Font License Checker
Paste the license or readme that came with a font. The checker highlights the terms that matter when you sell, such as personal-use-only, print-on-demand bans, unit caps and logo limits, and explains each one in plain English.
Your text is checked in this browser tab. It isn’t uploaded, sent or saved anywhere.
What it looks for
- Personal use only, non-commercial
- Print on demand bans (Redbubble, Merch by Amazon…)
- Unit, copy or view caps
- Logo and trademark limits
- Embedding and webfont limits
- Attribution requirements
- Selling or sharing the font file
- Letter and alphabet sets
- Donationware, shareware, demos
- Extended or separate licenses
- Desktop licenses and install limits
It handles common negations such as “not for commercial use” vs. “free for commercial use” and “credit is appreciated but not required”.
Your text, highlighted
- Red flag
- Check
- Normal
- OK
- Unclear
What an automatic check can’t do
The checker matches phrases and the words around them. It doesn’t understand the license the way a person does. Treat the result as a reading aid that tells you which sentences to read twice, not as an answer.
- Unusual wording can fool it. Long legal sentences, exceptions inside exceptions or terms spread across a document may be misread or missed.
- It only sees what you paste. Many readmes point to a license page on the designer’s site or a shop’s own terms, which may say more.
- “Not mentioned” isn’t “allowed”. If the text says nothing about a use, ask the designer before you rely on it.
- Labels on download sites are hints. DaFont, for example, says the license shown above its download button is only an indication, and the readme or the author decides. It also says a missing license doesn’t mean the font is free.
Source: FAQ | dafont.com (Are all the fonts free of charge?) · Last checked: September 27, 2026
Two words that mean different things in different licenses
“Commercial use” has no single meaning. Each license defines it. One shop’s personal license excludes even free giveaways that promote your brand, so read the definition section if there is one.
Source: Our Licenses | Font Bundles (Personal License) · Last checked: September 27, 2026
“Extended license” isn’t a standard term either. Shops use it for their own upgrade tiers, which cover different things. If a readme says “buy the extended license for logos”, check what that exact license covers before you pay.
Source: Our Licenses | Font Bundles · Last checked: September 27, 2026
Selling books on KDP?
Amazon KDP makes you responsible for licensing every font in your book. It also requires fonts to be embedded in print PDFs, and some free-site fonts won’t embed for technical or license reasons. A license that bans embedding is worth resolving before you format the book.
Source: Paperback Fonts - KDP Help · Last checked: September 27, 2026
Source: Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues - KDP Help · Last checked: September 27, 2026
More on common license types (OFL, Canva, Cricut, shop licenses) is in Font licenses for sellers. For Canva’s own fonts, see Canva fonts and commercial use.
If the license doesn’t fit
Use an open-licensed font. Every font in our generators is under the SIL Open Font License or the Apache License 2.0. The OFL FAQ says OFL fonts may be used for any design work, including logos and products you sell. The rule sellers need to remember is that the font file itself can’t be sold on its own.
Source: OFL-FAQ (entry 1.1) · Last checked: September 27, 2026
Or get a font that comes with a commercial license. If you need a particular style, a shop license may cover what you sell. Creative Fabrica’s font library is one option, and it also has a free fonts section. Its licenses have their own limits (for example on embedding and trademarks), so read what the Creative Fabrica license covers first. You can paste any license into the checker above.
Links to Creative Fabrica are affiliate links: FontCubby may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. Details.
Related tools: font glyph viewer (see every character a font file includes, useful for spotting demo versions) and font formats compatibility.