Copyright Office Experiences Processing Delays

The Copyright Office is modernizing its operations by moving from a paper-based to a web-based processing environment. This change will allow the Office to better meet the needs of its customers by providing more online services and faster processing times. However, the transition has caused a temporary backlog of paper applications. The time lag for receiving a registration certificate is currently up to 8 months. The Office is working diligently to improve the processing time and apologizes for this inconvenience. 

Regardless of when you receive your certificate, the effective date of registration of a work is still the day all the required elements in acceptable form are received by the Copyright Office.

You are strongly encouraged to register claims using the new web-based registration system named electronic Copyright Office (eCO) e-Service. Currently in production under a beta test, eCO is easy to use and offers a reduced fee for electronic registrations ($35). (Become a beta tester.) You will receive your registration certificate in a much shorter time than you will if you send a paper application.