How to Register a Copyright for Your Work With the U.S. Copyright Office

The three parts of a copyright registration

A copyright registration requires three core items: a completed application, the applicable nonrefundable fee and the required deposit. The U.S. Copyright Office examines these materials to determine whether the claim meets the legal and formal requirements for registration.

Copyright protection itself generally arises automatically when qualifying original expression is fixed in a tangible medium. Registration is a separate federal procedure that creates a public registration record and provides important legal benefits.

What kinds of work can you register?

The Copyright Office provides registration routes for many categories of creative work, including:

• Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, articles and other literary works.
• Paintings, illustrations, graphic art, sculptures and other visual arts.
• Photographs.
• Music, lyrics, scripts, stage plays and other performing arts works.
• Sound recordings.
• Motion pictures, videos, animation and other audiovisual works.
• Computer programs and certain copyrightable database or website content.

Copyright does not protect an idea merely because it is new or valuable. It protects qualifying original expression. Names, titles, short phrases and slogans are not copyrightable by themselves. A business seeking protection for a brand name or logo as a source identifier may instead need the separate process for federal trademark registration.

Single Application or Standard Application?

The two main electronic options for an ordinary individual claim have different eligibility rules.

Use the Single Application only when every requirement is met

The Single Application costs $45 and can only be filed online through eCO. It is limited to:

• One work.
• One individual human author.
• The same individual as the sole copyright claimant.
• A work that is not a work made for hire.
• A claim that does not include material created or owned by another person.

Do not use the Single Application merely because you are registering only one item. Joint authorship, work-made-for-hire status, a company claimant or material owned by someone else can make the Single Application inappropriate.

Use the Standard Application for most other basic claims

The online Standard Application costs $65. It can accommodate claims involving one or more authors, works made for hire, collective works, compilations and works containing material attributed to others, subject to the Copyright Office's registration rules.

Eligible basic paper filings on Forms TX, VA, PA, SR and SE currently cost $125. The Copyright Office encourages electronic filing.

How online eCO registration works

The Copyright Office's eCO process follows three steps in order:

1. Complete the application.
2. Pay the applicable fee.
3. Submit the work as the required deposit.

You need an email address to create an eCO account. Payment can be made through the options supported by the system, including credit or debit card, ACH transfer through Pay.gov, or a Copyright Office deposit account. After payment, eCO instructs you either to upload the work electronically or to print a shipping slip when a physical deposit is required.

Information entered in the registration application must be accurate. The Copyright Office also warns that copyright registration information becomes part of a public record.

Electronic versus physical deposit copies

The deposit is a copy or other required representation of the work submitted for examination. It is not returned to the applicant.

An electronic upload is generally appropriate when the work is unpublished, when it was published only electronically, or when Copyright Office rules permit identifying material or another electronic deposit. Some group registrations also require electronic deposits.

A physical deposit is generally required when a work was first published in the United States before the registration claim and was published in a physical format, or both physical and electronic formats. The exact number and form of copies depend on the type and publication history of the work.

For example, the Office generally requires one complete copy of an unpublished literary work. Published works may be subject to best-edition requirements. Because deposit rules differ significantly among books, photographs, music, software, visual art and other works, follow the instructions for the exact registration category rather than assuming that every eCO application allows an electronic upload.

How much copyright registration costs in 2026

The current basic filing fees verified from the Copyright Office are:

• $45 — electronic Single Application for one qualifying work by one individual author who is the same claimant and where the work is not made for hire.
• $65 — electronic Standard Application.
• $125 — eligible paper basic filing on Forms PA, SR, TX, VA or SE.

Special registration programs use different fees. Examples include $85 for a group of unpublished works, $85 for a group of two-dimensional artworks, and $55 for a group of published or unpublished photographs. Use the fee listed for the exact registration option you choose.

Is there a deadline to register a copyright?

There is no general rule requiring every copyright owner to register immediately in order for copyright protection to exist. However, timing can materially affect infringement remedies.

Under 17 U.S.C. § 412, statutory damages and attorney's fees generally are not available for infringement that began before the effective date of registration, subject to statutory exceptions. For a published work, registration made within 3 months after first publication can preserve eligibility for those remedies for infringement that began during that period.

Registration is also ordinarily required before a copyright owner of a U.S. work may institute an infringement action in federal court, subject to the exceptions in federal law.

What date counts as the registration date?

The effective date of registration is not the day the certificate eventually arrives. The Copyright Office states that the effective date is the day it receives an acceptable application, acceptable deposit and applicable fee.

This distinction matters because examination can take months while legal consequences may depend on the effective date.

How long copyright registration takes in 2026

The Copyright Office's latest published processing statistics available when this guide was verified cover claims closed from October 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026. The average across all claims was 4.1 months.

For online applications with an uploaded digital deposit, claims that did not require correspondence averaged 3.6 months, while those requiring correspondence averaged 5.0 months. Online applications requiring a mailed physical deposit averaged 4.4 months without correspondence and 6.2 months with correspondence. Paper applications averaged longer.

These are historical averages, not guaranteed deadlines. Complexity, the need for a physical deposit, examiner correspondence and workload can change the time needed for an individual application.

Respond carefully if an examiner contacts you

The Office may contact you when information is missing, inconsistent or legally unclear. Its latest statistics show that correspondence was required for a substantial share of claims. Responding completely and promptly can help prevent additional delay.

Common issues include using the wrong application, incorrectly identifying the author or claimant, failing to exclude preexisting material, providing inconsistent publication information or submitting the wrong deposit.

What if you want to register several works?

The ordinary basic registration rules should not be used to assume that any collection of works can be covered by one application. The Copyright Office offers specific group registration programs with separate eligibility requirements, including programs for unpublished works, photographs, published two-dimensional artworks, works on a music album, serials, newspapers, newsletters, contributions to periodicals and certain short online literary works.

Choose a group option only when every work satisfies that program's rules. Otherwise, separate applications may be required.

Common mistakes that can cause problems

• Using the $45 Single Application when the author and claimant are not the same individual.
• Using the Single Application for a work made for hire or a work containing material created or owned by someone else.
• Confusing copyright registration with trademark registration for a name, title or slogan.
• Entering incorrect creation or publication information.
• Failing to disclose and exclude preexisting material when required.
• Uploading an electronic copy when the deposit rules require a physical best-edition copy.
• Paying the fee but failing to complete the deposit step.
• Waiting until infringement occurs before considering the legal consequences of registration timing.

What happens after you submit the registration?

The Copyright Office examines the claim and may contact you with questions. If the Office determines that the copyrightable authorship and formal registration requirements are satisfied, it registers the claim and issues a certificate. If it determines that the claim cannot be registered, it sends a refusal explaining the decision.

Registration does not mean that the Copyright Office has guaranteed that no one else has competing rights, nor does it replace other forms of intellectual-property protection. Businesses may separately need procedures such as obtaining an EIN from the IRS or trademark registration, depending on what they are trying to protect or operate.