What goes on a book copyright page?

A book copyright page is the small-print page near the front of your book, usually on the reverse of the title page. See how to structure a book for more details. In essence, it's just a collection of fairly standard information: who owns the copyright, what rights they're reserving, ISBNs, publishing details, plus any disclaimers, permissions or credits that apply to your particular book.

We'd guess that you've flicked past almost every copyright page in every book you've ever read. I mean, who wants to read a load of legal jargon when there's a story waiting for you to jump into? Copyright pages exist as a blur in our minds before we get to the good stuff, right?

Thing is, now you're writing your own book, those blurry, hurried-past copyright pages will take on a whole new significance. Copyright notices may not be a big deal for most readers, but for authors, copyright is a big deal. Thankfully, the page itself is nowhere near as complicated as it looks. So let's get into it...

Copyright starts with ownership

Copyright is about who owns content. Its wording helps make readers aware of what the author owns, what other people own, and what nobody owns.

But, and here's an important distinction, you do not actually gain copyright by putting a copyright page in your book. Copyright protection occurs automatically when an original work is created. So the notice itself is not strictly even required in the UK or for modern works in the US. It's still very much worth having though. It makes a clear statement of ownership and gives booksellers and libraries one obvious place to find publishing information.

Start with the copyright notice

You'll want to phrase this statement something like:

© 2026 Shaun McGovern

The familiar copyright notice is nice and simple. Use the instantly recognizable 'c in a circle' symbol, followed by the year of first publication and the copyright owner. Those are also the three elements specified by the U.S. Copyright Office.

If your book is a later edition of something you've published before, you can also record the earlier publishing history elsewhere on the page, for example:

First published 2022
Second edition 2026

And if you want to formally register copyright in the US, that's a completely separate process through the U.S. Copyright Office, currently $45 for a single author registering their own work. The copyright notice in the book is not itself a registration.

Then comes the reservation of rights

You could write this statement in a few different ways. A very familiar version is:

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

'All rights reserved' means that you, as the copyright holder, hold the rights provided to you by copyright law. The purpose of this statement is to make it clear which uses of your book are allowed and which are not.

The truth is, however, that whatever this statement says, there exists a big, gray area of legal exceptions. Copyright law already allows some uses of protected material without permission, although the exact rules and terminology vary between countries. So a stern paragraph on your copyright page doesn't suddenly give you control over things the law already allows.

Our advice would be for you simply to make your reservation of rights as clear as possible. Be explicit about anything that is absolutely not acceptable to you and list uses that you might want to encourage. Just keep in mind that you won't be able to control everything.

Add the ISBNs

Here are some examples of ISBNs. You'll likely recognize the long number format: they appear in almost every commercially published book.

ISBN 978-1-78324-002-9 (paperback edition)
ISBN 978-1-78324-003-6 (hardback edition)

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It is a unique 13-digit number used to identify a particular book product so booksellers, distributors, wholesalers and libraries know exactly what they're dealing with.

Different formats normally need different ISBNs. So your paperback and hardback certainly shouldn't share one. Separately available ebook formats may need their own ISBNs too. The important point is that one ISBN identifies one particular edition and format, rather than vaguely identifying the words inside the book.

There are exceptions. If you're selling a book privately and have no need for normal book-trade identification, an ISBN may not be required at all, and some ebook platforms use their own identifiers. There's much more about this in our guide to what is an ISBN?

Oh, and if you create extra forms of your book later, such as an ebook a few months after you've produced your print book, don't worry, it isn't such a big problem. Just add the new ISBNs where appropriate when you prepare later versions.

Some books need a disclaimer

Not every book needs one. But for some subjects, a disclaimer can be pretty important.

To work out whether yours does, think about the things people might assume from your material. Someone could think you've based a fictional character on them and decide it's libelous. Behaviors and choices inspired by your book are worth thinking about too. A reader might get injured following your step-by-step exercise program, put on weight while on your diet plan, or lose money following your investment advice.

Obviously these are very different situations, so there isn't a generic disclaimer that's right for every book. A novel might have the familiar note saying that characters and events are fictional. A medical, financial or exercise book is potentially dealing with something much more serious.

Now, you probably aren't a lawyer, so you need to go carefully. If your material is very specific, or if you want to ensure that local laws protect you, then you should seek advice from an attorney who will help you with the wording.

And there's nothing saying every disclaimer has to sound terrifying. One of our favorites is John Cheever's wonderfully concise:

"All the characters in this work are fictional, as is much of the science." (John Cheever, The Wapshot Scandal)

Permissions

Time to move onto permissions. If you've reproduced material belonging to somebody else, this is where the relevant permission or credit will often go.

That might mean a photograph, illustration, extract, poem or other copyrighted material. If you've been given permission to use something, the rights holder may specify exactly how they want the credit to appear, so make sure you follow their wording.

Keep in mind, however, that if you plan to contact someone to request permission, it can take months and months. You might even end up being told no! Make sure you have a backup plan if permissions are integral to your publication.

Finally, if you find this section is getting too long, you can always create a dedicated permissions page in the back matter. Just add something like Credits and permissions listed on page X to your copyright page, so people know they're there.

Credits

This is the place to credit people who helped produce your book. You may want to list people like your cover designer, book designer, proofreader, indexer and printer. For example:

Book & cover design by Wordzworth
www.wordzworth.com

Nowadays, it's always useful to include a web address where people can find further details and contact information. Also, remember: this is not the place for credits to family and friends. Save those for your acknowledgments page.

Publisher and edition details

You'll normally also include the publisher or imprint and the publication details for the book. Something as simple as the following may be all you need:

Published by Author & Sons Press
First published 2026

If you're self-publishing under your own imprint, use that. If you're publishing simply under your own name, that's fine too. The important thing is that the publisher details reflect who is actually publishing the book.

If the book has been revised or republished, this is also where you can record that publishing history, the same first published and edition dates covered above. For print on demand books there is no need to manufacture a traditional print-run history though, copies are simply produced individually as they're ordered, so there may never be a meaningful 'second printing' or 'third printing' to record.

Some US books also include a Library of Congress Control Number. Most books do not need one, and they are not typical for self published books. If you have an LCCN, it can be listed on the copyright page, but it is entirely optional and separate from both the ISBN and copyright.

Last of all, you may wish to include some contact details, such as:

Visit www.MyWebsite.com

Including a URL can be a useful way to help people find you and your work online, read your author information, and access any further supporting info. This is particularly important if you do not have a separate contact page at the back of your book.

And finally...

Copyright is one of those complicated areas of responsibility that can easily leave authors feeling anxious, especially if you're new to publishing. It is a big deal and important to get right, but you don't need to struggle through alone.

If we're formatting your book, we'll put the copyright page together as part of our book formatting services, alongside the rest of your front matter. If you're not sure if you've included the right things, you can always ask us for advice.

However, if your questions involve finer points of law or you're especially worried about liability or the implications of wording things a certain way, it may be worth engaging a copyright lawyer to discuss. It's better to be sure.