How to cite Creative Commons images correctly

A fillable TASL attribution record

Element	Information to capture	Placeholder
T – Title	Work title or reliable subject description, preserving the original wording	“[title of image]”
A – Author	The attribution name, username or institution requested by the licensor	[name/profile]
S – Source	Direct link to the individual item page rather than a platform homepage	[stable work URL]
L – Licence	Licence name, version, jurisdiction where applicable and licence link	CC BY 4.0, [licence URL]
Change	Crop, colour adjustment, labels or other adaptation	“cropped and annotated”
Access	Date on which the file and licence statement were checked	accessed [date]

Combined template: Fig. 2: “[Title]” by [name], [direct work page], licensed under CC BY 4.0, [licence link], accessed [date]; cropped and annotated by the author.

Creative Commons asks reusers to provide attribution in a reasonable manner and uses title, author, source and licence as a memorable structure. Follow a specified credit line when the rights holder supplies one and it can reasonably be implemented. Do not phrase the credit in a way that implies endorsement of your paper.

Read the particular licence before designing the figure

Condition	Planning consequence
BY – Attribution	Give credit under the licence terms; attribution is present in all six CC licences
SA – ShareAlike	An adaptation must be shared under the same terms; determine how this works in the planned format
NC – NonCommercial	Use is limited to the licence’s noncommercial scope; reassess later publisher or promotional use
ND – NoDerivatives	An adapted version cannot be shared in reliance on that licence; even a crop or montage can matter

CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-NC and CC BY-NC-SA permit adaptations within their respective terms. The ND variants restrict sharing adaptations. Read the legal tool for the work rather than relying on an icon alone. Versions matter, so do not shorten a displayed “CC BY 4.0” to a versionless “CC BY” in your evidence.

CC0 is not one of the six licences. It is a legal tool intended to waive rights as far as possible. The Public Domain Mark is different again: it labels a work believed already to be free of known copyright restrictions. Academic provenance remains useful in both cases even when attribution is not a condition of the legal tool.

Three model credits for different conditions

Unmodified CC BY 4.0: “Summer Trees” by Mira Example, Example Archive, [item URL], CC BY 4.0, [licence URL], accessed 4 September 2026. The structure connects the work and licence directly. Replace every invented detail with the exact item-page information.

Adapted CC BY-SA 4.0: “European Climate Zones” by Example Institute, [item URL], CC BY-SA 4.0, [licence URL], accessed [date]; legend added and crop modified. Assess the ShareAlike obligation for the new figure and make its applied licence findable.

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: “Portrait Study” by [name], [item URL], CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, [licence URL], accessed [date]; reproduced without modification. Confirm that the use falls within the relevant noncommercial scope and that the presentation has not created an adaptation. If a crop is essential, find a differently licensed image or obtain separate permission.

Describe changes and preserve the route to the original

State alterations in the caption or an unambiguously linked note. “Adapted” alone is thin; “cropped to the upper panel, contrast adjusted, labels added” reveals the intervention. Never attribute your altered composition to the creator as though it were the original, and never suggest that the creator approved your interpretation.

Readers should be able to distinguish information visible in the source image from your arrows, colours and annotations. Explain the new legend. When a composite figure draws on multiple CC works, list each source and test whether their conditions are compatible with one another and with the way the composite will be shared.

A routine resizing is not the same as an analytical montage, but licence wording and applicable law still control. This page provides general information rather than legal advice. A complex reuse, commercial publisher agreement or uncertain licence chain may require the institution’s rights adviser.

Verify the exact file and its licence chain

Open the original item page rather than a search result or reposted preview.
Identify who applied the licence and whether that person or institution appears able to license the work.
Capture the title, requested attribution name and direct item URL.
Record the full licence name, version and link.
Compare planned adaptation, publication reach and commercial context with the conditions.
Review depicted people, trademarks and third-party works as additional rights layers.
Retain permitted evidence of the item and licence statement in the research record.

A platform label is useful evidence, but not a guarantee that the uploader owned the necessary rights. If the item page, embedded metadata and stated licence conflict, pause and resolve the provenance rather than selecting the most convenient label.

Common failures in captions and figure lists

“Royalty-free,” “free download” and “found online” are not CC licence statements. A Creative Commons licence also does not automatically resolve the rights of depicted people, trademarks or third-party artworks within the image. Analyse each layer independently.

Writing only “CC” without the variant, version or link.
Linking the platform homepage instead of the item.
Guessing a creator’s name when the item page supplies a preferred attribution.
Omitting a crop or added annotations.
Failing to reassess NC or ND terms before later publication.
Using inconsistent credits in the caption, figure list and source list.

The media citations hub covers further image cases. The foundation guide to academic writing and evidence places licence data alongside the scholarly source trail. For material marked as free of copyright restrictions, see why public-domain images still need a source.

Official licence and legal sources

Creative Commons: the six CC licences and their conditions – BY, SA, NC and ND.
Creative Commons: Reusing CC-Licensed Content – recommended attribution and adaptation practice.
German Federal Ministry of Justice/Federal Office of Justice: Copyright Act, including section 13 – recognition of authorship.

Licence, legal and source review: 4 September 2026. Check the item page and exact licence version again when using it.