CCLI Streaming License Explained: What Churches Need to Stream Worship Legally
Short answer: if your church streams or uploads a service that includes copyrighted worship songs, you need a streaming licence on top of the permission that lets you sing them in the building. In the U.S. most churches use the CCLI Streaming License, which only works alongside a CCLI Church Copyright License. If you play artist tracks, backing tracks or multitracks during the stream, you need the CCLI Streaming Plus License instead. Catholic and mainline churches that sing mostly from hymnal publishers often use ONE LICENSE, and some churches add the CCS WORSHIPcast licence for songs CCLI does not cover.
This guide explains what each licence actually allows, what it does not, what it costs according to the providers' own pages in October 2026, and the small habits that stop copyright warnings on YouTube and Facebook. It covers U.S. churches. Churches in the UK, Canada and Australia should check their local CCLI site, because the licences and prices differ by country. It is a practical overview, not legal advice.
Why singing in church is free but streaming is not
U.S. copyright law gives churches a specific exemption: performing a religious musical work "in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly" does not need permission (17 U.S.C. § 110(3)). That is why your band can lead a current worship song on Sunday without a performance licence.
The exemption covers the room, not the internet. Once the same service is sent to YouTube, Facebook or your website, it becomes a transmission to the public, and the exemption no longer applies. Christian Copyright Solutions puts it plainly on its WORSHIPcast page: the religious service exemption "does NOT cover the re-transmission of those services over the Internet."
Two separate rights are usually in play:
- The song (words and music, owned by songwriters and publishers). Your band playing it live only touches this right.
- The recording (the master owned by a label or artist). This comes into play when you press play on an artist track, a backing track, a multitrack or a lyric video.
Most licensing mistakes come from treating these as one thing.
The CCLI Church Copyright License: the base layer
The CCLI Church Copyright License is the licence most U.S. evangelical and contemporary churches already hold. According to CCLI, it lets you project lyrics, print them in bulletins and song sheets, make your own arrangements where no published version exists, translate songs where no published version exists, and record your services for archive or limited distribution to people unable to attend. CCLI says it covers more than 600,000 songs.
What it does not do on its own is permit streaming. CCLI sells streaming as an add-on to this licence, which is why you cannot buy the CCLI Streaming License without it.
What the CCLI Streaming License covers
According to CCLI's streaming page, the Streaming License lets a church live-stream or upload services that include worship songs and hymns performed live by your church musicians, with coverage for more than 450,000 songs. In practice that means:
- Live streams and uploaded recordings of services on your church website, your social media pages or other streaming platforms.
- Lyrics shown in the stream, either embedded on screen or in the background.
- Archived services can stay online for as long as you keep the Streaming License active.
- Song use can be auto-reported from many worship and presentation apps, so your songwriters are paid without manual logging.
CCLI recommends putting both licence numbers in the description when you go live or upload, in this form: "Used with permission. Church Copyright License Number: 12345 and CCLI Streaming License Number: 54321." Use your own numbers, not the example.
Streaming License vs Streaming Plus
The difference is whether a recording is playing.
- Streaming License: your musicians play and sing the songs live. Nothing pre-recorded is in the mix.
- Streaming Plus License: adds coverage for master recordings, which CCLI defines as artist tracks, backing tracks and multitracks from an authorized source, used during your online services.
If your band runs click and pad tracks with stems from a multitrack service, or you play an original artist recording during a pre-service countdown, the standard licence is not enough. CCLI also notes that Streaming Plus is usually limited to audio. Showing someone else's music video still needs the copyright owner's permission, with one exception: CCLI says Streaming Plus holders can currently show SongSelect Lyric Videos during a live stream.
What it costs
CCLI's U.S. streaming page says prices "start from just $84 per year for churches already licensed with CCLI, or $108 for an average church (100 - 199 people)." Your exact price depends on your attendance band and which licences you already hold, and it sits on top of the Church Copyright License fee. Check the order page for your own number before budgeting.
For comparison, CCS lists these annual WORSHIPcast fees, effective January 1, 2026, based on average weekly attendance across all services, plus a one-time $25 set-up fee:
| Average attendance | WORSHIPcast annual fee |
|---|---|
| 1–199 | $352 |
| 200–499 | $532 |
| 500–1,999 | $1,012 |
| 2,000–5,999 | $1,542 |
| 6,000–14,999 | $2,642 |
| 15,000+ | $3,772 |
CCS WORSHIPcast: when a church needs it too
WORSHIPcast comes from Christian Copyright Solutions, a CCLI partner, and works differently. It is a performance licence drawn from the ASCAP, BMI and SESAC catalogs, so it covers Christian and secular songs (CCS says more than 43 million), including concerts, special events and guest performers streamed from your church.
Its limits matter. CCS says WORSHIPcast covers streams from your ministry-owned domain or website. CCLI's comparison adds that WORSHIPcast does not let you show lyrics on screen and does not cover tracks, and CCS's own FAQ confirms it covers no pre-recorded music at all. So a church that streams a Christmas concert with secular carols on its own website might add WORSHIPcast, while a church that streams Sunday worship to YouTube with lyrics on screen still needs a CCLI streaming licence. Some churches need both.
ONE LICENSE for hymnal-heavy churches
ONE LICENSE represents more than 300 member publishers, including many of the houses behind Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal and other mainline hymnals. It offers Podcast / Streaming licences (alone or bundled with its Annual Reprint licence so you can show lyrics and melody lines online) and a newer Recorded Audio License for master recordings in streams. If most of your Sunday music comes from those publishers, check their catalog before assuming CCLI covers it.
Public domain hymns: free, with a catch
In the U.S., works published in 1930 or earlier are now in the public domain, which covers a large share of the classic hymnal. You can stream a public-domain text and tune without a licence. The catch is that many versions churches sing today are not the original: a modern arrangement, a new tune, an added chorus or bridge, or an updated translation is its own copyrighted work. "Amazing Grace" as written in the 18th century is public domain; "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" with its added chorus is not. When in doubt, look the exact version up in SongSelect or the publisher's catalog.
Which licences does your church need?
- Live band, contemporary songs, streaming to YouTube or Facebook: CCLI Church Copyright License + CCLI Streaming License.
- Same, but with tracks, stems or artist recordings in the mix: CCLI Church Copyright License + CCLI Streaming Plus License.
- Mostly hymnal music from Catholic or mainline publishers: ONE LICENSE Podcast / Streaming (often with Annual Reprint), plus CCLI if you also sing contemporary songs.
- Concerts, guest artists or secular songs streamed from your own website: consider CCS WORSHIPcast in addition.
- Only public-domain hymns in their original form: no song licence needed for those songs, but check every arrangement.
Stopping copyright claims on YouTube and Facebook
A licence does not stop automated matching systems from flagging music. CCLI acknowledges that platforms may still issue warnings and that you can usually confirm you hold permission. A few habits keep that rare:
- Put your licence numbers in the stream description before you go live.
- Mute or cut any pre-service or walk-out music that plays an artist recording if you do not hold Streaming Plus.
- Report songs every week, ideally through auto-reporting from your presentation software.
- Keep a simple song log with the date, title and version you used, so you can answer a claim quickly.
- If a claim arrives, dispute it through the platform's process with your licence details, rather than deleting the service.
If you are still setting up the stream itself, our small-church live streaming setup guide covers cameras and audio, and our comparison of church live streaming software covers the tools that send the video out. For the people watching at home, see how to actually worship from home, and for song ideas your band can lead under these licences, try our list of worship songs for Sunday morning.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a CCLI Streaming License if we only stream the sermon?
No song licence is needed for a sermon with no copyrighted music. Many churches cut the worship set from the stream for this reason. As soon as songs are in the stream, live or recorded, you need streaming coverage.
Is the CCLI Church Copyright License enough to stream?
No. It covers projecting, printing and recording for archive or limited distribution. Streaming and uploading services online is covered by the separate CCLI Streaming License or Streaming Plus License, which build on it.
Can we keep old services on YouTube?
Yes, according to CCLI, as long as you keep your Streaming License active. If the licence lapses, the archive is no longer covered.
Does a streaming licence cover playing a music video?
Generally no. Streaming Plus covers audio from master recordings. Video content usually needs the owner's permission, apart from SongSelect Lyric Videos, which CCLI currently allows for Streaming Plus holders.
Do licences cover streaming outside the U.S.?
This guide covers U.S. licences. CCLI runs separate licences in other regions, so churches in the UK, Canada and Australia should check their local CCLI site.