CC BY 4.0 Guide

CC BY 4.0: Start Here

What the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license is, what it lets you do, what it asks in return, and who it is for.

How to read this page. Fact means a source says it, quoted word for word. Our reading means we are inferring, and it is not the license's own statement.

Fact: what it is

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (“CC BY 4.0”) is a public license published by Creative Commons. Wizards of the Coast releases the D&D System Reference Document (SRD) under it. SRD 5.1 was also offered under the OGL 1.0a; later editions are Creative Commons only (Wizards' SRD page, accessed 2026-10-22).

This site's D&D library is SRD material, so this is the license that governs it. Pathfinder material here is under the OGL, a separate license, and the two are never treated as interchangeable.

Fact: what you may do

Section 2(a)(1): the Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable license to exercise the Licensed Rights in the Licensed Material to: a. reproduce and Share the Licensed Material, in whole or in part; and b. produce, reproduce, and Share Adapted Material. Read Section 2.

The license text has no noncommercial or no-derivatives condition: neither word appears in it.

Fact: what it asks in return

Give attribution (Section 3(a)(1)), and indicate if you modified the material.
Say it is licensed under CC BY 4.0 and include the license or a link to it.
Do not add terms that restrict your recipients (Section 2(a)(5)(b)).
Do not imply the licensor endorses you (Section 2(a)(6)).

Details: How to attribute SRD material and What you may not claim.

Fact: how it differs from the OGL

	OGL 1.0a	CC BY 4.0
What is shared	Open Game Content, as identified by the publisher (Section 8)	The Licensed Material the licensor applied the license to (Section 1(f))
A “Product Identity” term	Yes (Section 1(e))	None: the phrase is not in the license. See There is no Product Identity here
A chain of notices	Section 15 copyright notices	A notice and link under 3(a)(1); no Section 15
A copy of the license with each distribution	Required (Section 10)	The text or a link (3(a)(1)(C))
Ending the grant	No clause lets a contributor withdraw it. See What You Can and Cannot Take Back	Section 6(c): the licensor may stop distributing the Licensed Material at any time; however, doing so will not terminate this Public License
Ending for breach	Terminates if not cured within 30 days of becoming aware (Section 13)	Rights terminate automatically (6(a)); reinstated if cured within 30 days of discovery, or if the licensor reinstates (6(b))

Who this is for

Anyone using SRD material (a player, a GM, a publisher, a tool builder) and anyone who wants to release their own original work under CC BY. It does not tell you whether a given book is under CC BY: check the book.

Our stake. This site hosts CC BY and OGL content, shows affiliate links, and sells imprint tooling. This guide does not rank publishers and does not promise compliance.

This is a guide, not legal advice. It is a drafting aid and checklist, not a certified or guaranteed-compliant legal review. TheCrazyGM is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Creative Commons. Licenses and policies can change: check the reviewed date below and the primary sources linked on the page, and for anything beyond routine attribution consult a qualified attorney. The full license text is on the CC BY hub.
SRBDE Council approved this guide copy for public release on 2026-10-28; administrator wording review recorded 2026-10-29. Reviewer of record: Eco. Sources: the CC BY 4.0 legal code and Wizards' SRD page (accessed 2026-10-22).