How to determine which version of .NET Framework is installed

Excerpt as found at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/migration-guide/how-to-determine-which-versions-are-installed

Find newer .NET Framework versions (4.5 and later)

Find .NET Framework versions 4.5 and later in the registry:

1. From the Start menu, choose Run, enter regedit, and then select OK.

   You must have administrative credentials to run regedit.

2. In the Registry Editor, open the following subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full. If the Full subkey isn't present, then you don't have the .NET Framework 4.5 or later installed.

    Note

   The NET Framework Setup folder in the registry does not begin with a period.

3. Check for a DWORD entry named Release. If it exists, then you have .NET Framework 4.5 or later versions installed. Its value is a release key that corresponds to a particular version of the .NET Framework. In the following figure, for example, the value of the Release entry is 378389, which is the release key for .NET Framework 4.5.

   

The following table lists the minimum value of the Release entry for each .NET Framework version. You can use these values as follows:

• To determine whether a minimum .NET Framework version is present, test whether the Release DWORD value found in the registry is greater than or equal to the value listed in the table. For example, if your application requires the .NET Framework 4.7 or later, you test for a minimum release key value of 460798.

• To test for multiple versions, begin with the latest .NET Framework version, and then test for each successive earlier version.

For a complete table of release keys for the .NET Framework for specific Windows operating system versions, see .NET Framework release keys and Windows operating system versions.

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