In addition to delivering essential services, most public sector organisations rely on information workflows, structured processes, and cross-departmental collaboration, just like any other business. Departmental teams such as marketing, communications, legal, and finance frequently reuse high-quality published content from both online and print sources to spark ideas, drive innovation, shape policy, and support daily operations. But the critical question remains: is this content reuse compliant with UK copyright law? Annual blanket copyright permissions for public sector organisations Our Public Administration Copyright Licence is for public bodies, including police departments, fire and rescue services, public corporations, local authorities, combined authorities and national park authorities. It enables the reuse, sharing, digital copying and photocopying of published material without risking copyright infringement. The CLA Public Administration Licence provides annual blanket cover for your entire organisation, supporting compliance and governance frameworks. Make photocopies from publications from the UK and 40+ International territories Now includes extended and updated workplace generative AI permissions Produce scans from titles published in the UK and the US Re-use and copy from electronic and online titles published in the UK and the US Store copies on a secure Intranet With Website Republishing Permissions, post up to five articles (at any one time) per year on your own website from participating print magazines and publisher websites Does your public sector organisation require an NLA or CLA Licence? The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) and NLA Media Access (NLA) are separate licensing bodies. There is no crossover in the publications and repertoire covered by the two licences. If your public sector organisation shares, saves, prints or makes copies of any published content from magazines, journals, newspapers, trade press or websites, it’s likely you require both a CLA and NLA licence to ensure copyright legislation compliance. Licence Cover Journals All peer-reviewed STM and HSS journals published in the UK None Magazines (B2B & Consumer titles) Circa 7k titles Circa 3k titles Books All books published in the UK None Websites Circa 13k websites Circa 4k titles UK Newspapers None All UK national and regional titles International titles All books, magazines and journals published in 41 territories; some newspaper titles represented by Knowledge Bylanes and Syndigate Newspaper titles from 26 territories To check CLA Licence copying permissions for individual titles, use our check permissions tool. Workplace Generative AI permissions Does your organisation use Generative AI tools? This licence now includes updated permissions to allow the lawful copying and inclusion of published content to prompt permitted generative AI tools to generate outputs (subject to the terms and conditions of the licence). Learn more Media monitoring and press coverage for UK public bodies Many UK public sector organisations rely on media monitoring providers to access press coverage. However, there are strict limitations under the agreement between CLA and these providers. Specifically, the licence only allows one designated recipient within your organisation to receive the coverage, and it prohibits further sharing, saving, or copying of that material internally – often referred to as “multiple access” and “multiple users/seats”. If your organisation receives media clippings from a PR agency or a media monitoring service, you likely require copyright permission to share those clippings internally. This includes actions such as saving them to a shared drive, emailing, printing, copying, or forwarding them to colleagues within your organisation. Public administration licence fees & charges Rates effective May 2025 The annual fee per employee of HEO grade (or equivalent) or above is £37.69 (+VAT) Licences for Public Administration are subject to a minimum annual charge of £183.24 (+VAT) For example, if you have 100 total employees and 20 of those are identified as Professional Employees, the annual fee for the Public Administration Licence would be 20 x £37.69 = £753.80 + VAT Please contact us for more information Check permissions Check what you can copy, share or re-use legally with a CLA Licence. Check Permissions Copyright risk assessment Not sure if you need a licence? Our Risk Assessment feature can help you determine your licence needs. Discover more 5 copyright myths 5 common copyright myths debunked by CLA. Read it Enquire now Once you’ve filled out the enquiry form, a CLA team member will contact you to discuss the best licence for your needs and guide you through the simple application. "*" indicates required fields PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.First Name*Last Name*Why are you contacting CLA?*Select from drop-downInterested in getting a CLA LicenceBeen contacted by CLAOtherEmail*Organisation Name*Phone*Tell us more about your enquiryThis field is hidden when viewing the formLead OwnerThis field is hidden when viewing the formStatusThis field is hidden when viewing the formRecord TypeThis field is hidden when viewing the formLead SourceThis field is hidden when viewing the formSubjectThis field is hidden when viewing the formSectorIIThis field is hidden when viewing the formUtm CampaignThis field is hidden when viewing the formUtm MediumThis field is hidden when viewing the formUtm SourceCAPTCHA Public Administration Licence FAQs Are there risks to not taking the CLA Licence? Failing to obtain a CLA Licence puts your organisation at risk of copyright infringement. Infringing copyright law is undesirable for any public sector organisation, potentially resulting in legal consequences and financial penalties, as well as a risk of reputational damage. A stark example of this can be seen in cases such as Brighton and Hove, where legal action was pursued for copyright infringement, highlighting the serious consequences of non-compliance. Additionally, opting not to acquire a CLA Licence might be interpreted as underestimating the worth of the creative community, sidestepping compensation for creators and rights holders for use of their intellectual property. Fair remuneration for publishers, authors and visual artists supports the growth and sustainability of the creative sector. Beyond financial considerations, there is an expectation from society for public bodies to ‘do the right thing,’ encompassing the importance of behaving responsibly by following and respecting the law. Obtaining a CLA Licence becomes crucial in fulfilling these expectations, leading by example and minimising risks of copyright infringement. Do public sector organisations need both CLA and NLA licences? The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) and NLA Media Access (NLA) are separate licensing bodies that represent separate publication repertoires. Organisations making copies from a variety of media will invariably find they will benefit from holding both licences. NLA media access provides cover for newspapers, some magazines, and websites. The CLA licence covers millions of publications including books, journals, trade magazines, periodicals, law reports, and many digital publications and online content including ‘free-to-view’ websites. There is no overlap between CLA and NLA repertoire; the licences complement one another. Read more about the differences between CLA and NLA licences coverage on our site. Do website and journal subscriptions remove the need for a CLA licence? While subscriptions grant you access to the content, there’s a crucial distinction between accessing and having the right to copy and share that content. Many publications have explicit copyright statements prohibiting copying, storing, or sharing. Therefore, subscribing to a service doesn’t always give you free rein to reuse its content. Many subscription publications and titles commonly used by public sector organisations will have copyright disclaimers. Misinterpretation of subscription access can inadvertently lead to copyright infringement. Does the Public Administration Licence include Workplace Generative AI Permissions? Yes, as of May 2025, the CLA Public Administration Licence permissions were updated to allow the lawful copying and inclusion of published content to prompt permitted generative AI tools to generate outputs (subject to the terms and conditions of your licence). Does having a media monitoring service affect the requirement for a CLA licence? Many public sector organisations use media monitoring providers to access media coverage. There are limitations set in the agreement between CLA and these Media Monitoring agencies. Specifically, it only permits one recipient in the organisation to receive the coverage, and it restricts further sharing, saving, and copying of received media coverage. If you wish to have multiple user access or make multiple copies of media clippings, this will require your public sector organisation to hold its own CLA licence. A licence is required if electronic/web clippings are accessed more than once, or by more than one employee, or if additional copies are made, forwarded, or digitally stored from clippings received electronically or in hard copy. See more Supporting tools Check Permissions works for all, even if you don’t have a licence. Use it to check whether an article, book or website is covered by the CLA licence View More
