Open Data Licenses

What is an Open Data License?

An open data license is a set of rules that tells people how they can use, share, and build on a dataset. It makes clear what’s allowed—like whether others can modify the data or use it for commercial purposes—while helping you keep credit for your work. Using an open license helps your data reach more people and have a bigger impact.

How to choose a license

Creative Commons Licenses have emerged as the defacto standard for open data sharing. Creative Commons maintains several different licenses for slightly different purposes. If you’re not already familiar with open licenses, try the Creative Commons License Chooser — a user-friendly tool that helps you select the right license and generates the necessary license text.

The tool walks you through a few simple questions about how you intend to share your data. Based on your responses, it recommends the most appropriate Creative Commons license for your needs. It then provides the licensing text, which you can easily copy and paste into your Data Management Plan or other documentation.