Copyright Office fee increase 2026 (proposed): what photographers should know

Status on 24 October 2026. The Office's fees page still listed $55 for a group of published or unpublished photographs. The Office says it "seeks to implement these new fees in the fall of 2026" and has not announced a date. Check copyright.gov/about/fees.html before you file.

The proposed fees that matter to photographers

From the proposed schedule the Office sent to Congress on 14 July 2026 (Proposed Schedule and Analysis of Copyright Fees). Current fees are from the fees page, both checked 24 October 2026.

Service	Now	Proposed
Group of published photographs (GRPPH) or unpublished photographs (GRUPH), up to 750 photos	$55	$85
Single Application (single author, same claimant, one work, not for hire)	$45	$55
Standard Application, electronic	$65	$85
Paper application	$125	$185
Group of contributions to periodicals	$85	$130
Updates and revisions to a database that predominantly consists of photographs	$250	$700
Supplementary registration (correction or amplification), electronic	$100	$85
Special handling fee for a claim	$800	$1,100

All proposed figures are the Office's proposals and could still change before any start date.

What the Office says about photographers

The schedule singles out photographers. It says they "produce large numbers of works in a short period of time, and have consistently expressed concern regarding the costs associated with protecting those works", and that for this reason "the Office proposes a more modest increase" for GRPPH and GRUPH (proposed schedule).

It adds that "Even at the proposed fee of $85, applicants registering the maximum number of photographs permitted (750) would pay an approximate $0.11 per photograph", and that the proposed photo fees "would represent a 35% discount compared to those for other group registration options". It also says "The proposed fees remain below the cost of providing the services."

The Office also mentions planned changes to its registration system "that will allow published and unpublished photos to be included in the same submission, and permit larger numbers of photographs to be submitted with each application". These are plans, with no date given. Today, published and unpublished photos still need separate claims, and the limit is still 750 photos per claim (GRPPH help).

The Single Application stays, for now

The Office's March proposal would have removed the Single Application. In July it changed course: "We will instead maintain this application for the time being and implement a modest fee increase from $45 to $55" (proposed schedule). If you register one photo at a time, that is the proposed change that affects you.

Timeline so far

1. 20 March 2026. The Office published proposed fees in the Federal Register, including $85 for both photo group options (Federal Register 2026-05529).
2. 26 March 2026. A separate notice asked for comments on "alternative fee structures that could be adopted once its updated electronic registration system is fully operational". The Office says this inquiry "is separate from the Office's pending rulemaking" on current fees (Federal Register 2026-05886). Comments closed 24 June 2026.
3. 14 July 2026. The Office sent its proposed schedule to Congress. The Register of Copyrights wrote: "This is the first change to the Office's fees since 2020" (proposed schedule, NewsNet 1090).
4. Next. "By law, the Register of Copyrights may institute the new fees 120 days after the proposed schedule is submitted to Congress unless Congress enacts a law within that time period stating that it does not approve the schedule. The Office seeks to implement these new fees in the fall of 2026" (proposed schedule).

Counting 120 days from 14 July 2026 gives about 11 November 2026. That is our arithmetic, not a date the Office has announced, and the new fees could start later. When we checked on 24 October 2026, the Office's Fee Study 2026 page still said "Congress has 120 days in which to respond", the NewsNet issues since July had not announced a start date, and the Federal Register showed no later Copyright Office rule on fees.

What it means in practice

• One fee per claim still applies. A year of published photos plus a set of unpublished photos is at least two claims, so at least two fees.
• The fee you pay is the one shown in eCO when you submit. The Office's fees page is the reference; this page is not.
• Per photo, groups stay cheap. $55 for 750 photos is under $0.08 each; at $85 the Office puts it at about $0.11.
• Nothing about eligibility changes. The proposals are about fees. The group rules (same author, same claimant, 750 photos, one calendar year for published photos) are on the help pages.

Whether and when to file is your decision. If you are thinking about filing before any rise, Before the proposed fee rise covers what to prepare, and our fees page keeps the current figures.

How to check for yourself

1. The fees page lists the fees in force.
2. NewsNet, the Office's email news service, is where it announced the July schedule.
3. The Fee Study 2026 page collects the fee documents.
4. The Federal Register publishes Copyright Office rules.

We will update this page when the Office announces a start date. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Questions

Sources

• Fees, copyright.gov (checked 24 October 2026)
• Proposed Schedule and Analysis of Copyright Fees, 14 July 2026 (checked 24 October 2026)
• Copyright Office Fee Study 2026 (checked 24 October 2026)
• NewsNet 1090, 14 July 2026 (checked 24 October 2026)
• Federal Register 2026-05529, Copyright Office Fees, 20 March 2026
• Federal Register 2026-05886, Alternative Fee Structures for Registration, 26 March 2026
• GRPPH help (checked 24 October 2026)