# Can I use CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 commercially?

**Short answer:** Commercial use: No. Commercial use, modified and redistributed: No.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0): Share and adapt with credit, for non-commercial purposes only; adaptations you share must carry the same license.

## Commercial use — No

License: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode) (`CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0`, curated)

- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 prohibits commercial_use.

Duties: attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions, share_alike
## Commercial use, modified and redistributed — No

License: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode) (`CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0`, curated)

- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 prohibits commercial_use.

Duties: attribution, license_notice, state_changes, no_additional_restrictions, share_alike

## Context
- The grant is non-sublicensable: every recipient receives the license directly from the licensor (section 2(a)(5)).
- You may not apply legal terms or technical measures that restrict recipients from exercising the licensed rights (section 2(a)(5)(C)).

## Sources
- [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International: official text](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode)
- [CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0 on the SPDX License List](https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0.html)

## Check it yourself (free, no key)
```json
{
  "tool": "check_license",
  "arguments": {
    "license": "CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0",
    "intended_use": {
      "commercial_use": true
    }
  }
}
```
REST: POST https://www.rightshold.com/v1/licenses/check

_Computed from Rightshold's license profiles; not legal advice. Updated 2026-10-19. JSON: https://www.rightshold.com/answers/can-i-use-cc-by-nc-sa-4-0-commercially.json_