DMCA takedown notice template: what goes in a notice

Before you use a template

• Make sure it's a copyright problem. Templates are for copied photos, videos, writing, music, art and code. Brand names and logos are trademark. See trademark vs copyright.
• Think about fair use. Commentary, criticism and parody can be allowed without permission. See is it fair use?
• Find the right contact. Our FAQ on how to file a DMCA takedown notice explains who receives a notice and what happens next.

What a notice must include

Every DMCA takedown notice, whether it's built from a template or written from scratch, needs these six things:

1. Your signature, physical or electronic
2. The work that was copied
3. The exact location of each copy
4. Your contact details
5. A statement that you believe in good faith the use isn't allowed
6. A statement that the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you own the work or can act for the owner

Getting every detail right for the site you're sending it to is where most people get stuck. The DIY Takedown Toolkit in Protection Pro ($10 a month) has ready-made notice templates that cover all six, or our team can write and send the notice for you from $199 per site.

What each part does

• Your work and the original link show the site what was copied and that it's yours.
• The exact URLs tell the site precisely what to remove. Vague locations are the most common reason notices stall.
• The good-faith statement says you believe the use isn't allowed.
• The accuracy statement confirms, under penalty of perjury, that you own the work or can act for the owner.
• Your signature and contact details let the site reach you. Typing your full name counts as a signature.

Leave out any of these and a US site can treat the notice as incomplete.

Other versions you may need

A basic notice to a website's copyright contact fits many cases. Some situations need different wording:

To a hosting company

When a site ignores notices, has no contact details or hides behind a service like Cloudflare, the notice often has to go to someone else, such as the company hosting the site. Working out who that is, and wording the notice for them, is where a lot of cases stall. See filing a notice when a site uses Cloudflare.

For a business or client

If you're filing for a company or someone else, the notice has to say who owns the work and that you're authorized to act for them, and it's signed with your role and company name.

Follow-ups

Many notices need at least one follow-up before anything happens. Knowing when to follow up, and who to escalate to when a site goes quiet, is a big part of getting content removed.

European sites

Sites in the EU follow EU rules, not the DMCA. A notice written for those rules drops the US "penalty of perjury" wording and explains why the content is unlawful. See takedowns in Europe.

Canada

Canada uses a "notice and notice" system, where hosts forward your notice to the uploader instead of removing the content. The notice is worded differently.

Using a platform's form instead

Big platforms, including social, video and marketplace sites, plus Google Search, usually want reports through their own copyright form, not email. Each form asks for the same information as a notice in its own format, and a report with a missing or mismatched detail can be rejected.

For Google, see how to remove a webpage from Google search.

Common questions