Which Creative Commons licences are considered free-culture licences?

Two Creative Commons licenses qualify as free-culture licenses under the Free Cultural Works definition: CC BY 4.0 and CC BY-SA 4.0. The test is straightforward. A license fails if it includes the NoDerivatives (ND) restriction, which blocks sharing of adapted material. It also fails if it includes the NonCommercial (NC) restriction, which blocks commercial use. If you are a creator who wants to maximise reuse, apply CC BY 4.0. If you are a reuser, check that the work carries one of these two licenses before you build on it.

The Free Cultural Works definition, maintained by a community project independent of Creative Commons, sets four requirements. A work must be free to use, study, redistribute, and modify. These map directly to the permissions a Creative Commons license grants. A license that permits only unmodified redistribution fails the modify requirement. A license that restricts use to non‑commercial purposes fails the free‑to‑use requirement because it does not allow commercial activity.

How BY And BY-SA Meet All Four Requirements

Under version 4.0, CC BY permits all four actions: use, study, redistribute, and modify, including for commercial purposes, as long as attribution is provided. CC BY-SA adds the ShareAlike condition: adaptations must be shared under the same license or a compatible license. This condition does not block any of the four freedoms. It extends them to the derivative work. The remaining four licenses in the 4.0 suite each fail at least one criterion. ND blocks modification. NC blocks commercial use.

Read the deed or legal code for any license that includes ND. The prohibition is the same: you may not share adapted material under that license. The Free Cultural Works definition requires permission to create and distribute adaptations. ND licenses therefore cannot be free-culture licenses.

NC licenses restrict use to non‑commercial purposes. The definition requires that the work be available for any purpose, including commercial. A licensor who chooses NC is deliberately withholding commercial permission. That choice places the license outside the free-culture category.

Where CC0 And The Public Domain Mark Fit

CC0 and the Public Domain Mark are not part of the six‑license suite. Both tools aim to remove copyright restrictions entirely, making works they cover as free as possible under applicable law. CC0 is a public‑domain dedication with a fallback license. The Public Domain Mark identifies material the marker believes is free of known copyright restrictions worldwide. Neither tool is a license. Both produce works that meet the free‑culture standard in practice, because they impose no conditions on use.

Allowed Use

A photographer releases a portrait under CC BY 4.0. A designer downloads the photo, crops it, adds a text overlay, and publishes the result on a commercial website. The designer attributes the photographer by name and links to the license. This use is allowed. The designer created an adaptation, shared it, and used it commercially. BY permits all three.

Disallowed Use

A musician releases a track under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. A filmmaker synchronises the track with a video and posts the video to a streaming platform that runs ads. The filmmaker does not charge viewers directly, but the platform generates revenue from the ads. Under version 4.0, synchronising music with a moving image is expressly Adapted Material. The ND clause prohibits sharing the adaptation. The NC clause also blocks the use because the platform is directed toward commercial advantage through advertising. Both restrictions independently make this use a violation. The filmmaker needs separate permission from the musician.