Is it legal to use any font on your website?

No, you can't legally use any font on your website. Embedding a font with @font-face means serving the font file to every visitor, which counts as distributing the software, so you need a licence that specifically allows web use. Fonts released under open licences such as the SIL Open Font License can be used on websites freely, and commercial fonts can be used once you buy a web licence or use the foundry's hosted service. What you can't do is upload a font you only have a desktop licence for, a font that came with your operating system or design software, or a font from a "free download" site with no clear licence. Simply naming a font in your CSS so that visitors who already have it installed see it, without serving the file, is a different matter and is generally fine.

Many sites break font licences without realising it, usually because someone copied a font from their computer into the project or a designer's file used a typeface the website was never licensed for. Foundries do monitor the web for unlicensed use, and the usual outcome is a request to buy a licence or remove the font, sometimes with a back-dated fee. In this article you'll learn why fonts are protected, which kinds of use need a web licence, the situations that most often cause trouble, how to check whether a font is safe to use, and what to do if you find a problem. This is general information, not legal advice; for specific cases, read the licence and ask a lawyer if needed.

Why Fonts Are Legally Protected

There are two separate things to consider: the font software and the typeface design.

• Font software: The font file is a computer program containing outlines, metrics and code. In most countries it's protected by copyright like other software, and its use is governed by the licence that comes with it.
• Typeface design: The shapes of the letters may or may not be protected, depending on the country. In the United States, typeface designs as such are generally not protected by copyright, although the font software is. In the UK and many European countries, typeface designs can be protected through copyright or design rights.

In practice, for website owners, the font software is what matters. Using the file requires a licence, and the licence decides what you can do with it. For a broader explanation of licence types, see how font licences work.

Embedding Versus Referencing a Font

There's an important technical difference between serving a font and simply naming one.

Serving a Font File

When you use @font-face, you upload the font file to your server or a CDN, and every visitor's browser downloads it. That's distribution of the font software and needs a web licence.

/* This serves the font file to every visitor and needs a web licence */
@font-face {
  font-family: "Brand Sans";
  src: url("/fonts/brand-sans.woff2") format("woff2");
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
}

body {
  font-family: "Brand Sans", system-ui, sans-serif;
}

Naming a Locally Installed Font

When you list a font in font-family without serving it, the browser uses it only if it's already installed on the visitor's device. Nothing is distributed, so this doesn't raise licensing issues.

/* No font file is served; each visitor's own installed fonts are used */
body {
  font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
}

code {
  font-family: ui-monospace, "SF Mono", Menlo, Consolas, monospace;
}

That's why system font stacks are always safe from a licensing point of view. You're relying on fonts the visitor's operating system vendor already licensed to them.

The local() Function

@font-face can also use local() to point at an installed font before downloading a file. The local() source on its own doesn't distribute anything, but if the rule also has a url() fallback, the file at that URL still needs a licence.

@font-face {
  font-family: "Body";
  src: local("Georgia"), url("/fonts/body-fallback.woff2") format("woff2");
}

Situations That Commonly Break Font Licences

Most unlicensed font use falls into a few predictable patterns.

Fonts Copied From Your Computer

Fonts that come with macOS or Windows, such as Helvetica Neue, Avenir, Segoe UI or Calibri, are licensed to you for use on that computer. The operating system licence doesn't give you the right to upload those files to a web server. You can name them in a font stack for visitors who have them, but you can't serve them.

The same goes for fonts that come bundled with design or office software. They're licensed for use with that software, not for embedding in your website.

Desktop Licences Used on the Web

A designer may have bought a desktop licence to create brand materials. That licence typically covers installing the font and creating images and print, not embedding it on a website. Converting the desktop OTF or TTF file to WOFF2 and uploading it is a common mistake.

"Free" Fonts Without a Clear Licence

Free font download sites host a mix of genuinely open fonts, demo versions of commercial fonts, and fonts marked "free for personal use". Personal-use fonts usually don't allow commercial websites, and some files on those sites were uploaded without the designer's permission. If the download doesn't include a licence file, or the licence is unclear, don't use it on a business website.

Agency and Freelancer Hand-Offs

Agencies often buy fonts under their own name while building a client site. If the licence isn't transferable, the client may end up using a font they don't hold a licence for once the project is handed over. Agree in advance who buys the licence, and make sure it's in the client's name if the client will own the site.

Outgrowing the Licence

Many web licences are priced by monthly pageviews. If your traffic grows past your tier, you may need to upgrade, even though nothing about the site has changed. Some foundries also count each domain or subdomain separately.

Images Versus Live Text

Logos and graphics are a grey area people often worry about unnecessarily. Most desktop licences allow you to create static images, such as a logo exported as SVG outlines or PNG, and use them commercially, including on a website, because the image doesn't contain the font software. Check the licence anyway, because a few restrict certain uses, such as logos or merchandise. Note that an SVG with live text that references a font is different from one where the text has been converted to outlines.

Which Fonts Are Safe to Use

Several categories of font can be used on a website with confidence, as long as you follow their terms.

• Open-licensed fonts: Fonts under the SIL Open Font License, the Apache License 2.0 or similar, including everything on Google Fonts and many projects on GitHub. These allow commercial web use.
• Commercial fonts with a web licence: Fonts you've bought a web licence for, from a foundry or reseller, within its limits.
• Subscription web fonts: Fonts served through a service such as Adobe Fonts, used according to its terms while your subscription is active.
• System fonts referenced by name: Fonts listed in your CSS without serving the file.

Using Google Fonts

All fonts on Google Fonts are released under open licences, so you can use them on commercial sites, whether you link to Google's service or download and self-host them. If you self-host, keep the licence file with the fonts. There may be privacy considerations with loading fonts from Google's servers, which is a separate question from the font licence.

mkdir -p public/fonts/inter
curl -L -o inter.zip https://github.com/rsms/inter/releases/download/v4.1/Inter-4.1.zip
unzip -j inter.zip "web/InterVariable*.woff2" "LICENSE.txt" -d public/fonts/inter
ls public/fonts/inter

InterVariable-Italic.woff2
InterVariable.woff2
LICENSE.txt

How to Check Whether a Font Is Licensed for the Web

Before a font goes live, work through these checks.

1. Find out where it came from: A foundry, a reseller, Google Fonts, a design tool or someone's computer.
2. Read the licence: Look for a licence file in the download or the EULA on the foundry's site. Check that web embedding is explicitly allowed.
3. Check the scale: Make sure your pageviews, domains and other limits are within the licence.
4. Check the licensee: The licence should be held by the organisation that owns and operates the site.
5. Check the font file's metadata: The name table often includes copyright, licence description and licence URL fields.

You can read those fields quickly on the command line with the fontTools ttx tool, which exports just the name table:

pip install fonttools
ttx -q -t name -o - SomeFont-Regular.ttf | grep -A1 'nameID="13"'

    <namerecord nameID="13" platformID="3" platEncID="1" langID="0x409">
      This Font Software is licensed under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1.

Metadata can be missing or wrong, so it's a starting point, not proof. The licence document is what counts.

What to Do If You Find an Unlicensed Font

If an audit or a letter from a foundry reveals an unlicensed font, act promptly and calmly.

1. Confirm the facts: Check where the font came from and whether a licence exists somewhere, perhaps bought by an agency or another department.
2. Decide whether to license or replace: Buying the correct web licence is often the simplest fix. If the font isn't essential, replace it with a licensed or open alternative.
3. Replace it cleanly: Remove the @font-face rules and the font files from the server and any CDN caches, not just the CSS reference.
4. Respond to the foundry if contacted: Most foundries are mainly interested in getting a proper licence in place. For any significant claim, get legal advice before responding.
5. Fix the process: Add a licence check to your design hand-off and code review so it doesn't happen again.

Searching your project for font files you didn't expect is a good first step:

find . -path ./node_modules -prune -o -type f \
  \( -name "*.woff2" -o -name "*.woff" -o -name "*.ttf" -o -name "*.otf" \) -print

./public/fonts/inter/InterVariable.woff2
./public/fonts/brand/HelveticaNeue-Bold.ttf
./public/fonts/brand/Avenir-Book.otf

In this example, the two files under brand were copied from a Mac and are very likely unlicensed for web use.

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FAQ: Using Fonts Legally on Websites

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Conclusion

You can't legally use any font on your website. Serving a font file is a form of distribution, so it needs a licence that allows web embedding. Open-licensed fonts, including everything on Google Fonts, are safe for commercial sites, and commercial fonts are fine once you have the right web licence or use the foundry's service. Fonts copied from your computer, desktop licences stretched to cover the web, and unclear "free" downloads are where problems come from.

Keep it practical: check where every font came from, read its licence, make sure it covers your traffic and is held by the right organisation, and record what you find. When you can't confirm a licence, either buy one or switch to an open or system font. It costs far less to get this right at the start than to fix it after a foundry's letter arrives.