How to Check a Font's License for Commercial Use

You downloaded a font from a free font site. The page said "free for commercial use." But you're about to use it for a paying client, put it on a product, or deploy it on a business website — and now you're second-guessing whether "free for commercial use" actually covers your specific use.

The most authoritative place to check isn't the download page. It's the license text embedded inside the font file itself. Font authors embed the license terms, license URL, and copyright notice directly into the file. Whatever the website says, the file is the source of truth.

Here's how to read it in under a minute, directly in your browser.

Where the License Is Actually Stored in a Font File

Font files contain a set of internal metadata tables. Two of these are relevant to licensing:

• License description (nameID 13) — the full license text, sometimes several paragraphs, embedded by the font author
• License info URL (nameID 14) — a URL pointing to the full license online, used by fonts that keep the license text at a stable URL rather than embedding it

Not all fonts embed both. Some only embed the URL. Some embed neither (common with old freeware fonts or fonts ripped from software). If neither field appears when you check, that's a signal to dig further before commercial use — the absence of a license declaration isn't the same as permission.

How to Read a Font's Embedded License in Your Browser

Open the WildandFree Font Metadata Viewer and drop your TTF, OTF, or WOFF file onto it. The viewer reads the file locally — nothing is uploaded.

Look for the License and License URL fields in the output. If the license text is present, read it. Specifically look for:

• Any mention of "commercial use" or "commercial purposes"
• Restrictions on use (advertising, broadcast, product packaging)
• Attribution requirements
• Whether modification or redistribution is allowed

If only a URL is shown, visit the URL — it will typically take you to an OFL, Apache 2.0, or proprietary license page.

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The Most Common Font Licenses and What They Allow

SIL Open Font License (OFL 1.1) — fully open. Free to use for any purpose including commercial, embedding in apps, and modification. The only restriction: you can't sell the font itself as a standalone product without changes, and modified versions must use a new name. Most Google Fonts use OFL.

Apache 2.0 — also permissive. Commercial use, modification, and redistribution are all allowed. No copyleft requirements. A handful of fonts (including some early Google Fonts) use Apache 2.0.

Free for personal use (no explicit license) — the most problematic category. These fonts typically require a paid commercial license from the designer. The purchase is often inexpensive ($10–30) but required. Many "free" font sites host these without being clear about the restriction.

Proprietary / desktop license — permits use on your own computer but doesn't automatically include web embedding, app embedding, or redistribution. If you purchased a desktop license from a type foundry, you likely need a separate web font or app license for digital use.

The Other License Field: Embedding Permissions

Separate from the license text, font files contain a numeric value called fsType (part of the OS/2 table). This controls embedding permissions at a technical level. The four categories are:

• 0 — Installable — the font can be embedded in documents and freely installed by the recipient
• 4 — Print and Preview — can be embedded for viewing and printing, but the recipient cannot install it
• 8 — Editable — can be embedded in documents, and the recipient can edit the document
• 2 — Restricted — no embedding permitted. The font cannot be legally used in web CSS, PDFs, or any embedded context

The fsType value and the license text can sometimes conflict — a font might have a permissive OFL license but an older fsType value from before the standards were updated. In practice, the license text usually governs. But checking both gives you a complete picture.

What to Do When the Font File Has No Embedded License

If the viewer shows no license text and no license URL, you have a few options:

1. Check the download source — the original distributor's page may have license terms that weren't embedded in the file
2. Search by copyright string — the copyright field is usually populated even when the license field isn't. Search the designer's name or foundry name to find their license page
3. Treat it as restricted — for commercial work where the license is unclear, the safe position is to assume it requires purchase or is restricted
4. Use an alternative — Google Fonts has thousands of OFL-licensed fonts that are unambiguously free for commercial use

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a font that says "free" on a download site actually free for commercial use?

Not always. "Free" on a download site often means free to download, not free for all uses. Many fonts are free for personal use only and require a paid license for commercial work. Always check the embedded license text in the font file itself.

Can I use Google Fonts commercially?

Yes. All fonts in the Google Fonts library are licensed under OFL 1.1 or Apache 2.0, both of which permit commercial use, web embedding, and modification.

What does fsType 0 mean?

fsType 0 (Installable Embedding) means the font has no embedding restrictions. It can be embedded in documents, web pages, and apps, and recipients can install it on their own systems.