Permissions and Fair-Use Guidelines

Please note that 90% of your questions are answered through careful review of the Fair-Use Guidelines shown below. We strongly encourage you to read them before contacting us.

Fair-Use Guidelines

The term ‘Fair-Use Guidelines’ refers to the policies Tyndale uses to determine whether or not you need written permission from Tyndale to produce or publish your work using our copyrighted material. To determine fair use, please carefully review the information below, and if your request falls within our Fair-Use Guidelines, written permission is not necessary, and you may proceed with your project, provided you use a proper copyright notice as indicated below. If you feel your request is not in compliance, or you have additional questions, please fill out this Permissions Questionnaire.

Fair-Use Guidelines: Books

View Books Permissions Information
  1. For non-commercial (non-salable) use: Permission is granted to quote up to 500 words or 2 pages from any single title provided it does not comprise 10% or more of your completed work.
  2. For classroom use, small group studies, or other educational purposes with fewer than 50 participants: Permission is granted to copy excerpts of up to 5 pages provided portions are not sold to participants.
  3. For commercial (salable) use: Permission is granted to quote up to 250 words for commercial purposes so long as it is not used for a stand-alone product such as cards, paintings, or other artistic creations nor comprises 5% or more of your completed work.
  4. These Fair Use Guidelines only pertain to written text and do not include permissions for any use of photographs, illustrations, paintings, maps, graphs, or other artistic/illustrated works within our books. If you are requesting permission for any artistic/illustrated works, you must fill out this Permissions Questionnaire.

If your request falls within these guidelines and is a TYNDALE TITLE, you do not need written permission from Tyndale and there are no fees, but you must apply proper copyright notice as follows:Some content taken from (Title) by (Author). Copyright © (Copyright Year). Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

If your request falls within these guidelines and is a HENDRICKSON ROSE TITLE, you do not need written permission from Tyndale and there are no fees, but you must apply proper copyright notice as follows:Some content taken from (Title) by (Author). Copyright © (Copyright Year). Used by permission of Hendrickson Rose Publishing Group, represented by Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

If your request falls within these guidelines and is a NAVPRESS TITLE, you do not need written permission from Tyndale and there are no fees, but you must apply proper copyright notice as follows:Some content taken from (Title) by (Author). Copyright © (Copyright Year). Used by permission of NavPress, represented by Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

If your request falls within these guidelines and is a FOCUS ON THE FAMILY TITLE, you do not need written permission from Tyndale and there are no fees, but you must apply proper copyright notice as follows:Some content taken from (Title) by (Author). Copyright © (Copyright Year). Used by permission of Focus on the Family, represented by Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

If your request falls outside these guidelines you will need written permission from Tyndale. Fees may apply in some cases that are not within fair-use limits and are determined based on the amount of material used, the distribution of that material, and whether it is for commercial or non-commercial use. All fees are established to protect our copyrighted material.

If you need written permission, or still have questions, please fill out this Permissions Questionnaire. The more details you provide about your project, the quicker we can process your request.

We ask that you avoid calling to inquire about your request, as this tends to delay the permissions process.

Fair-Use Guidelines: Bibles

Holy Bible, New Living Translation Permissions Information

The New Living Translation (NLT) is a modern Bible translation of the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Old and New Testaments, which 90 scholars worked on to translate them into natural, everyday English. For more on the NLT, visit www.newlivingtranslation.com.

  1. The text of the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided that the verses quoted do not account for more than 25 percent of the work in which they are quoted, and provided that a complete book of the Bible is not quoted.
  2. When the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, is quoted, one of the following credit lines must appear on the copyright page or title page of the work:

    When multiple translations are being used in a project:
    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
    When the NLT is being used exclusively in a project:
    Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
    When multiple translations are being used in a project but the majority will be taken from the NLT:
    Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
  3. When quotations from the NLT text are used in non-salable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, newsletters, transparencies, or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NLT) must appear at the end of each quotation.
  4. Publication of any commentary or other Bible reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the NLT requires written permission for use of the NLT text.
  5. Proposal for permission to use text from the NLT in music must be accompanied by complete lyrics.
  6. Quotes from the NLT used with graphic designs including T-shirts, book covers, posters, bumper stickers, banners, greeting cards, billboards, or other artwork, must be clearly detailed in writing on our permissions questionnaire before permission may be granted.
  7. All material quoted from the NLT must be done so accurately, including punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc. Tyndale must be made aware of any intended deviation in style, in writing, prior to publication.
  8. Permission given by Tyndale House Publishers for the use of text from the NLT applies to the specific use requested. Any other use requires a separate request for permission. If you have been granted permission for use of text from the NLT, you may not pass permission on to another person.

Permission to quote from the NLT in projects produced for sale that are not within fair-use limits may be accompanied by a fee. The amount of this fee is based on the percentage of the total text that is represented by quotes from the NLT as compared to the total amount of your text in the final product; the distribution of that material; and whether it is for commercial or non-commercial use. All fees are established to protect our copyright.

If you need written permission, or still have questions, please fill out the Permissions Questionnaire. The more details you provide about your project, the quicker we can process your request.

We ask that you avoid calling to inquire about your request, as this tends to delay the permissions process.

The Living Bible Permissions Information
The Living Bible (TLB) was created by Kenneth N. Taylor, and was first published in 1971. Unlike most English Bibles, The Living Bible is a paraphrase.
  1. The Living Bible text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided that the verses quoted do not account for more than 25 percent of the total work in which they are quoted, and provided that a complete book of the Bible is not quoted.
  2. When The Living Bible is quoted, one of the following credit lines must appear on the copyright page or title page of the work:
    When multiple translations are being used in a project:
    Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
    When the TLB is being used exclusively in a project:
    Scripture quotations are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Foundation, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
    When multiple translations are being used in a project but the majority will be taken from the TLB:
    Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
  3. When quotations from the TLB text are used in nonsalable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, newsletters, transparencies, or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials TLB must appear at the end of each quotation.
  4. Quotations in excess of five hundred (500) verses or 25 percent of the work, or other permission requests, must be approved in writing by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
  5. Proposal for permission to use text from TLB in music must be accompanied by complete lyrics.
  6. Quotes from TLB used with graphic designs, including T-shirts, book covers, posters, bumper stickers, banners, greeting cards, billboards, or other artwork, must be clearly detailed in writing on our permissions questionnaire before permission may be granted.
  7. All material quoted from the TLB must be done so accurately, including punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc. Tyndale must be made aware of any intended deviation in style in writing prior to publication.
  8. Permission given by Tyndale House Publishers for the use of text from the TLB applies to the specific use requested. Any other use requires a separate request for permission. If you have been granted permission for use of text from the TLB, you may not pass permission on to another person.

Permission to quote from the TLB in projects produced for sale that are not within fair-use limits may be accompanied by a fee. The amount of this fee is based on the percentage of the total text that is represented by quotes from the TLB as compared to the total amount of your text in the final product; the distribution of that material; and whether it is for commercial or non-commercial use. All fees are established to protect our copyright.

If your request falls outside these guidelines, or if you still have questions, please click the following link to electronically fill out and submit this form offering more detail about your project.

We ask that you avoid calling to inquire about your request, as this tends to delay the permissions process.

The Message Permissions Information

The Message is not a study Bible, but rather a reading Bible. It is a version of Scripture translated by Eugene H. Peterson and published by NavPress Publishing Group. The verse numbers, which are not in the original documents, have been left out of the print version to facilitate easy and enjoyable reading. The original books of the Bible were not written in formal language. The Message tries to recapture the Word in the language we use today.

  1. The text of The Message, may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without written permission of the publisher, provided that the verses quoted do not account for more than 25 percent of the work in which they are quoted, and provided that a complete book of the Bible is not quoted.
  2. When The Message is quoted, one of the following credit lines must appear on the copyright or title page of the work:
    When The Message is being used exclusively:
    All Scripture quotations are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. . All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
    When multiple translations are being used in the same project, each verse quoted must be followed by (The Message) and the following reference credit must be included:
    Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
    When multiple translations are being used but the majority will be taken from The Message:
    Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
  3. Proposal for permission to use text from The Message in music must be accompanied by complete lyrics.
  4. Quotes from The Message used with graphic designs, including T-shirts, book covers, posters, bumper stickers, banners, greeting cards, billboards, or other artwork, must be clearly detailed in writing on our permissions questionnaire before permission may be granted.
  5. All material quoted from the The Message must be done so accurately, including punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc. Tyndale must be made aware of any intended deviation in style in writing prior to publication.
  6. Permission given by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries for the use of text from the The Message applies to the specific use requested. Any other use requires a separate request for permission. If you have been granted permission for use of text from the The Message, you may not pass permission on to another person.

Permission to quote from The Message in projects produced for sale that are not within fair-use limits may be accompanied by a fee. The amount of this fee is based on the percentage of the total text that is represented by quotes from The Message as compared to the total amount of your text in the final product, the distribution of that material, and whether it is for commercial or non-commercial use. All fees are established to protect our copyrighted material.

If you need written permission, or still have questions, please fill out the Permissions Questionnaire. The more details you provide about your project, the quicker we can process your request.

We ask that you avoid calling to inquire about your request, as this tends to delay the permissions process.