Last reviewed by Robert Prime — May 2026
Quick Answer: A UK self-published book's copyright page needs 7 elements: copyright notice (© year name), all-rights-reserved statement, edition/printing line, ISBN(s), publisher details, moral-rights assertion, and a fiction or non-fiction disclaimer. Use your legal name (not pen name) on the copyright line. Template below — copy-paste, swap details, done.
Want the full reasoning, examples, and edge cases? Keep reading — TL;DR below for the slightly longer summary, then the full guide.
Table of Contents
- The template — copy and paste this
- Each line, explained
- Variations by book type
- What NOT to put on a copyright page
- UK-specific considerations
- Common mistakes
- Frequently asked questions
- Final thoughts
The template — copy and paste this
Here's the standard copyright page for a UK self-published book. Open your manuscript, find the page right after your title page, paste this in, swap the bracketed bits for your details. Done.
Copyright © 2026 [Your Full Name]
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
First edition: [Month Year of first publication]
[Optional: Second edition revised Month Year]
[Your Full Name] asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
ISBN (paperback): [Your 13-digit ISBN]
ISBN (Kindle): [Your separate Kindle ISBN, if applicable]
ISBN (hardback): [If applicable]
Published by [Your imprint name OR Your Full Name], United Kingdom
Cover design by [Designer name OR Your Full Name]
Editing by [Editor name, if applicable]
[Your imprint name OR Your Full Name]
[City, UK]
[Your contact email, optional]
[Your imprint website, optional]
This is a work of [fiction / non-fiction]. [Fiction: Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.] [Non-fiction: The information contained in this book is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, medical, or professional advice. The author and publisher accept no responsibility for any errors, omissions, or actions taken based on the contents.]
That's it. Eleven or so lines. It looks formal because it has to be enforceable, but every line is doing a specific job.
Each line, explained
You don't need to memorise this — you just need to know what each line does so you can adapt it to your situation.
Line 1 — Copyright © 2026 [Your Full Name]
The © symbol plus year of first publication plus your legal name. This is the copyright notice itself. Under UK law (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) your copyright exists automatically the moment you fix the work in tangible form — typing it counts. But the printed notice does two specific things:
- It puts third parties on notice that the work is protected (matters for damages assessment if it ever ends up in court)
- It satisfies the formal notice requirement under the Universal Copyright Convention, which is what protects your work in countries that aren't part of the Berne Convention
Use your legal name, not your pen name, even if the book is published under a pseudonym. The pseudonym can be on the cover; the copyright should be in the name of whoever actually owns the rights.
Line 2 — The all-rights-reserved paragraph
The long block about "no part of this publication may be reproduced" is the reservation of rights. It does the legal work of telling people exactly which uses are prohibited. The "brief quotations in critical reviews" exception is standard — it matches what Section 30 of the CDPA 1988 calls fair dealing for criticism and review.
You can shorten it, but don't paraphrase it loosely. Most courts (and Amazon's takedown processors) look for specific phrases.
Line 3 — Edition and printing
"First edition: April 2026" tells the reader (and the British Library) which print run they have. If you ever revise and reissue, you add "Second edition: revised June 2027." This matters more than you'd think — readers checking reviews want to know if they have the version everyone's complaining about.
Line 4 — Moral rights assertion
UK law gives authors a moral right to be identified as the author (Section 77 CDPA 1988) — separate from copyright itself. But it has to be explicitly asserted to be enforceable. The single sentence "[Your Full Name] asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work" does this. Many UK self-published books skip this. If you do skip it, and someone later publishes your book under their own name, you've made it harder to fight.
Line 5 — ISBN(s)
If you have ISBNs, list them. Each format gets its own:
- Paperback (one ISBN)
- Kindle (a separate ISBN if you bought one — Amazon can issue a free ASIN instead, which is NOT an ISBN)
- Hardback (separate again)
- Reflowable EPUB for Apple/Kobo (yet another)
If you didn't buy ISBNs and you're only on KDP with Amazon's free ASIN, just write "Amazon ASIN: [your ASIN]" or leave the line out entirely. Don't make up an ISBN.
(For a deeper comparison of ISBN versus copyright, see our ISBN vs Copyright UK guide.)
Line 6 — Publisher and imprint
If you've set up an imprint (a publishing brand for your own books), put it here. If you haven't, put your own name. The British Library cares which entity is publishing — it's how their legal deposit register catalogues your book.
Line 7 — Disclaimer
Two flavours:
- Fiction: the standard "Names, characters, places, and incidents..." paragraph protects you from somebody who thinks the villain is based on them. It's not foolproof but it sets the bar high.
- Non-fiction: the "general informational purposes only" disclaimer matters more than authors realise. If you write about health, money, law, or any expert topic and someone takes your advice and it goes wrong, this is your first line of defence.
For memoir, blend both — fiction disclaimer for the narrative-shaping and non-fiction disclaimer for any factual claims.
Variations by book type
The template above is the workhorse. Here are the most common variations.
Pseudonym / pen name
Copyright © 2026 [Your Legal Name], writing as [Pen Name]
The copyright belongs to the legal person; the pseudonym is just a marketing decision.
Co-authored
Copyright © 2026 [Author One Full Name] and [Author Two Full Name]
Plus: "[Author One] and [Author Two] each assert the moral right to be identified as authors of this work." Joint copyright defaults to 50/50 unless you have a separate written agreement saying otherwise.
Edited anthology
Copyright © 2026 [Editor Full Name], for the collection.
Copyright in individual contributions remains with the respective authors.
Used with permission.
Anthologies need a layered copyright statement — your copyright covers the arrangement and selection, the contributors keep their copyright in their own pieces.
Translation
English-language translation copyright © 2026 [Translator Name]
Original work © [Year] [Original Author Name], used with permission of [Rights-holder]
Translation is a separate copyright. You need a licence from the original rights-holder before you publish.
Public-domain edition with new front matter
Copyright © 2026 [Your Name], for the introduction, footnotes, and editorial commentary
The text of [Book Title] by [Original Author] is in the public domain
You can't copyright Pride and Prejudice. You can copyright your introduction to it.
Picture book / illustrated
Text copyright © 2026 [Author Full Name]
Illustrations copyright © 2026 [Illustrator Full Name]
If the illustrator was paid as a freelancer (typical for indie picture books), they keep their copyright unless your contract specifically assigns it to you. Read the contract before publishing.
What NOT to put on a copyright page
A few things authors include that are at best pointless and at worst damaging:
- "This book is registered with the UK Copyright Service." Even if true, you don't need to advertise it. It looks insecure. If you needed to assert your registration in court, the certificate does the talking — not a line on the copyright page.
- The price. Pricing changes. Don't bake it into the file.
- A long thank-you to your spouse and kids. That's the dedication or acknowledgements — different page.
- "Made in the United Kingdom" without a country of origin. Either claim a specific country or leave it blank. Vague claims cause customs issues for some international print-on-demand.
- An incorrect "All rights reserved including..." list. If you list specific rights (film, audio, foreign translation, etc.) and miss one, lawyers may argue the missing one wasn't reserved. Stick to the standard catch-all paragraph.
UK-specific considerations
A few things that differ from US copyright pages you might find templates of online:
- No US Library of Congress Catalog Number. Don't include "LCCN: 2026XXXXXX" unless you've actually registered with the Library of Congress for US distribution — and most UK self-publishers haven't.
- British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP) data. If you've gone through the BL's CIP programme (most self-publishers don't), include the data block they send you. If you haven't, just include legal-deposit-style information instead — see our UK legal deposit guide for the details.
- VAT on print books is zero-rated in the UK. You don't need to put VAT-inclusive pricing on the copyright page. Just leave the price off the file entirely.
- Standard British spelling and date format. "Colour" not "color"; "26 April 2026" not "April 26, 2026." Subtle but signals quality to UK readers.
- The copyright notice should not have "®" or "™" symbols. Those are trademark notices. Copyright is "©" only.
For the full legal context, see our hub guide on how to copyright a book in the UK.
Common mistakes
Mistake 1: Using your pen name instead of your legal name on the © line. Looks tidy, ruins your enforcement options. Always your legal name.
Mistake 2: Forgetting to update the date for a new edition. The copyright notice should reflect the first publication year of the version someone's reading. A "Second edition: 2027" still has the original 2026 © at the top, plus a new 2027 © line for the revised content.
Mistake 3: Copying a US template without changing the fair-use clause. US "fair use" and UK "fair dealing" are different doctrines. The standard "brief quotations in critical reviews" wording covers both — but anything more specific should be UK-aligned. See our fair dealing guide for UK authors.
Mistake 4: Leaving the placeholder bracketed text in. I've seen self-published books on Amazon with "Copyright © 2026 [YOUR NAME HERE]" actually printed. Always check the final proof.
Mistake 5: Missing the moral rights assertion. Most UK authors don't include it. It's a single sentence. Include it.
Mistake 6: Not embedding the copyright in the PDF metadata. Your interior PDF has a metadata field for Author, Title, and Copyright. Most DIY-formatted Word-to-PDF exports skip this. KDP doesn't always reject for it, but it weakens your enforcement position if your file gets pirated. (Our formatting service embeds this automatically; if you're DIY, set it via Acrobat's Document Properties → Description.)
A pattern I see often: a self-published book has been on Amazon for several months — sometimes a year — before anyone notices the copyright page still says "Copyright © [year] [Your Name]" because the placeholder was never swapped out. Authors don't routinely re-read their own copyright page after upload. It's worth checking before the file goes live, and worth checking again on the printed proof; the placeholder version becomes nearly invisible after you've read it once.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to have a copyright page?
No, copyright is automatic in the UK from the moment of creation. But virtually every legitimate published book has one — readers, retailers, and reviewers expect it, and it's the canonical place for the ISBN and edition info.
Can I copy someone else's copyright page wording?
Yes. The standard "all rights reserved" language is industry-standard and not protected by copyright in the way the book's contents are (it's considered a legal formula). Don't copy specific dedications, acknowledgements, or unique disclaimer language — but the boilerplate is fair game.
Where exactly does the copyright page go?
Page 2 or 4 of your book — i.e. right after the title page (or after the half-title + title pages). Always on a verso (left-hand) page. Most KDP-ready templates set this automatically.
Do I need different copyright pages for paperback and Kindle?
The text can be identical except for the ISBN line. Some authors use a slightly shortened version on Kindle because the back-of-device "Look Inside" preview shows it. Up to you.
Should I include a "Printed in the United Kingdom" statement?
Only if you're confident your print-on-demand provider will actually print it in the UK. Amazon KDP uses regional printing (UK orders print in the UK, US orders print in the US). A blanket "Printed in the UK" claim is then technically false. Better to omit the country of printing entirely.
What about my pen name on the cover but my real name in the copyright?
That's the correct setup. The cover, title page, and spine show the name you're selling under. The copyright page shows the legal owner. There is no contradiction — it's the standard layout for any author using a pseudonym.
Should I register the copyright separately?
UK copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration. However, paid services like the UK Copyright Service (£59.50–£109) issue timestamped certificates that can help evidence the date of creation in a dispute. Most UK self-publishers don't bother. See the hub guide for the full discussion.
Can I add a Creative Commons licence to the copyright page?
Yes — if you're deliberately releasing the work under a permissive licence. Just be specific: "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License." Don't combine with "all rights reserved" — the two contradict each other.
Final thoughts
The copyright page is one of the smallest pieces of your book, and it does some of the heaviest legal lifting. Use the template above, swap your details in, run a quick KDP Readiness Score on the finished PDF to confirm the metadata's embedded, and you're done.
Once your front matter's sorted, the next thing most authors trip on is the actual interior formatting — margins, fonts, page numbering, all the things that turn a Word document into a print-ready PDF. That's where most KDP rejections come from. If you'd rather not learn that side of the work, our formatting service handles it from £69 with a 3-day turnaround. If you'd rather DIY, run the free KDP Readiness Score on whatever you produce before you upload — it'll tell you what KDP will flag, faster than the rejection email will.
Either way, you now have a copyright page that holds up.
— Robert publishing.co.uk
About the author
Robert Prime co-runs publishing.co.uk and the LoveReading network. He's self-published his own book Google. Panic. Repeat. — which is where the 'why isn't there just a copy-paste copyright template' frustration started. The template above is the one publishing.co.uk uses for client work. Reach him at hello@publishing.co.uk.
