Copyright registration and Library of Congress costs

This guide explains published fees and rules. It is not legal advice; for a specific question about your rights, ask a lawyer.

Copyright Office fees

These are the fees on the US Copyright Office's fee schedule that a book author is most likely to pay:

Checked October 20, 2026.

Single or Standard Application

The $20 difference depends on who wrote the book and who owns it. The Single Application covers one author who is also the claimant, for one work that is not a work made for hire. That fits most self-published nonfiction written by its author.

You need the $65 Standard Application if, for example, the book has a co-author, your company rather than you owns the copyright, or the text includes work made for hire. If a ghostwriter wrote your book under a contract that makes the work yours, that arrangement affects which form fits, so read the contract and the Copyright Office's form guidance before you file.

File directly at copyright.gov. Paid apps and bundles that file for you add a service charge to the same government fee.

What registration buys you

The Copyright Office describes registration as optional. What it changes is what you can do about infringement. The Authors Guild sets out two points:

• For a work first published in the United States or written by a US author, you cannot bring an infringement lawsuit until the Copyright Office has registered or refused to register the work.
• Statutory damages, "which can be up to $150,000 per work," and attorney's fees generally require that the work was registered before the infringement began or within three months after it was first published.

That three-month window is the reason to treat registration as part of publishing, not something to get round to later. For $45, it keeps the remedies that make an infringement case practical to bring. The calculator marks this line "Do not skip" for that reason.

Deposit copies

Separate from registration, US law requires that two copies of each work published in the United States be deposited with the Copyright Office within three months of publication (Copyright Office, mandatory deposit). Registering with the required copies fulfills that requirement, so most authors handle both at once.

The cost is the books plus postage. At Amazon KDP's print cost, two copies of a 140-page black-ink paperback cost 2 x $2.68 = $5.36 before shipping. The Copyright Office's page says that for works published only online, an electronic deposit is required only if the Office sends a written demand.

The Library of Congress number (PCN and LCCN)

A Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is the number of the Library's catalog record for your book. It appears on the copyright page, and librarians use it to find the record. Self-publishers get one through the Preassigned Control Number (PCN) program, which assigns the number before publication.

• Cost: "There is no charge for a Preassigned Control Number (PCN)," says the Library of Congress FAQ.
• The condition: participants must send a copy of every book that received a number immediately upon publication. The Library keeps it, and does not promise to add every book to its collections.
• Timing: you can only get a PCN for a book that is not yet published, and the Library says processing can take up to 30 days, so apply well ahead of your publication date.
• Access: PrePub Book Link has an Author/Self-Publisher Portal. In an article for the Independent Book Publishers Association, Caroline Saccucci of the Library of Congress explained that these accounts need no approval, so authors can submit requests right away (IBPA).

What about CIP data?

Cataloging in Publication (CIP) is the full catalog block you see on traditionally published copyright pages. The same article explains that the CIP program requires a publisher to have three books by three different authors held by at least 1,000 libraries. Most self-publishers do not qualify, and the PCN is the route open to them.

Is an LCCN worth getting?

It costs one book and a form. If you hope libraries will carry your book, it gives them a catalog record to work from. If the book is only for your clients, you can skip it without much loss. The calculator includes it by default at the cost of one copy, and you can untick it.

What it all adds up to

Put the dates in your launch calendar now: the PCN before you upload files, and the copyright filing in the first weeks after publication.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting past three months to register. You can still register, but you lose statutory damages and fees for infringement that starts before you do.
• Using the Single Application when it does not fit. Co-authored and company-owned books need the Standard Application.
• Applying for a PCN after the book is live. Published books are not eligible.
• Treating an ISBN as copyright protection. Bowker says it conveys none. See the ISBN guide.