When Does a Work Enter the Public Domain in the US?

The one-line rule for old works

For works published in the United States before 1978, the maximum copyright term is 95 years: a first term of 28 years plus a renewal term of 67. Every term runs through December 31 of its last year. So a work first published in year Y is protected at most through the end of year Y + 95, and enters the public domain on January 1 of year Y + 96. Put 2026 into that rule and you get the Copyright Office's own statement: all works published in the United States before January 1, 1931, are in the public domain.

The rule only tells you the latest possible date. Many works from 1931 to 1963 became free decades earlier because nobody renewed them, as the next sections explain.

What entered and what enters, year by year

The table applies the 95-year rule to recent and coming years. The last column is for unpublished works, which run for the author's life plus 70 years: an unpublished work is free on January 1 of the year after the 70th year following the author's death.

The published-works column only covers works that were still protected: a 1931 book that was never renewed has been free since the end of 1959. The unpublished column has no renewal exception, because unpublished works were never subject to the renewal system.

The rules by publication date

The Cornell chart sorts US works by when and how they were first published. The rows that decide most cases:

For works created on or after January 1, 1978, there is a single term with no renewal: the author's life plus 70 years. A joint work runs 70 years from the death of the last surviving author. A work made for hire, or an anonymous or pseudonymous work, is protected for 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever ends first. Works created earlier but never published or registered before 1978 get the same life-plus-70 computation, with a guaranteed minimum that ran through the end of 2002, or 2047 if they were published before 2003.

Renewal: why many mid-century works are already free

Under the 1909 Copyright Act a copyright lasted 28 years and had to be renewed in its 28th year to get a second term. Works published from 1931 to 1963 that were not renewed expired at the end of that first term and are in the public domain now; Circular 15A puts it plainly for 1950 to 1963 copyrights, which still had to be renewed after the 1976 Act took effect and lost protection permanently if they were not. From 1964 to 1977 renewal became automatic by a 1992 amendment, so works from those years keep the full 95 years whether or not anyone filed. A missing renewal is the usual reason a 1940s or 1950s book is free long before its 95 years are up.

Worked examples

The year-end rule matters in the first row: a book published in March 1930 did not become free in March 2025, it waited until January 1, 2026. The last row shows the shorter-of rule for corporate works: 95 years from publication beats 120 years from creation unless the work sat unpublished for more than 25 years.

US government works

A work created by an officer or employee of the US federal government as part of official duties is not protected by US copyright at all, so it is in the public domain from the day it is made. An agency report written by its staff or a photograph taken by a federal employee on the job are typical cases. Three cautions from USA.gov: a federal website may contain third-party material used with permission, agency seals and logos may not be used without permission, and nothing may be used in a way that implies the agency endorses you. The rule covers the federal government only; state and local government works may be copyrighted. The Cornell chart notes one narrow statutory exception for certain scholarly works by civilian faculty at the service academies.

Other countries count differently

US public domain status says nothing about the rest of the world. Most countries measure the term from the author's death rather than from publication. In the European Union, copyright lasts until 70 years after the author's death, and for joint works 70 years after the last surviving author dies. Countries that signed the Berne Convention protect works for at least 50 years after the author's death. A novel published in 1930 by an author who died in 1975 is therefore free in the US as of 2026 but protected in the EU through 2045. If you publish worldwide, the author's death year is the number to check, not the publication year.

Using a public domain work

• Get the text out of the scan. Old books usually come as scanned PDFs. The PDF to Text tool pulls the text layer out of a PDF in the browser, so you can edit, quote or reformat it. The free ebooks list collects libraries that host public domain books.
• Listen instead of reading. Paste a chapter into Text to Speech to hear it; nothing stops you from recording a public domain text and publishing the recording.
• Cite it anyway. Free to use is not the same as free to pass off as your own. The Citation Generator formats the reference in APA, MLA or Chicago, with the original publication year.
• Prefer an explicit license when in doubt. If a work is recent and the author wants it shared, they will often use a Creative Commons license instead of waiting for the term to end; the Creative Commons guide explains what each license allows.

This page is general information based on the sources below; it is not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 15A, Duration of Copyright, revised April 2026 (life plus 70; 95 years from publication or 120 from creation for works made for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous works; the 28-year first term and 67-year renewal term for pre-1978 works, 95 years in total; all works published in the United States before January 1, 1931 are in the public domain; mandatory renewal for 1950 to 1963 copyrights; automatic renewal for 1964 to 1977; terms run through the end of the calendar year)
• Cornell University Library, Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States, updated January 1, 2026 (the chart by publication date: before 1931 public domain; 1931 to 1963 with notice, renewed or not; 1964 to 1977; 1978 to March 1, 1989 without notice; unpublished works life plus 70, authors who died before 1956; US government works public domain)
• U.S. Copyright Office, FAQ on duration (life plus 70 for works created after January 1, 1978; 95 or 120 years for anonymous, pseudonymous and work-for-hire works; works created on or after 1978 are not subject to renewal)
• USA.gov, U.S. government works (a government work is created by a federal officer or employee as part of official duties; third-party content, logos and seals, endorsement, state and local works)
• Your Europe (European Union), Copyright (protection in EU countries lasts until 70 years after the author's death; Berne Convention countries protect works for at least 50 years after death; no application needed)

Written by Tobias. Updated October 24, 2026.