Your content is copyrighted the moment you hit Publish. But does that stop copycats from lifting your work? Not reliably.
The best way to reduce that risk is to officially register your website and its content. Registration:
- Confirms your legal ownership so others can’t copy or distribute your work without permission.
- Gives you stronger enforcement options, including the ability to sue if someone plagiarizes your posts.
- Unlocks eligibility for statutory damages and attorney’s fees when you register in time.
- Helps deter theft in the first place because infringers know you can take action.
If you’re thinking about registering, the best time is today. The process is straightforward but can take a little time to complete, so start early.
You have two options: hire a business formation service (e.g., LegalZoom) to handle the filing or do it yourself.
How To Copyright a Website Online
Registration protects your site’s original text, images, videos, and human-written code from infringement. It also gives you the exclusive rights to publish, distribute, and create derivative works.
Register with the United States Copyright Office (USCO) so you have official proof of ownership.
To register, go to the US Copyright Office website and create an account.
You can file online or download a paper form to mail along with deposit copies of your work. For websites, the online route is easier because you can upload your deposits directly.
Online filing is generally faster and less expensive—and you can track your case. According to the Copyright Office’s latest processing-time update, typical online claims are decided in a few months on average, while paper claims usually take longer.
Costs vary by application type. As of 2025, common fees include $45 for a Single Application (one work, one author/claimant, not made for hire) and $65 for a Standard Application; paper filings are $125. Group options (covered below) have their own fees.
Regardless of how you file, you’ll always do three things:
- Complete the application
- Pay the nonrefundable fee
- Submit deposit copies of your work
Filing online? Follow these steps:
Step 1: Open the USCO registration portal
On copyright.gov, click Registration and then Register Your Work: Registration Portal.
Click the blue button labeled Log in to the Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) Registration System to create an account if you don’t already have one.
You can also click Register Your Works on the main page and review Other Digital Content for guidance on which category fits your website content. When you actually file the application in eCO, you’ll select the appropriate work type (e.g., Literary Work for text, Work of the Visual Arts for images, Motion Picture/AV Work for videos).
Enter your name and email, set a password, and click Next.
Then provide your address and contact details.
Finish account setup by clicking Next and Finish.
Step 2: Register your work
From the dashboard, select Standard Application under Copyright Registration.
On the Standard Application page, click Start Registration.
For most websites, choose Literary Work when registering text-based posts and pages. You can also register the website’s original, human-written HTML under Literary Work. For images, choose Work of the Visual Arts; for videos, choose Motion Picture/AV Work.
Click Continue to add Titles. Use New to enter the title of the work being registered (e.g., your website name if you’re registering a compilation/collective version, or the title of a specific post/page if you’re registering an individual work).
Select the appropriate Title Type. If you’re registering the website as a collective work, choose Title of work being registered for the site title.
To list notable items included within a collective work registration (e.g., major sections or featured articles from that version of the site), you may add Content Titles. If you plan to register multiple separate blog posts, don’t use the Standard Application—use the group option described below (it’s faster and cheaper for batches).
Click Continue to move on.
Step 3: Fill in the rest of the eCO checklist
Here’s what you’ll complete next:
Publication/Completion
Select Yes if the work has been published and provide the requested details. (Note: merely displaying a work online isn’t always “publication”—but downloading or otherwise authorizing copies usually is.)
Authors
If you’re the only author, click Add Me. For collaborators, click New to add them. If work was created by an employee within their job duties, it is work made for hire and the employer is the author/owner.
Claimants
Click Add Me if you are the owner. For company-owned content, list the company as claimant when appropriate.
Limitation of Claim
Exclude anything you don’t fully own (e.g., stock photos, licensed graphics, previously registered or public-domain material). This ensures your registration cleanly covers your original authorship.
Rights & Permissions
You can skip this if you don’t want your contact info public. (Registration details become public record.)
Correspondents
Tell the Office where to contact you about the application. Click Add Me or enter alternate details.
Mail Certificate
Choose where your certificate should be mailed. Click Add Me to reuse your address.
Special Handling
Skip unless you have a compelling reason (e.g., pending litigation, customs, or contract deadlines). Special handling speeds review but adds a significant fee.
Certification
Certify that the information is correct. If any portion of your pages includes AI-generated text or images, limit your claim to the human-authored parts and disclose the non-human content in the application.
You can register multiple website components together in some cases, so long as the materials are original and you meet the eligibility rules. For batches of individual posts, use the group options below rather than forcing many items into a single Standard Application.
Time-saver for frequent posters: the Group Registration for Short Online Literary Works (GRTX) lets you register up to 50 short works (50–17,500 words each)—such as blog posts and articles—published within the same three-calendar-month period with one application and fee. For news publishers, Group Registration for Updates to a News Website (GRNW) allows registering multiple updates from the same calendar month as a collective work.
Step 4: Review your submission
Use Review Submission to fix errors before filing. Pro tip: click Save Template so future registrations go faster.
Step 5: Pay the fee
Click Add to Cart and then Checkout.
You’ll be sent to pay.gov to submit payment for the nonrefundable filing fee.
Step 6: Upload your content
Submit deposit copies of the work you’re registering. For websites, prepare clear PDF copies of the pages as they actually appear on your site; deposits should accurately reflect your content and layout.
Match your deposits to what you claimed. If you registered a single post, upload that post in context. If you registered a website version as a collective work, include the pages that comprise that version. For group options, follow the instructions for file names and ZIP folders.
When finished, click Complete. If you’re mailing deposits instead of uploading, print high-quality screenshots that clearly show the registered content.
Bonus tip: register your work regularly
Registering a website once does not automatically cover future posts or images. To protect ongoing content, register on a regular cadence.
Set calendar reminders (quarterly or biannually). If you saved a template in Step 4, you can quickly add new titles and publication dates.
Publishing many short posts? Use GRTX to register up to 50 eligible works from a three-month window in one filing. News publishers posting daily can consider GRNW for monthly updates.
Summing Up
Your work is protected by copyright the moment it’s fixed, but registering with the USCO gives you the strongest legal footing to defend it.
Online registration is straightforward and you can complete it from home. If you run into technical or legal questions, consult a professional.
Don’t have a website yet? Start by creating one yourself.
FAQs for How to Copyright a Website
1. What type of copyright is a website?
In the portal, Other Digital Content provides guidance for websites, blogs, SaaS apps, databases, and similar works. When you file, pick the category that matches the main authorship: Literary Work for text (and human-written code), Work of the Visual Arts for images/graphics, or Motion Picture/AV Work for video.
Blogs can be filed as literary works. Remember that a literary-work claim does not cover photographs, graphics, or videos unless they’re separately claimed or you’re registering a qualifying collective work that properly excludes third-party material.
2. Can I copyright a domain name?
No. Domain names aren’t original works of authorship, so they’re not eligible for copyright.
Domain name registration is handled by accredited registrars under ICANN’s system. To protect the brand value of your domain and stop others from misusing a confusingly similar name, consider registering a trademark with the USPTO.
3. What’s the difference between a copyright and trademark?
Copyright protects creative expression—literary works, audiovisual content, photos, graphics, music, code, and more—through registration with the US Copyright Office.
Trademarks protect words, names, logos, and other brand identifiers connected to goods or services, and are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
4. How long does a website’s copyright last?
For an individual author, protection lasts for the author’s life plus 70 years. For works made for hire or anonymous/pseudonymous works, the term is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation (whichever expires first). Deleting the website doesn’t end your rights in the registered content.
5. Can I copyright my website if I use images from other sources?
Yes—but your registration only covers your original authorship. Never include someone else’s copyrighted content without permission. If you use Creative Commons–licensed images, follow the specific license terms (e.g., attribution, noncommercial, share-alike). In your application, exclude any third-party material in the Limitation of Claim section.
6. What can I do to protect my website until my copyright application is accepted?
Add a copyright notice in your footer—e.g., © YEAR Your Name or Company. Anyone can display a notice whether or not registration is complete. Also set up periodic checks for duplicates (e.g., Copyscape). If you find a copy, you can send a DMCA takedown notice to the host or platform while your registration is processing.
Need your certificate urgently for a lawsuit or contract? You may request special handling for an additional fee, which expedites the review.