diff --git a/openpype/hosts/houdini/plugins/publish/validate_houdini_license_category.py b/openpype/hosts/houdini/plugins/publish/validate_houdini_license_category.py
index f1c52f22c1..5076acda60 100644
--- a/openpype/hosts/houdini/plugins/publish/validate_houdini_license_category.py
+++ b/openpype/hosts/houdini/plugins/publish/validate_houdini_license_category.py
@@ -1,32 +1,39 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 import pyblish.api
 from openpype.pipeline import PublishValidationError
+import hou
 
 
-class ValidateHoudiniCommercialLicense(pyblish.api.InstancePlugin):
-    """Validate the Houdini instance runs a Commercial license.
+class ValidateHoudiniNotApprenticeLicense(pyblish.api.InstancePlugin):
+    """Validate the Houdini instance runs a non Apprentice license.
 
-    When extracting USD files from a non-commercial Houdini license, even with
-    Houdini Indie license, the resulting files will get "scrambled" with
-    a license protection and get a special .usdnc or .usdlc suffix.
+    USD ROPs:
+        When extracting USD files from an apprentice Houdini license,
+        the resulting files will get "scrambled" with a license protection
+        and get a special .usdnc suffix.
 
-    This currently breaks the Subset/representation pipeline so we disallow
-    any publish with those licenses. Only the commercial license is valid.
+        This currently breaks the Subset/representation pipeline so we disallow
+        any publish with apprentice license.
 
+    Alembic ROPs:
+        Houdini Apprentice does not export Alembic.
     """
 
     order = pyblish.api.ValidatorOrder
-    families = ["usd"]
+    families = ["usd", "abc"]
     hosts = ["houdini"]
-    label = "Houdini Commercial License"
+    label = "Houdini Apprentice License"
 
     def process(self, instance):
 
-        import hou
+        if hou.isApprentice():
+            # Find which family was matched with the plug-in
+            families = {instance.data["family"]}
+            families.update(instance.data.get("families", []))
+            disallowed_families = families.intersection(self.families)
+            families = " ".join(sorted(disallowed_families)).title()
 
-        license = hou.licenseCategory()
-        if license != hou.licenseCategoryType.Commercial:
             raise PublishValidationError(
-                ("USD Publishing requires a full Commercial "
-                 "license. You are on: {}").format(license),
+                "{} publishing requires a non apprentice license."
+                .format(families),
                 title=self.label)