FAQs

You should always ensure you have permission to use copyrighted material in church, regardless of the source.

The Church Video License grants permission to publicly display authorized content otherwise intended for private, personal use only. This means you can display any video which is covered by your license provided you are showing it from an official channel or legally-obtained source.

The CCLI Church Copyright License and Streaming Plus License do not cover the visual element of a song video. Therefore, regardless of the source, we recommend you have direct permission from the owner before displaying a song or lyric video in church.

The Church Video License does not permit churches to advertise the specific title to the general public. This would include a notice board outside of the church or fliers distributed to the general public.

We would advise you contact the producer directly if they are not included on our authorized list.

The Church Video License is site-specific and only covers showings on your church campus. For additional coverage needs, please contact CVLI at 1-888-771-CVLI (2854).

The producer is usually listed on the packaging of the DVD, the disc itself and at the beginning and end of the film.

A list of individual titles covered by the Church Video License does not exist. Instead, we encourage you to check for movie coverage based on the producer/distributor. The full list of covered producers can be found on cvli.com. Please see the video tutorial for determining license coverage for a particular movie.

Recording a song onto a video requires two permissions: 1) from the song’s copyright owner, and 2) from the label owner of the commercial recording.

The license size category is determined by the regular attendance of your main weekly worship service. If you offer more than one main service to accommodate your entire congregation, the category size would equal the total attendance of these services combined. If your church has more than one campus/location, however, CCLI offers a Multi-Site license. For more information, go to Copyright License, or call 1-800-234-2446 ext. 4.

A house group would require a license if they are reproducing song words and/or music for leading worship.

License holders can reproduce authorized songs according to the guidelines of the license, even if the copyright line read ‘all rights reserved’.

No. Each church needs to secure their own license. There are discounts available, however, for an affiliated group of churches. Call us at 1-800-234-2446 x4 for more information.

The copyright year would usually be printed at the bottom or top of the song in a songbook.

The CCLI Copyright License covers the translation of a covered song’s lyrics from the original published version into a preferred language where no published version is available and is exclusively for use in church worship services.

We suggest that you refer to the title page which would advise of this. If in doubt we suggest you contact the Publisher of the Bible.

Yes. The Copyright License covers all church related ministries.

If the song still has copyright protection, then you would need to contact the Copyright Owner for permission. If the song is in the Public Domain then you may add extra verses.

Public Domain songs are songs that are no longer protected by copyright law. As such, you do not need permission to copy and use the songs.

A license would not be required unless the copyrighted songs were being projected or duplicated.

No. You need only report each time a song is reproduced.

Unfortunately there are many websites illegally offering lyric and music downloads, so we would recommend caution before using sites. If you are downloading from an authorized company these can be reported in the usual manner.You may be interested in the CCLI SongSelect® subscription service, which enables churches to download lyrics and transposable chord sheets, lead sheets and vocal sheets.

You should always ensure you have permission to use copyrighted material in church, regardless of the source.

The Church Video License grants permission to publicly display authorized content otherwise intended for private, personal use only. This means you can display any video which is covered by your license provided you are showing it from an official channel or legally-obtained source.

The CCLI Church Copyright License and Streaming Plus License do not cover the visual element of a song video. Therefore, regardless of the source, we recommend you have direct permission from the owner before displaying a song or lyric video in church.

Yes, the Rehearseal option available with the CCLI Copyright License covers these activities. For more information, go to -URL

Yes, the Streaming option available with the CCLI Copyright License covers these activities. For more information, go to -URL

The CCLI Copyright License permits churches to make customized instrumental arrangements of music compositions provided that no published version is available.

The number of copies permitted under the terms of the CCLI Copyright License is restricted to your category size registered with CCLI. For example, a category A (25-99 people) size church can make up to 99 copies under their Copyright License.

Yes, any duplication of copyrighted songs needs permission. The CCLI Copyright License provides the permission for our authorized songs to be duplicated for the purpose of assisting the congregation.

Creating your own arrangement is a provision under the CCLI Copyright License as long as: 1) the song is authorized, 2) it is to be used to assist the congregation, and 3) there is no published version of the music available. If all points do not apply, you would need to contact the song’s copyright owner for permission.

The recording provision for the CCLI Copyright License does not allow for re-recording commercial sound recordings, including background tracks for soloists. To be covered by the CCLI Copyright License, only live music may be recorded.

The CCLI Copyright License permits you to record services, including the singing of authorized songs, for the benefit of those unable to attend or as a keepsake. If you audio/video record a song, please report this using the Recording fixation (if you are in a reporting period).

A good place to start would be a company called Music Services http://musicservices.org. You may also need to contact the Performance Rights Organization (ASCAP®, BMI ®or SESAC®) that represents the song(s) you want to use.

Yes, the CCLI Copyright License covers this activity. But these recordings may only be made for non-commercial purposes. You may charge for the CDs and DVDs to defray expenses incurred. You may charge up to $4 ($5 in Canada) for CDs and up to $12 ($15 in Canada) for DVDs and Blu-rays. The number of copies must not exceed 15% of your license size category. For example, for Category A (25-99) you may make a maximum of 15 copies per service.

No. You will need to contact the Performance Rights Organization (ASCAP®, BMI® or SESAC®) that represents the song(s) you want to use.

You will be sent a verification email when you create your User Account with a link that you must click within 24 hours to complete the sign-up process. If you haven’t received this email it’s likely that it got caught in your junk mail filter, so please check there first. Then, if you still haven’t received it, please contact Customer Support or call CCLI at 1-800-234-2446 x3

If a song is covered by the CCLI Copyright License, it is called Authorized. There are a small number of popular and regularly sung songs which are not covered by the CCLI Copyright Licenses and these are referred to as Unauthorized. The Reporting website features all songs authorized under the Copyright License. If you can’t find the song you wish to report, it could mean a couple different things. The song information may not yet be submitted to CCLI by the publisher, or it may mean that you have reproduced an unauthorized song. In each case there is no need for you to report any activity. Please note, however, that permission to reproduce unauthorized songs must be obtained directly from the publisher.

Unfortunately, songwriters don’t always choose unique titles for their songs, and there can often be several versions/arrangements of the same song by different authors. This can cause some challenges when trying to report a specific song. The ‘POPULAR’ feature is there to help, showing the most common titles. If you find multiple results with that same song title, please check the names of the authors and copyright information to determine which song you need to report against.

TIP: If you click on the ‘i’ symbol next to a song title in the list of search results it will display further information about that song including the author, catalogue and copyright details, lyric preview and often a sound sample too.

Only the Administrator can add or remove users and change who the Account Administrator is. If this person is no longer around, please contact Customer Support or call us at 1-800-234-2446 x3.

Yes, you can amend your report at any time during your assigned reporting period. To make a change, click History, choose the song you wish to edit, click the arrow to the left of the song’s title, then the three dots to the right of the reporting categories.

CCLI’s Reporting system is not set up for once-a-year reporting, and we rely on regular reports to ensure we can distribute royalties fairly.

However, as reporting can be done automatically or manually, how often you should report depends on the licenses you hold and which method you choose.

Once set up correctly, auto-reporting is continuous.

For manual reporting, we recommend that you report as you go. You can assign as many Users as you need to your account. This means that everyone who reproduces songs, or makes copies, can take responsibility for reporting. If you do fall behind, you can report retrospectively to catch up.

You can see how many times a song has been reported within the current reporting period. Click History, choose the song you wish to view, then click the arrow to the left of the song’s title to see a list of previous reports of that song.

Yes, it’s still important to report. To do so, simply log in to the Reporting website and click Nothing to Report.

No. You need only report each time a song is reproduced.

Although SongSelect keeps a record of which songs you’ve downloaded, we don’t know how you’ve used them in your worship, so they must still be reported.

However, as reporting can be done automatically or manually, how you report depends on the licenses you hold and which method you choose.

Auto-reporting is enabled by connecting participating worship, planning, or presentation software to CCLI’s Reporting tool. Songs will then be reported automatically from your setlists and service plans provided you input each CCLI song number. If you connect your SongSelect account to your service software, you can pull your lyrics in from SongSelect and the CCLI song numbers will be pulled in too. As long as it is set up correctly, auto-reporting is continuous.

For guidance on manual reporting, visit ccli.com/reporting.

Copyright protection lasts for 70 years following the death of the last surviving author.

Under the words of each song reproduced you are required to include the following: “[author], © [year, owner], [your license number]” e.g. Fred Smiley, © 2007 Happy Music Ltd., CCL No, 123456

For the CCLI Copyright License, please research the song using SongSelect or check the Authorized Catalog. If the copyright owner of the song is listed and the purpose of the copy is to assist the congregation, then you are free to reproduce the words of this song.

You can obtain our current list on our website by going to SongSelect and open the Authorized Catalogs option to view the copyright owners/publishers.

Yes, if the song is copyrighted by an authorized owner and the duplication is used to assists the congregation, the song words may be copied. You may photocopy from congregational songbooks.

CCLI cannot give permission to reproduce any material of which the copyright owner cannot be traced. If you reproduce these songs it is at your own discretion, and you must be prepared to pay royalties if the owner becomes known at a later date.

The CCLI Copyright License permits you to print authorized song words in a ‘home-made’ songbook for use by your congregation. If this book is created during your assigned 6 month reporting period, each song would be reported once under PRINT. You don’t need to report the use of these printed books again, regardless of how long you keep them. However, if you add additional songs or print additional copies of your book during any assigned 6 month reporting period, these should then be reported once under PRINT.

Yes. You should contact the copyright owner if you would like to use different words with their tune.

The CCLI Copyright License does not allow you to change the words of a hymn; only to reproduce the lyrics. If you wish to make any changes to a copyrighted work we would advise you contact the copyright owner directly.

Yes, any duplication of copyrighted songs needs permission. The CCLI Copyright License provides the permission for our authorized songs to be duplicated for the purpose of assisting the congregation.

It is illegal to download words and music from websites that are not authorized by the song’s copyright owner. As long as your church holds a current CCLI Copyright License, you can purchase SongSelect® and download songs legally.

Although SongSelect keeps a record of which songs you’ve downloaded, we don’t know how you’ve used them in your worship, so they must still be reported.

However, as reporting can be done automatically or manually, how you report depends on the licenses you hold and which method you choose.

Auto-reporting is enabled by connecting participating worship, planning, or presentation software to CCLI’s Reporting tool. Songs will then be reported automatically from your setlists and service plans provided you input each CCLI song number. If you connect your SongSelect account to your service software, you can pull your lyrics in from SongSelect and the CCLI song numbers will be pulled in too. As long as it is set up correctly, auto-reporting is continuous.

For guidance on manual reporting, visit ccli.com/reporting.

Lyric downloads have no limit. SongSelect Advanced and Premium allow you to download/print sheet music for up to 200 distinct songs per year. Additional songs can be purchased in increments of 50 upon request. However upon renewal any downloads left over would be lost.

Yes. Please contact our Sales department or call us at 1-800-234-2446 for more details.

Some software packages incorporate a feature which links to your SongSelect® account. Contact your supplier for more details.

Additional users can be added at SongSelect®, simply choose “Create Account.” Once you have created your account you will be able to “link to an organization” which will require your church access code. This code can be obtained from any administrator of your SongSelect account. Alternatively once you have created your account an administrator can invite you to the account by using the tab “Link user to the Account.”

Yes. An existing CCLI Copyright License is required to purchase any version of SongSelect®.

A unique download would be one individual song. A church would have 200 downloads per license period. If a song is printed off in a different key or if multiple copies are printed of the same song, this would still only count as one unique download.

Your church can have unlimited users on SongSelect® and they can access SongSelect from any web device. Each user will need to create their own personal account and log in details and then they will be able to link to the church account.

There is no charge to register songs with CCLI. Please complete our Copyright Administration form to request a Song Owner Agreement Pack or for further information.

The Copyright Law provides 6 exclusive rights to copyright owners: (1) reproduction, (2) adaptation, (3) distribution, (4) performance, (5) display and (6)digital sound recording. These 6 exclusive rights protect the owner in two ways. The first is economic, giving the owner the right to charge any person who wishes to copy, perform or record their work for any commercial or non-commercial use. The second is moral, protecting the work from any use or arrangement that is contrary to the wishes of the copyright owner.

CCLI is unable to recommend any particular publisher to you. The contact details for numerous music publishers, whom you may wish to contact directly, can be found on the Authorized Administrator List.

Under the current Copyright Law, a newly-written song is protected from the moment that it is written down or recorded in some physical or tangible format. Songs do not have to be registered in anyway to have copyright protection.

CCLI pays out royalties to registered song owners based on the copy activity reports from our license holding churches and other organizations.

Our database includes over 200,000+ songs. Copyright holders are not deleted from our database, even if there is no copy activity reported.

To become a registered Copyright Owner with CCLI, you need to complete our Owner Agreement. Please contact our Intellectual Property Department for details.