When you upload a photo to Flickr, you are the rightful owner of the content.
Copyright licenses are legal agreements that define the specific terms under which a copyrighted work can be used by someone other than the original creator or copyright owner.
Want to update your photo licenses or set a default license for future uploads? Change Your Photo's License in Flickr
Licenses supported by Flickr
Standard Licenses
- All Rights Reserved.
- Public Domain Work.
- CC0 (Public Domain Dedication).
Creative Commons 4.0 Licenses
- CC BY 4.0 — Attribution.
- CC BY-SA 4.0 — Attribution-ShareAlike.
- CC BY-ND 4.0 — Attribution-NoDerivs.
- CC BY-NC 4.0 — Attribution-NonCommercial.
- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike.
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 — Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs.
For explanations of each, visit: Creative Commons License Guide.
Flickr supports the full range of Creative Commons 4.0 licenses. Using version 4.0 gives Flickr members access to the most current protections and clearer licensing standards, helping ensure Flickr remains a trusted platform for open sharing.
You can learn more about Creative Commons 4.0 at creativecommons.org/Version4.
Flickr now defaults to Creative Commons 4.0 for all newly uploaded content. If your account previously defaulted to one of the six CC 2.0 licenses, it has been automatically upgraded to the equivalent 4.0 license. This change applies only to future uploads—existing photos remain unchanged unless you update them manually.
New uploads no longer offer the option to apply a CC 2.0 license. Older content using CC 2.0 will stay that way unless you choose to update it.
Special Licenses (Available by Request)
Flickr must set up the following license types especially for your account. Once your account is configured for either of these types, you can only upload images of that one type. To simply release the copyright of your images or declare them in the public domain, consider using the more flexible and widely used Public Domain or CC0 licenses instead of reconfiguring your account.
- United States Government Work - Request via usa.gov.
- No Known Copyright Restrictions - Available to institutions in The Commons.
Where the License Appears
On Flickr, each photo’s license is displayed on the Photo Page. Visitors can click the question mark next to the license type to learn more about what it means.