To check whether you may use an image, your best free, legal, and account-free options are the Creative Commons license chooser and the Wikimedia Commons file pages. The chooser tells you what different licenses mean and lets you generate your own; Wikimedia Commons shows you the license for each specific image, so you can see what the uploader allows.
The Creative Commons License Chooser
If you want to understand what a license permits, or if you need to pick a license for your own work, go to the Creative Commons license chooser. It is an interactive tool that asks a few simple questions: Do you want to allow commercial use? Do you want to require share-alike (meaning others must use the same license)? Do you want to forbid adaptations? Based on your answers, it generates the correct license text, icons, and even the HTML code you can paste into a website. It works for all the main CC variants: BY, BY-SA, BY-ND, BY-NC, BY-NC-SA, BY-NC-ND, and CC0 (public domain dedication).
This tool is free to use, requires no account and no payment card, and works globally, it is simply a web page. The reason it is free is that Creative Commons is offering an open-license infrastructure, not a paid service. If you are a creator who wants to license your own photos, or if you are a user who wants to decode what “CC BY-NC” means on a random blog, this chooser is the clearest official source. It will not tell you whether a specific image you found elsewhere is okay to use, for that, you need to check the image’s own license page, not a generic tool.
Wikimedia Commons
For checking whether a particular image is reusable, Wikimedia Commons is the most reliable free archive. Every file on the site has its own page that states the license, for example, “CC BY-SA 4.0” or “Public Domain”, and often includes a link to the full license text. You can browse and view images without creating an account or entering a card, and the site works worldwide. The files are shared under open licenses or public-domain terms chosen by the uploaders, so the license shown on each file page is the legal ground truth for that image.
This is the right place to go when you have already found an image (or you are looking for one to use) and you need to see the exact terms. For instance, if you search for a photo of a mountain and the file page says “CC BY 2.0,” you know you must credit the author and may use it commercially. If it says “CC BY-NC-ND,” you cannot use it commercially and cannot alter it. The site also has policy pages explaining which licenses are acceptable, so you can learn the system as you go. It is not a reverse-image search tool, it will not tell you where an image came from, but it is the best place to confirm what a given license allows.
What People Get Wrong About Image Licenses
The biggest mistake is assuming that “free to view” means “free to reuse.” A photo on a blog, a meme on social media, or a picture in a news article is not automatically yours to copy. The license is what matters, not the absence of a watermark. Another common error is thinking that all Creative Commons licenses are the same. They are not: the “NC” (non-commercial) variant forbids commercial use, the “ND” (no derivatives) variant forbids changes, and “SA” (share-alike) requires that your own work using the image also be shared under the same license. The chooser tool makes these distinctions explicit, but you have to actually read the license for the image you want to use.
A second mistake is ignoring attribution. Many CC licenses require you to credit the author, provide a link to the license, and indicate if you made changes. Even if the image is free to use, skipping the credit is a violation of the license terms. Wikimedia Commons makes this easy because each file page includes the required attribution information, copy it exactly as shown.
What to Check Before You Commit to an Image
Before you download and use any image, run through three checks. First, confirm the license on the file page or in the image’s metadata. If you are on Wikimedia Commons, the license is displayed prominently; if you are elsewhere, look for a “License” or “Rights” link. Second, determine what the license requires of you: Does it demand attribution? Does it forbid commercial use? Does it require you to share your own work under the same terms? Third, check whether the image includes any people, trademarks, or identifiable private property, even if the license allows reuse, you may need a model release or property release for certain uses. The license covers copyright, not privacy or personality rights.
If you cannot find a license, do not assume the image is free. The absence of a copyright notice does not mean the work is in the public domain. In that case, your best legal option is to use a site that guarantees free licensing, such as Wikimedia Commons or one of the dedicated free-image sites like Unsplash or Pexels, where the uploaders have already granted broad permission. For clip art, Openclipart offers public-domain images. For fonts, Google Fonts and Font Squirrel provide free, licensed typefaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use an image if I give credit to the author?
Only if the license says so. Some licenses, like CC BY, allow any use as long as you provide attribution. Others, like CC BY-ND, forbid modifications even with credit. Always read the specific license for the image you want to use.
What does “non-commercial” mean in a Creative Commons license?
It means you cannot use the image primarily for commercial advantage or monetary compensation. If you are using the image in a blog post that generates ad revenue, that may count as commercial use. When in doubt, treat it as commercial and choose a different image.
Is it legal to use an image from a Google Image search?
Google Images is a search engine, not a license provider. The images you find there are subject to their own copyrights. You must check the source website for the license or use a filter like “Usage Rights” to narrow results to images labeled for reuse. Even then, verify the license on the original page.
Do I need to register or pay to use Wikimedia Commons?
No. Viewing and downloading files from Wikimedia Commons requires no account and no payment. You only need an account if you want to upload new files, and that account is free to create.
What if the image has no license information at all?
Then it is not safe to use. The absence of a license means all rights are reserved by default. Look for a different image with a clear license, or use a site like Wikimedia Commons where every file has explicit terms.
More on fonts graphics
This is one of the guides in Where to Download Free Fonts, Images and Icons. The others:
