Can I use this font commercially? What the file can and can’t tell you
Sometimes the font file answers it. A font that declares the SIL Open Font License can be used commercially, including on websites. A commercial font’s file may only point to a license agreement, so the answer is in your purchase, not the file. The embedding setting inside a font covers documents, not commercial use.
The short version
- A font file can carry its own license: a description and a web address, stored in the font’s name table (name IDs 13 and 14).
- If that text is the SIL Open Font License, commercial use is allowed: design work and logos, software that bundles the font, webpages that load it with
@font-face, and documents that embed it, in full or as a subset. - If it points to an agreement or EULA, the terms are in that agreement, which the file does not contain.
- The embedding permission (
fsType) only says what may happen when the font is embedded in a document. It is not a commercial-use license. - A file that says nothing is unknown, not free.
What the SIL Open Font License allows, and what it asks of you
The license text grants permission to use, study, copy, merge, embed, modify, redistribute and sell copies of the font, on these conditions:
- The font, or any part of it, may not be sold by itself. It may be bundled or sold with software.
- Each copy must carry the copyright notice and the license, either as a text file or in machine-readable metadata that a user can easily see.
- A modified version may not use the font’s Reserved Font Name, if one is declared, without written permission.
- The font must stay under the same license, even when modified. That requirement does not apply to documents made with it.
The license’s own FAQ answers the common questions directly: designers may use OFL fonts for logos, posters and signage with no extra permission (FAQ 1.1); a webpage may load them with @font-face (2.1); documents may embed them in full or as a subset (1.12); software that includes them may be sold (1.4).
Two details catch people out. Subsetting a webfont, meaning removing unused glyphs, counts as modification (2.6). Converting to WOFF or WOFF2 normally counts as modification too, unless the font data is unchanged except for the compression (2.2.1), and the FAQ warns that many conversion tools do not meet that (2.2.2). Either way, a modified version cannot keep a Reserved Font Name.
How to read what the file says
| What the file says | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| License text names the SIL Open Font License | An open license that allows commercial use on its conditions | Keep the copyright notice and license with every copy; check for a Reserved Font Name before modifying |
| License text refers to an agreement, EULA or “terms of use” | The terms are somewhere else | Find your purchase, download page or the foundry’s license; the file cannot tell you |
| Embedding: Installable | The font may be embedded in a document, and a recipient who installs it gets the same rights and terms as the original buyer | Nothing about commercial use; read the license |
| Embedding: Preview & Print | May be embedded; the document must be opened read-only | Fine for a PDF people only read; not for editable files |
| Embedding: Restricted License | Not to be embedded or exchanged without the owner’s permission | Ask the owner before embedding |
| No license text at all | The file is silent | Treat as unknown and find the source |
What we tested
On 2026-10-13 we opened the live Font License Checker and read three fonts installed on our test machine. The files stay on the computer; the checker reads them in the browser.
| Font file | What the file declared | What the checker said |
|---|---|---|
Noto Sans SC (NotoSansSC-VF.ttf) | SIL Open Font License 1.1, with a Reserved Font Name, “Source” | Commercial use permitted by the license declared in the file. Website, PDF, editable documents, app, modification and commercial project were all “Permitted by evidence”, with the conditions above listed as things to do |
Candara (Candara.ttf) | Text saying it is a Microsoft supplied font, usable as permitted by the terms of the Microsoft product it came with | Commercial use needs review. Every use was “Needs review”, because the terms are in an agreement the file does not contain |
DIN Next LT Pro Regular (DINNextLTPro-Regular.ttf) | Text naming Monotype Imaging and referring to a license agreement; embedding set to Preview & Print | Commercial use needs review. Editable documents were “Restricted”, because Preview & Print requires the document to be read-only. Website, PDF, app, modification and commercial project were “Needs review” |
What this showed:
- Three fonts, three different answers. Only the open-license font answered the commercial question from the file alone.
- For the two commercial fonts the checker could say what the file points to, and that is as far as a file goes. Whether we were licensed to use them is in a purchase or an agreement we did not have in front of us, and the checker lists that as something it could not verify.
- On the open font, the checker’s note says converting to WOFF or WOFF2 counts as a modified version. The OFL FAQ is more precise (above): that is the cautious reading, and a lossless WOFF can be treated differently.
What this cannot tell you
- Where the file came from, whether its text is genuine, or whether it was edited. Anyone can change a font’s name table.
- Whether you bought or were given a license, how many seats or pageviews it covers, or whether you may pass the font to a client.
- What the license web address in the file currently says. The checker never opens it.
- WOFF2 files and font collections (.ttc) are recognised but not read yet; TTF, OTF and WOFF are.
This is a reading of what a file declares about itself, not legal advice.
Try it on a font you have: open the Font License Checker, drop the file in, and read the result against the table above.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-13.
- OFL-FAQ, SIL International (page last updated 12 January 2026; FAQ version 1.1-update7): sections 1.1, 1.4, 1.6, 1.12, 2.1, 2.2, 2.6, 3.3 and 5.1.
- SIL Open Font License, official text: “Permission & Conditions”.
- OS/2 and Windows metrics table (OpenType 1.9.1), Microsoft Learn: the
fsTypeembedding levels. - Naming table (OpenType 1.9.1), Microsoft Learn: name IDs 13 (License Description) and 14 (License Info URL).
Related: How to credit a Creative Commons image covers the same question for images, music and text.
Publishing a page that uses this? Run the full pre-publish check on the page itself: indexing signals, link preview, broken links, alt text, structured data and HTTPS in one pass.