To get a movie public performance license, contact a licensing agency such as Swank Motion Pictures, the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC), or Criterion Pictures USA, tell them the film, date, venue, and expected audience, and pay the quoted fee. Federal copyright law gives the movie’s owner the exclusive right to authorize public showings, so almost any screening outside your own home needs permission first. Owning the disc or paying for a streaming service does not carry that right with it.
What Counts as a Public Screening
The Copyright Act defines a “public” performance broadly. It covers any showing at a place open to the public, or any place where a substantial number of people outside a normal circle of family and friends are gathered.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 101 – Definitions That sweeps in parks, community centers, bars, restaurants, churches, apartment common rooms, senior living facilities, summer camps, hotel lobbies, and workplace break rooms.
Whether you charge admission does not matter. A free library movie night, a backyard screening open to the neighborhood, and a film playing in a hospital waiting room all qualify as public performances.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 101 – Definitions If people beyond your household can walk in and watch, you need a license.
When You Don’t Need One
Watching at home with family or a small group of friends is not a public performance and needs no license. The statute’s line is the “normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 101 – Definitions
Section 110(1) also exempts performances by instructors or students during face-to-face teaching activities at a nonprofit educational institution.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 110 – Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Exemption of Certain Performances and Displays The conditions are strict. The institution has to be nonprofit, the screening must happen in a classroom or similar instructional space, the film has to tie directly to the scheduled lesson, and the copy must be lawfully obtained. A reward-day movie, an after-school club screening, a fundraiser, or a parent night all fall outside the exemption and need a license.
The Two License Types
Licenses generally come in two forms.
- A single-event, title-by-title license covers one specific film at one specific screening. You pick the movie, date, and venue. This is the right choice for a one-off movie night, a fundraiser, or a special event. Swank and Criterion are the main providers of title-by-title licenses.
- An annual blanket license covers unlimited showings from the licensor’s catalog for a flat yearly fee. The MPLC’s Umbrella License is the most widely used and suits organizations that show movies regularly, such as senior centers, hospitals, camps, and apartment communities. You do not request permission title by title.3MPLC. Do Charities and Non-Profit Organizations Need an MPLC License
The choice comes down to frequency. One outdoor screening a year is cheaper on a title-by-title license. A weekly movie program pays back the blanket fee quickly.
Who to Contact
Studios rarely license public performances directly. They authorize agencies to do it. The three main ones in the United States are:
- Swank Motion Pictures represents Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Columbia, and several independents. Swank also runs Movie Licensing USA, which offers annual blanket licenses for public libraries and K-12 schools.
- The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) offers the Umbrella License, covering works from major studios and many smaller producers for organizations that show movies on an ongoing, unscheduled basis.3MPLC. Do Charities and Non-Profit Organizations Need an MPLC License
- Criterion Pictures USA offers both title-by-title and annual contracts, representing Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, and others, and covers venues from schools to correctional facilities to camps to religious organizations.4Criterion Pictures USA. Criterion Pictures USA
Some studios split their catalogs, so if one agency doesn’t have the film, try another. Give them the title and they will tell you whether it’s in their catalog.
How to Apply
Applications are handled online through each agency’s website. Have these details ready before you start:
- The exact title of the film
- The date and location of the screening
- An estimate of how many people will attend
- Whether you plan to charge admission
- The format you’ll use (DVD, Blu-ray, or digital file)
You fill out the form, and the agency returns a price quote, usually within a few business days for a single event. Once you accept and pay, the agency issues the license. Keep the document with you at the event as proof.
Blanket licenses are simpler. You give the agency information about your organization, facility type, and how you plan to use the license. The agency calculates an annual fee, and once you pay, you’re covered for the year without submitting individual titles.
What It Costs
Fees vary with the film, its release date, the expected audience size, and whether you charge admission. The MPLC sets blanket fees based on facility type and intended use.5MPLC. How Much Does the License Cost A recent blockbuster shown to a large crowd costs more than a decade-old film shown to a small group.
Single-event licenses generally run from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand for high-profile titles. Annual blanket licenses range from several hundred dollars for a small nonprofit up to several thousand for a large commercial venue. Some industry groups have negotiated discounted rates for members; the MPLC offers reduced pricing through certain nonprofit affiliate partnerships. Picking an older film, cutting the audience size, or choosing a lesser-known title brings the fee down.
Your Streaming Subscription Isn’t a License
A Netflix, Disney+, or Hulu account cannot serve as the source for a public screening. Streaming subscriptions are licensed for personal, non-commercial, household viewing. Plugging a laptop into a projector and streaming a film to an audience violates the service’s terms of use whether or not you also hold a separate public performance license.
Licensing agencies generally require a legitimately purchased physical copy (DVD or Blu-ray) or an authorized digital copy. Some agencies provide the film directly for licensed events. If you’re not sure what format is acceptable, ask when you apply. Using an unauthorized source can void the license.
The same logic applies to cable and satellite. A commercial cable account may already cover some programming, particularly news and sports, but most movie and entertainment content still needs a separate public performance license.
Nonprofits and Houses of Worship Need One Too
Nonprofit status and religious affiliation do not create an exemption. Copyright law applies to businesses, charities, churches, and community groups on the same terms.3MPLC. Do Charities and Non-Profit Organizations Need an MPLC License A church showing a film to a youth group, a Rotary Club running a fundraiser screening, and a VFW hall hosting a veterans’ movie night all need licenses.
The face-to-face teaching exemption above is the only nonprofit-specific carve-out, and it’s limited to nonprofit educational institutions conducting classroom instruction. A church isn’t an educational institution for that purpose, even if it runs educational programs. Blanket licenses from MPLC and title-by-title licenses from Swank and Criterion all cover religious organizations, community groups, and nonprofits, and discounted rates exist for some categories.
Advertising Rules Most People Miss
A blanket license does not necessarily let you advertise the specific film. The MPLC’s Umbrella License, for instance, prohibits publicly advertising the movie or program title, character names, or cast names on websites, social media, billboards, or any other publicly visible media.6MPLC. Once I Have an MPLC Blanket License, Can I Advertise a Movie or Program That I Want to Show
You can promote a “Movie Night” or “Family Film Night” to the general public without naming the film. You can name the specific title in internal communications: an email to residents of your building, a letter to members, a flyer posted inside your facility. The line is internal versus public-facing. “We’re showing Toy Story on Friday” in a building newsletter is fine. The same text on Facebook or a roadside banner is not, under a blanket license.
Single-event title-by-title licenses may allow more, since you’re licensing a specific film for a specific showing. If publicly naming the movie matters for your event, confirm the advertising terms with the licensing agency before you print anything.
What Happens If You Skip It
The exposure is steep. A copyright holder can elect statutory damages instead of proving actual losses, and for willful infringement a court can award up to $150,000 per work.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 504 – Remedies for Infringement: Damages and Profits That’s per film, so an organization running multiple unlicensed screenings faces exposure that multiplies quickly. Criminal penalties for willful infringement can reach imprisonment of up to five years and substantial fines, depending on scale and commercial nature.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2319 – Criminal Infringement of a Copyright
Criminal prosecution is rare for a community group that simply didn’t know. Civil enforcement is not. Studios monitor for unauthorized screenings, and the venue hosting the event is often the party held responsible. A few hundred dollars for a license is cheap next to the threat of a $150,000 judgment, and applying takes less time than picking the movie.