How Much Does It Cost to Copyright a Song in 2026? Today's Fees and the Increase That Could Start in November

It costs nothing to copyright a song. Copyright begins the moment a song is fixed in a tangible form, such as a lyric sheet or a recording. What costs money is registering the song with the U.S. Copyright Office, which runs $45 to $85 for most online applications today.

This guide covers what registering gets you, the new fees the Office has asked to start as soon as November 12, and the cheapest way to register a whole catalog. It is general information, not legal advice.

Copyright is free. Registration is the paid step.

The Copyright Office's FAQ says copyright exists from the moment a work is created and that registration is generally voluntary. It also addresses the so-called poor man's copyright, where you mail yourself a copy of your work. The Office says the law has no provision for that and that it is not a substitute for registration.

What registering gets you

You can pitch, license and release songs without a registration. Here is what the Office says it adds.

• A public record. The certificate lists the title, author, owner and year of creation. The Office's toolkit adds that it gives prospective licensees contact details for asking permission to use your work.
• The right to sue in federal court. For a U.S. work, registration (or a refusal) must come before an infringement suit.
• A small-claims route. The Copyright Claims Board hears disputes up to $30,000 in total damages, and you do not need a lawyer. You need a registration or a pending application to file.
• Stronger remedies. Statutory damages (set by law, so you need not prove your exact losses) and attorney's fees become available. You must register before the infringement began or within three months of first publication.
• Evidence. A registration made before, or within five years of, first publication counts as evidence in court that the copyright is valid.

What the Copyright Office charges today

These are the fees on the Office's fee page as of November 1, 2026. Paper filing costs $125, so file online.

• Single Application, $45. One work, one author who owns it outright, not made for hire.
• Standard Application, $65. Everything else, including songs with co-writers.
• Group of unpublished works, $85. Two to ten unpublished works on one application.
• Group of works on an album, $65. Two to twenty musical works published on the same album.

What is changing, and when

On July 14, 2026, the Copyright Office sent Congress a proposed new fee schedule, its first change since 2020. By law, the Office may start charging the new fees once 120 days have passed, unless Congress enacts a law rejecting the schedule. The 120th day is November 11, so the earliest start is November 12. The Office says it wants the new fees in place this fall, and the Copyright Alliance, a creators' advocacy group, calls the increases virtually certain. Here is the proposal.

• Single Application: $45 to $55.
• Standard Application: $65 to $85.
• Group of unpublished works: $85 to $130.
• Group of musical works on an album: $65 to $85. Group of sound recordings on an album: $65 to $130.
• Paper filing: $125 to $185.

After songwriter groups objected, the Office lowered its proposed fee for groups of musical works on an album from $130 to $85. It says the group fees set at $130 work out to no more than $13 a work.

These numbers are proposals until the Office announces a start date, so check the fee page on the day you file. If you were already planning to register, filing before the earliest start date is the safest way to pay today's fees. Do not rush a filing with mistakes, though. A refused group application means reapplying and paying again.

The cheapest way to register a catalog

Registering songs one at a time adds up. Ten songs on ten Single Applications cost $450 today and would cost $550 under the proposed schedule. Group options change the math.

• One song you wrote and recorded alone: a Single Application. Circular 56A says it can cover the song and its recording if both are on the same recording, you are the only performer featured, and you own both.
• Up to ten unpublished songs by the same writers: one group application. If you recorded them too, choose Sound Recording as the type of work to register the songs and recordings together. Each song and its recording must share one audio file and the same author and claimant (the party named as owner of the claim).
• A catalog of 25 unpublished songs by one writer: three group applications of 10, 10 and 5 songs. That is $255 today, or $390 under the proposed schedule, against $1,125 for 25 Single Applications today.
• Songs with different co-writers: one group for each set of writers. In the Office's example, two writers who co-wrote four songs file one group, and one of them files another for three songs she wrote alone.
• Songs already released on an album: the album group option, with musical works and sound recordings on separate applications.

Check these before you file

• Is each song unpublished? The Office says a work is unpublished if no copies have been distributed to the public and none have been offered to a group for further distribution, public performance or display. If you have sold or handed out copies, ask the Office or a copyright attorney before choosing the group option.
• Upload one audio file per song, with file names that match the titles, and never combine songs in one ZIP or PDF. Name the same authors on every work in the group, and name every author as a claimant, even if you no longer own all the rights. The Office may refuse a group application that breaks its rules.
• Want a guide? The Public Information Office offers a 30-minute walk-through of the online application, though its staff cannot give legal advice.

How long it takes

Registration is not quick. For cases the Office closed between April 1 and September 30, 2026, the average was 4.1 months, and online claims with uploaded files that needed no questions averaged 3.4 months. The effective date is the day the Office receives a proper application, a deposit (the copy of your work) and the fee, not the day the certificate arrives. The Office says you do not need the certificate before you publish or produce your work. A song registered as unpublished does not need to be registered again when it is published.

What registration does not do

A Copyright Office registration does not put your song in line to be paid. You can earn performance and streaming royalties without one. Those depend on registering the song with your PRO and with The MLC, which says its registration does not replace other registrations. See register your songs with The MLC and our year-end registration checklist.

Getting songs ready to list

Registration is one piece of the paperwork. A split sheet, session files and written agreements with anyone who helped make the recording are others. Our back-catalog rights check covers them, and our guide to co-written songs covers splits. Partners keep their copyright and earn 50% of each sale, minus the payment fee. See how to sell your songs.

Sources

• U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright Office Fees
• U.S. Copyright Office: Proposed Fee Schedule and Analysis, submitted to Congress July 14, 2026
• Copyright Alliance: 3 Things Creators Should Know About the Upcoming Increase in U.S. Copyright Office Registration Fees
• U.S. Copyright Office: General Questions (FAQ)
• U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 1, Copyright Basics
• U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 24, Group Registration of Unpublished Works
• U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 56A, Copyright Registration of Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings
• U.S. Copyright Office: Group Registration of Works on an Album of Music (FAQ)
• U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright Registration Toolkit
• U.S. Copyright Office: Registration Processing Times
• Copyright Claims Board: Frequently Asked Questions
• The MLC: Play Your Part FAQs