Scripture Permissions and Bible Translation Copyright

The short answer

Which Bible you quote decides whether you need permission. The KJV, ASV, WEB and YLT are public domain. The NIV, ESV and NKJV allow a gratis quota of up to 500 verses and under 25% of your text; beyond that you need written permission, and a copyright notice is required.

Updated October 2026 · By Harmony Publishing

Public-domain translations

These translations may be quoted without permission:

KJV (King James Version): public domain in the US and outside the UK. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Crown (letters patent) publishing rights continue to apply (American Bible Society, Blue Letter Bible).
ASV (American Standard Version): public domain.
WEB (World English Bible): public domain. The name "World English Bible" is a trademark held by eBible.org.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation): public domain.

The gratis quotas: NIV, ESV, NKJV and NASB

Translation	Rights holder	Quoting without written permission
NIV	Biblica / Zondervan	Up to and including 500 verses, not a complete book of the Bible, and not 25% or more of your total text. Commercial commentary or reference works need written permission. Permission covers the current NIV (2011), not the 1984 text.
ESV	Crossway	Up to and including 500 verses, not more than one-half of any one book of the Bible, not 25% or more of your total text, and not in a commentary or biblical reference work.
NKJV	Thomas Nelson	Up to 500 verses, Scripture not more than 25% of the total text, not an entire book of the Bible, not in a commentary or reference work, properly cited.
NASB	The Lockman Foundation	Requests for quotations or reprints must be approved in writing by The Lockman Foundation.

Sources: Biblica, Crossway, Thomas Nelson, Blue Letter Bible, Truthscape.

Some third-party pages state older or different limits for the ESV and NKJV (for example 1,000 verses and 50%). Follow the publisher's own current page: Crossway for the ESV and Thomas Nelson for the NKJV.

Thomas Nelson says its gratis use does not cover a verse standing alone on artwork, notecards or jewellery, charts, maps, illustrations or study notes, or lyrics and musical compositions. It has no general gratis policy for book excerpts, and requests of more than 250 words from a single source may carry a fee. Crossway says quotes from its study content of up to 400 words are allowed without permission if the source is credited.

When you need written permission, and who to ask

NIV: Zondervan (US and Canada), Hodder & Stoughton (UK, EU and EFTA), Biblica (non-commercial use).
ESV: Crossway, through its online permissions form.
NKJV: Thomas Nelson permissions.
NASB: The Lockman Foundation. The names NASB, NAS and the lighthouse logo are registered trademarks requiring permission.
AMP (Amplified) and LSB (Legacy Standard Bible): copyright is held by The Lockman Foundation.

Also remember that a few uses always need a formal licence, such as quoting an entire biblical book or building a searchable Bible tool or verse database (Truthscape).

The copyright notice to print

The publishers ask for these notices on the title page or copyright page. They are quoted here as published by each source, so check the publisher's current page before you print.

NIV: "Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide."
ESV: "Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."
NKJV: "Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
NASB: "Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org"

Non-saleable church media

For local-church media that is not sold, such as bulletins, orders of service and posters, Biblica says a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIV) must appear at the end of each quotation. Thomas Nelson and Crossway have similar initials-only rules for non-saleable media.

A practical Scripture-check workflow before you print

Pick one translation early and put it in your style guide.
Count your quoted verses and compare the total with that translation's limit, including the 25% rule.
List every verse quoted, so each reference can be checked against the text.
Check that every reference is accurate and attributed to the right translation.
Print the required notice on the title or copyright page.
For anything over the limit, ask the rights holder for written permission before you print.

This is not legal advice

Publisher requirements change. Verify each notice and quota against the publisher's current permissions page before you rely on it. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Publishing a faith book with Harmony

During editing, Harmony checks your Scripture citations: we check the Bible verse references in your manuscript against your chosen translation for accuracy and correct attribution. Permission to quote beyond a publisher's limits comes from the rights holder. See the Christian publishing hub for how this fits with editing, and the packages page for the services and prices.

See the packages Christian book publishing with Harmony

Related guides and services

Frequently asked questions

Which Bible translations can I quote for free?

The KJV, ASV, WEB and YLT are public domain. The KJV is under Crown publishing rights in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

How many verses from the NIV, ESV or NKJV can I use without asking?

Each allows up to 500 verses without written permission, provided the verses do not account for 25% or more of your text and are not a complete book. The ESV also limits quotation to one-half of any one book, and commentary or reference works need permission.

Who do I contact for permission?

For the NIV, Zondervan (US and Canada), Hodder & Stoughton (UK, EU and EFTA) or Biblica. For the ESV, Crossway. For the NKJV, Thomas Nelson. For the NASB, The Lockman Foundation.

Do church bulletins need full permission?

For non-saleable local-church media, Biblica says a full notice is not required but the initials (NIV) must follow each quotation. Thomas Nelson and Crossway have similar initials-only rules.

Does Harmony check Bible verse references?

Yes. During editing we check the Scripture citations in your manuscript against your chosen translation for accuracy and correct attribution.