Creative Commons on YouTube: Find, Reuse, Credit
In short
Creative Commons on YouTube means the CC BY license, which lets anyone reuse and edit a video, even commercially, as long as they credit the creator. Every other video carries the Standard YouTube License, which gives no reuse right outside YouTube. Filter search by Creative Commons, confirm the license on the video page and keep the credit details.
On this page
What is Creative Commons on YouTube?
Creative Commons on YouTube is a license setting that lets a creator give everyone permission to reuse a video under one set of public terms. As of September 2026, YouTube Help lists only two license types: the Standard YouTube License, which is the default, and the Creative Commons Attribution license, CC BY.
On YouTube, the Creative Commons option is CC BY, which requires attribution. The other Creative Commons licenses, such as the NonCommercial or NoDerivatives variants described on the Creative Commons licenses page, are not offered in the YouTube upload settings. A video you find on YouTube is therefore either Standard or CC BY, and the difference decides whether you can cut it into your own edit without asking.
CC BY is not the same as public domain. A CC BY creator keeps the copyright and grants reuse on conditions, while public domain footage carries no copyright at all. For footage with no conditions attached, see public domain footage: where to find it, how to credit it.
How does CC BY differ from the Standard YouTube License?
CC BY grants every viewer the right to copy, edit and reuse the video with credit, while the Standard YouTube License grants other users access only through YouTube itself. The comparison sets the two licenses side by side, using the wording of YouTube Help, the YouTube Terms of Service and the CC BY 4.0 deed.
| Aspect | Standard YouTube License | Creative Commons CC BY |
|---|---|---|
| Default at upload | Yes | No, the creator must choose it |
| Who owns the copyright | The creator | The creator |
| Reuse in your own video | Only with permission or a legal exception | Allowed, with credit |
| Editing, cutting, color changes | Not granted | Allowed, and you indicate the changes |
| Commercial use | Not granted | Allowed, “even commercially” |
| Credit required | Not applicable, no reuse right is granted | Yes: title, author, source URL and license |
| Can the grant be revoked | Not applicable, no reuse right is granted | No, as long as you follow the license terms |
The Standard YouTube License comes from the YouTube Terms of Service. Uploaders give other users a license to access their content through the service, and viewers may watch it for personal, non-commercial use. Reusing a Standard video in your own edit needs the creator’s permission or an exception such as fair use. The routes are laid out in can you use YouTube clips in your video.
How do you find Creative Commons videos on YouTube?
YouTube search has a Creative Commons filter: YouTube Help says to select Creative Commons from the list of advanced search filters. As of September 2026, the filter sits under the Features group of the search filters panel.
- Search YouTube for the shot you need, such as “harbor drone” or “city timelapse”.
- Open Filters above the results and choose Creative Commons under Features. The list now holds only videos marked CC BY.
- Open a result and expand its description. Confirm the license line names the Creative Commons Attribution license.
- Copy the title, channel name and watch URL before you download anything.
A CC BY mark is the uploader’s claim, not a guarantee. YouTube Help limits the mark to original content, material already under CC BY and public domain works, and blocks it on videos with a Content ID claim. Uploaders still make mistakes, so run three checks before you use a clip:
- Re-uploads: a channel that posts other people’s films, TV or sports clips cannot license them. Look for the original channel.
- Music: a CC BY vlog over a chart song does not license the song.
- Recognizable people and brands: the CC BY 4.0 deed warns that publicity, privacy and moral rights may limit your use.
What must you do when reusing CC BY footage?
Reusing CC BY footage requires four things: credit the creator, link or name the license, indicate the changes you made and never suggest the creator endorses you. The CC BY 4.0 deed lists these conditions and adds one more: you may not add legal terms or technical measures that stop others from doing what the license permits.
CC BY conditions in practice, for an editor cutting a clip into a timeline:
- Credit: YouTube Help asks for the title, the author, the source URL and a license note such as “is licensed under CC BY”.
- Changes: trimming, cropping, speed ramps and color grading all count as adaptations, so note them in the credit.
- No endorsement: do not frame a creator’s footage as support for your product or channel.
- Revocation: the deed says the licensor cannot revoke the freedoms as long as you follow the terms.
The deed also states that the license comes with no warranties. If the uploader had no right to license the footage, the CC BY mark does not protect you, which is why the re-upload and music checks matter. Ready-made credit lines for descriptions, on-screen text and end credits are in how to credit a YouTube video.
How do you check and record the license of a YouTube video?
The license of a YouTube video is shown on its watch page, in the expanded description, and the watch page is the record to trust. B-ROLL, a free Windows app for editors, also writes the license into a credits file for every download, which keeps the evidence next to the clip.
The B-ROLL credits file holds the title, creator, channel link, source URL, upload date and a License: line. That line is whatever yt-dlp reports for the video. When yt-dlp reports nothing, the file says “Standard YouTube License”, even if the YouTube page shows another license. When the reported license contains the words “Creative Commons”, B-ROLL adds a Creative Commons block with a ready attribution line: the title, the creator, the channel link (or the video link when no channel link is known) and the license name.
Treat the credits file as a convenience, not proof of rights. Compare its License: line with the watch page before the clip goes into a timeline, and take a screenshot of the license line for any client project. The layout of the file is covered in automatic credit files for every YouTube download.
A license check fits into the wider b-roll routine of finding, trimming and converting footage, which is walked through in b-roll from YouTube: rights, clips, codecs and credits. More pages on permissions and fair use sit in credits, licenses and fair use for YouTube clips.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Creative Commons videos commercially?
Yes. The CC BY 4.0 deed lets you share and adapt the material for any purpose, even commercially, as long as you give credit and meet the other conditions. That covers monetized videos and client work. The license only covers what the uploader had the right to license, so check any music or third-party clips inside the video separately.
Can a creator change the license later?
Yes, a creator can switch the license setting of a video. The Creative Commons deed still says the licensor cannot revoke the CC BY freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. Record the license and the date when you download a clip, so you can show which license applied when you took it.
Does Creative Commons cover music in the video?
Only when the uploader had the right to license that music. YouTube allows the CC BY mark only on original content, CC BY material or public domain works, and not on videos with a Content ID claim. Uploaders can still mark a video wrongly, so treat recognizable commercial music inside a CC video as a separate rights question.
Sources
- YouTube Help: License types on YouTube support.google.com
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) creativecommons.org
- Creative Commons: About CC licenses creativecommons.org
- YouTube Terms of Service youtube.com
