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If a check received in payment of the filing fee is returned to the Copyright Office as uncollectible, the Copyright Office will cancel the registration and will notify the remitter. The filing fee for processing an original, supplementary, or renewal claim is nonrefundable, whether or not copyright registration is ultimately made. Do not send cash. The Copyright Office cannot assume any responsibility for the loss of currency sent in payment of copyright fees. For further information, request Circular 4, Copyright Fees.

Certain Fees and Services May Be Charged to a Credit Card
Some fees may be charged by telephone and in person in the office. Others may only be charged in person in the office. Credit card payments are generally authorized only for services that do not require filing of applications or other materials. An exception is made for fees related to items that are hand-carried into the Public Information Office.

Certifications and Documents Section: These fees may be charged in person in the office or by phone: additional certificates; copies of documents and deposits; searching, locating and retrieving deposits; certifications; and expedited processing.

Public Information Office: These fees may only be charged in person in the office, not by phone: standard registration request forms; special handling requests for all standard registration requests; requests for services provided by the Certifications and Documents Section when the request is accompanied by a request for special handling; search requests for which a fee estimate has been provided; additional fee for each claim using the same deposit; full term retention fees; appeal fees; Secure Test processing fee; short fee payments when accompanied by a Remittance Due Notice; in-process retrieval fees; and online service providers fees.

Reference and Bibliography Section: Requests for searches on a regular or expedited basis can be charged to a credit card by phone.

Records Maintenance Unit: Computer time on COINS, printing from the Optical Disk, and photocopying can be charged in person in the office.

Fiscal Control Section: Deposit Accounts maintained by the Fiscal Control Section may be replenished by credit card. See Circular 5, How to Open and Maintain a Deposit Account in the Copyright Office.

NIE recordations and claims filed on Form GATT may be paid by credit card if the card number is included in a separate letter that accompanies the form.

Search of Copyright Office Records
The records of the Copyright Office are open for inspection and searching by the public. Moreover, on request and payment of a fee,* the Copyright Office will search its records for you. For information on searching the Office records concerning the copyright status or ownership of a work, request Circular 22, How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work, and Circular 23, The Copyright Card Catalog and the Online Files of the Copyright Office.

Copyright Office records in machine-readable form cataloged from January 1, 1978, to the present, including registration and renewal information and recorded documents, are now available for searching from the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov.

For Further Information
Information via the Internet: Circulars, announcements, regulations, other related materials, and all copyright application forms are available from the Copyright Office Website at www.copyright.gov.

Information by telephone: For general information about copyright, call the Copyright Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000. The tty number is (202) 707-6737. Staff members are on duty from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day. Or, if you know which application forms and information circulars you want, you may request them 24 hours a day from the Forms and Publications Hotline at (202) 707-9100. You may leave a recorded message.

Information by regular mail: Write to:

Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Publications Section
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000

For a list of other material published by the Copyright Office, request Circular 2, Publications on Copyright.

The Copyright Public Information Office is open to the public 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, eastern time, except federal holidays. The office is located in the Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC, near the Capitol South Metro stop. Staff members are available to answer questions, provide circulars, and accept applications for registration. Access for disabled individuals is at the front door on Independence Avenue SE.

The Copyright Office is not permitted to give legal advice. If information or guidance is needed on matters such as disputes over the ownership of a copyright, suits against possible infringers, the procedure for getting a work published, or the method of obtaining royalty payments, it may be necessary to consult an attorney.

Note: The Copyright Office provides a free electronic mailing list, NewsNet, that issues periodic email messages on the subject of copyright. The messages alert subscribers to hearings, deadlines for comments, new and proposed regulations, new publications, and other copyright-related subjects of interest. NewsNet is not an interactive discussion group. To subscribe, send a message to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . In the body of the message say “subscribe uscopyright”. Or fill in the subscription form online at www.copyright.gov/newsnet. You will receive a standard welcoming message indicating that your subscription to NewsNet has been accepted.