Copyright Registration
How to Register a Song with the U.S. Copyright Office
By Jeremy Stevenson, music executive, founder of Whetstone Entertainment
It costs $45 to $65, takes about 20 minutes online, and it is the paperwork that turns your automatic copyright into something you can actually enforce.
The short answer
You register a song online at copyright.gov: confirm it is not already registered, choose whether you are covering the composition, the recording, or both, pick the right application, upload the audio, and pay $45 to $65. The certificate takes a while to arrive, but protection backdates to the day your complete application lands. The steps below are the same ones we walk label clients through.
Step 1: Check whether the song is already registered
Search the title and every songwriter name before you pay for anything. Songs are often registered by a co-writer, a publisher, or inside an album-level group registration under the album title, and a duplicate filing wastes the fee.
You can do this part here in seconds: search 6.3M registrations by title or songwriter, or run your whole catalog at once to see exactly which songs still need a filing.
Step 2: Decide what you are registering: the song, the recording, or both
A released track holds two copyrights: the composition (the song itself, filed as Performing Arts / PA) and the sound recording (the specific master, filed as Sound Recording / SR). If the same person or company owns both, one SR application can cover both in a single filing and a single fee.
Step 3: Pick the right application
Single Application ($45): one work, one author who is also the sole claimant, not a work for hire. Standard Application ($65): everything else, including co-written songs. Group of Unpublished Works ($85): up to 10 unreleased songs in one filing. Works on an Album ($65): up to 20 tracks released on one album, filed together.
The group options are where catalogs save real money. Ten unreleased demos in one $85 filing beats ten separate applications, and a 20-track album can go in one $65 group filing if the tracks qualify.
Step 4: File online at copyright.gov and upload your deposit copy
Create an account in the Copyright Office registration system, fill in the authors, claimants, and publication status, upload the audio file (MP3 or WAV) and lyrics if you are covering the words, and pay the fee by card.
Step 5: Save the confirmation and wait for the certificate
Your effective date of registration is the day the Office receives the completed application, deposit, and fee, not the day the certificate arrives. Processing takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months, and the certificate is retroactive to that effective date.
The mistakes that cost people later
The filings that come back to bite are rarely rejected. They are accepted with the wrong facts inside: a co-writer left off, a work-for-hire box checked incorrectly, a claimant who never actually acquired the rights, or a song registered twice under two titles. The Copyright Office examines form, not your band agreement. Fixing a registration afterward means a supplementary registration and another fee, so settle the splits on paper before you file.
Frequently asked
How long does copyright registration take?
Certificates typically arrive in a few weeks to several months depending on Copyright Office workload and whether an examiner has questions. The date that matters is the effective date, which is the day the Office received your complete application, deposit, and fee. Everything backdates to it.
Can I register just the lyrics, or just the beat?
Yes. Lyrics alone register as a work of the performing arts (or as text), and an instrumental registers as a composition without words. If you later record the song, the sound recording is a separate copyright with its own registration.
Do I need a lawyer to register a song?
No. Registration is an administrative filing designed for creators to do themselves. Where a lawyer earns their fee is on ownership questions before you file: splits, work-for-hire language, and band or producer agreements. The application asks who the authors and claimants are, and the honest answer has to exist before you type it in.
What if I have co-writers?
List every author and their contribution. Co-written songs do not qualify for the $45 Single Application, so use the Standard Application. Get a signed split sheet first, because the registration should match what everyone agreed in the session.
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