Hymn words and licences
Common Worship permission does not cover hymns. This is a different rights holder, a different licence, and the one most parishes get wrong.
The permission that lets you print the Common Worship confession says nothing at all about the hymn on the opposite page. Hymn texts belong to their authors and publishers, and reproducing the words — printing them, projecting them, putting them in a booklet — is a separate act needing separate permission.
The three cases
1. The hymn is out of copyright
Most of the traditional English hymn corpus is. If the author and the translator both died more than 70 years ago, the words are public domain and you may print them freely. That covers a great deal of what an average parish sings — Wesley, Watts, Neale, Baker, most of the standard Victorian translations.
Watch the translator and the reviser separately from the author. A 4th-century Latin text in a 1961 translation is a 1961 copyright.
2. The hymn is in copyright and covered by your licence
Most parishes hold a CCLI Church Copyright Licence, which covers reproducing the words of the hymns and songs in CCLI’s repertoire, in printed orders of service as well as on screen. Roman Catholic parishes and many others use Calamus, which covers a different and overlapping catalogue. Some parishes hold both, because their hymnal spans both.
Holding the licence is not the whole obligation: you normally must also report what you reproduced, and print your licence number in the booklet.
3. The hymn is in copyright and is not covered
Then you ask the publisher directly, or you choose a different hymn. There is no third option, and “it’s only for our own congregation” is not one — that is exactly the use the licence exists to permit.
What to print on the page
- Your licence number, once, in the small print — e.g. “Reproduced under CCLI Church Copyright Licence no. 000000”.
- For each in-copyright hymn: author, and the copyright holder as your licence requires.
- Nothing at all for public-domain hymns, though naming the author and the tune is a courtesy your congregation appreciates.
The streaming trap
A Church Copyright Licence covers reproduction. It does not cover broadcasting a service containing those hymns. If you livestream, you need the streaming licence as well — a distinction that caught a great many parishes in 2020 and still catches them now.
Questions
Do we need a CCLI licence to print hymn words in a service booklet?
If the hymn is still in copyright, yes — a CCLI Church Copyright Licence or equivalent such as Calamus, depending on the repertoire. Hymns whose author and translator died more than 70 years ago are public domain and need no licence.
Does the Common Worship copyright permission cover hymns?
No. Common Worship local-use permission covers the liturgical texts only. Hymn words belong to separate rights holders and need separate licensing.
Do we need a separate licence to livestream a service with hymns?
Yes. A Church Copyright Licence covers printing and projecting the words; streaming the service requires a streaming licence as well.