsoft's support table lists Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 as supported for the VB6 runtime files. On Windows 10 the same rule applies: the runtime is supported for as long as Microsoft supports that Windows version, so check the lifecycle date for your edition.
One condition matters. "Visual Basic 6.0 runtime files continue to be 32-bit only," and on 64-bit Windows, VB6 apps are supported only in the WOW emulation environment, the layer that runs 32-bit programs on 64-bit Windows. So every driver and library it loads must be 32-bit.
What the support statement doesn't cover
Microsoft's statement covers running existing apps. Changing them is where VB6 estates get into trouble.
The IDE and the build machine
Every change to a VB6 app is made in the VB6 IDE. Many teams keep one old machine that can still build the app. If it's lost, the ability to ship even a one-line fix can go with it.
Third-party controls
Many VB6 apps ship with third-party ActiveX controls (OCX files) for grids, charts or reports. Microsoft's statement covers Microsoft's runtime files, so a reasonable reading is that those controls are their vendor's concern. If a vendor stopped updating a control, a problem with it on newer Windows is yours to solve.
People and buried rules
VB6 made it easy to put business logic directly behind forms: a pricing exception in a button's Click event, a validation rule in a field's LostFocus handler. The people who know where those rules sit are often the people who wrote the app, years ago. If that knowledge sits with one person, start capturing it now, whatever you decide about the code.
Is Visual Basic 6 still used?
Yes. VB6 applications still run line-of-business work at many companies, things like order entry, quoting and inventory. They stay for the same reason most legacy systems do: they work, and the rules inside them exist nowhere else.
When people ask whether Microsoft still supports Visual Basic, they often mean Visual Basic .NET, a separate language that runs on .NET. It isn't a newer version of VB6, and this article is about VB6.
Your options: keep, wrap or migrate
Keep running stable apps. If a VB6 app does its job, rarely changes and runs on a supported Windows version, keeping it is a legitimate choice. Make it safer while you do: list every OCX and DLL it ships with, keep an image of the build machine, and make sure more than one person can build and release it.
Wrap it. Leave the VB6 code alone and put something newer around it, such as a service that exposes what the app does to other systems, or a new front end for the screens people use most. That cuts the number of changes you make in VB6.
Migrate. If the app is under active change, plan a move. If the target is .NET, aim at .NET 10. According to Microsoft's .NET support policy, checked on 16 October 2026, .NET 10 is the current long-term support release and is supported until 14 November 2028, while support for .NET 8 ends on 10 November 2026. A migration that targets .NET 8 now would land on an unsupported version.
Conversion tools can translate VB6 syntax into .NET code. They can't tell you which forms the business still uses, or which rules in the event handlers still matter. Move one module or screen at a time where you can, which is the strangler fig approach in before you rewrite a legacy system. PowerBuilder estates face a very similar choice, covered in is PowerBuilder still supported.
Where the 30-day assessment fits
You'll choose between keeping, wrapping and migrating better once you know what's in the app. The 30-day assessment is fixed in scope, at a price agreed before we start.
Over 30 days we go through the VB6 code and the architecture around it: the forms and modules, the business rules in the event handlers, the OCX and COM dependencies, the database access, and the systems that call it. We map how it all fits together, find the hidden architectural debt, and flag the security and compliance gaps. The report says in plain language what is broken and what it would take to fix it. Your team can act on it as it stands, or we can do the work as a separate project with its own scope and price.
To talk it through, email Santosh at spaudel@aicoservices.com.