How much does it cost to copyright a book?
Copyright in your book is free and automatic. What authors pay for is registration with the US Copyright Office: $45, $65 or $125, depending on how you file. Here is what each fee covers, what registration gets you, and the one thing you have to do either way.
Copyright is free; registration is not
The Copyright Office's own answer: your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form. A finished manuscript on your laptop is already protected. You do not file anything to get copyright.
Registration is a separate, optional step. The Copyright Office says registration is voluntary in general, and that you will have to register if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a US work. So the question "how much does it cost to copyright a book" really means "how much does it cost to register it," and the answer is one fee, paid once.
The registration fees
| How you file | Fee | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Online, Single Application | $45 | Single author, same claimant, one work, not made for hire |
| Online, Standard Application | $65 | Works that do not meet all the Single Application conditions |
| Paper (Form TX for a book) | $125 | Anyone who files on paper |
| Special handling, added to a claim | $800 | Optional; listed on the schedule as the special handling fee for a claim |
Fees from the Copyright Office fee schedule, read October 27, 2026. The conditions for the $45 fee are the Office's own wording on that schedule. The Office sets fees through periodic fee studies, so check the schedule before you file.
Most self-published business authors who wrote their book alone will look at the $45 option first. If anyone else wrote part of it, or it was written for you under a contract, read the Copyright Office's guidance on authorship and work made for hire before choosing; the cheaper application only fits when every one of its conditions does.
Filing is done in the Copyright Office's online registration portal, where you also upload or send a copy of the book.
What registration gets you
Asked why anyone should register when protection is automatic, the Copyright Office gives three reasons:
- A public record and a certificate. The facts of your copyright go on the public record, and you get a certificate of registration.
- Statutory damages and attorney's fees. Registered works may be eligible for these in successful litigation.
- Evidence. If registration happens within five years of publication, it is prima facie evidence in a court of law.
The cheap shortcut does not work. The Copyright Office says mailing a copy of your work to yourself, sometimes called a "poor man's copyright," has no provision in copyright law and is not a substitute for registration.
The deposit you owe either way
Separately from registration, the Copyright Office says the law requires two copies of each work published in the United States to be deposited with it within three months of publication, for the use of the Library of Congress. It also says registration with the required copies fulfills that requirement, which is one more reason authors register at publication. The mandatory deposit page lists the exceptions and what "best edition" means. To price the two copies, use the book printing cost calculator.
The total, next to the rest of the book
For one book by one author filed online, the outlay is the $45 or $65 fee plus two printed copies and postage if you send physical copies. Next to an ISBN ($125 for one from Bowker, compared on how much an ISBN costs) and the larger lines in what a book costs, it is one of the smallest costs of publishing. What the book earns back is a different calculation, and the book value calculator does that one.
Sources: US Copyright Office, Fees; US Copyright Office, Copyright in General (FAQ); US Copyright Office, Mandatory Deposit. All read October 27, 2026. This page reports published fees and statements and is not legal advice.