How to Fill Out and Submit TikTok’s Copyright Infringement Report Form

To file a TikTok copyright infringement report, submit TikTok’s copyright report form either through the web portal at ipr.tiktokforbusiness.com/legal/report/Copyright or through the in-app reporting flow on the offending video. The form collects your contact details, a description of your copyrighted work, the URL of each infringing video, two required legal statements, and your electronic signature. Getting any of those pieces wrong can void the notice, because the process is governed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and TikTok is not obligated to act on a notice that fails the statute.

Where to Submit the Report

You have two options.

The web form at ipr.tiktokforbusiness.com/legal/report/Copyright is the direct route. You do not need a TikTok account to use it, which matters if you are a rights holder who does not otherwise use the platform.
The in-app flow starts with the share icon on the infringing video. Tap it, choose the option to report an intellectual property violation, and TikTok pre-links the video you are viewing so you do not have to paste the URL.

One boundary worth noting: if the infringement is on a TikTok Shop product listing rather than a regular video, TikTok routes rights holders through a separate Intellectual Property Protection Center at ippc.tiktokglobalshop.com, which requires its own registration and identity verification. For an ordinary video, the standard copyright form is the right tool.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

The form asks for four things. Missing any one can stall or kill the report.

Your Contact Information

Full legal name, physical mailing address, and a working email. TikTok uses the email for every follow-up on the claim, so check it twice. If you are filing on behalf of someone else, such as a client or an employer, you will identify both yourself and the actual rights holder.

A Description of Your Copyrighted Work

Describe the original work being infringed with enough specificity that a reviewer who has never seen it can understand what it is and confirm you own it. This can be a song, photograph, video clip, illustration, or anything else copyrightable. A U.S. Copyright Office registration number is not required but strengthens the claim considerably; registering a single work electronically costs $45 at copyright.gov.¹ The form also accepts supporting documents such as a registration certificate.²

The URL of Every Infringing Video

Paste the full TikTok URL of each video. Federal law requires the notice to include “information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material,” and a direct link satisfies that requirement cleanly.³ If several videos infringe the same work, you can list them all in one report.

The Two Required Legal Statements

Federal law spells out two declarations every DMCA takedown notice must contain. Without both, the notice is legally insufficient and TikTok has no duty to act on it.³ The form presents them as checkboxes:

A good-faith-belief statement that the reported use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Both boxes must be checked. The perjury language is enforceable, not decorative.

Signing and Submitting

The last field is an electronic signature: type your full legal name into the box. Under the federal E-SIGN Act, a typed signature carries the same legal weight as a handwritten one.⁴

Once every field is filled, click submit. You may see a CAPTCHA before the form goes through. Save whatever confirmation message or reference number TikTok returns; you will need it to follow up.

What Happens After You Submit

TikTok’s review team checks whether the notice meets the statutory requirements and whether the reported content plausibly infringes your work. All communication runs through the email address you gave on the form.⁵ If anything is unclear or missing, expect a request for more information.

If TikTok agrees the content infringes, it removes the video and notifies both you and the uploader. The uploader receives an in-app notification identifying the affected content and explaining the right to appeal or file a counter-notification.²

If the Uploader Files a Counter-Notification

The person whose video was removed can push back. A valid counter-notification must include the uploader’s signature, identification of the removed material, a statement under penalty of perjury that the removal was a mistake, and consent to the jurisdiction of a federal district court.³

When TikTok receives one, it forwards a copy to you and tells you the content will be restored in 10 to 14 business days unless you file a federal court action first.³ That window is firm. If you do not sue and notify TikTok within that period, TikTok restores the video regardless of whether it actually infringes. The clock starts when TikTok forwards the counter-notification to you, not when the uploader files it.

Federal litigation is expensive, so a dispute over a single video can feel financially lopsided. The Copyright Claims Board, a three-member tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office, offers a cheaper alternative for disputes with total damages up to $30,000, with statutory damages capped at $15,000 per work. Filing a CCB claim requires either a completed copyright registration or a pending application.⁶ The responding party can opt out of CCB proceedings, which pushes the dispute back to federal court.

The Risk of Filing a Careless or False Report

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a takedown notice, claiming content infringes when they know it does not, is liable for damages, costs, and attorney fees suffered by the person whose content was wrongly removed, the actual copyright owner, or TikTok itself.³ Courts have read “knowingly” to require actual awareness that the claim is false, not just careless research, but that is thin protection once a lawsuit lands.

Before you submit, confirm the content genuinely uses your copyrighted work and that the use does not fall within fair use or another statutory exception. TikTok’s form itself warns that misuse of the reporting system, including submitting false information, can lead to suspension of access to the reporting tool and other legal consequences.⁵

1
U.S. Copyright Office. Fees
2
TikTok. Copyright
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 512 – Limitations on Liability Relating to Material Online
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 7001 – General Rule of Validity
5
TikTok. TikTok Copyright Infringement Report Form
6
Copyright Claims Board. Frequently Asked Questions