Software licensing

Last updated: 21 March 2025

Software licenses are legal agreements that define how software can be used, modified and distributed. You must be aware of the implications of licences on the software you build or buy.

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Requirement(s)

You MUST include licensing information with all software

All software should have a licence that defines how it can be used, modified and distributed. You must understand the requirements of the licence you choose, such as including copyright headers and licence files in a particular way. This usually involves specifying a licence through a LICENCE file in the version control.

If you are unsure of the most appropriate licence to apply, you should seek advice on this.

You MUST understand who owns the intellectual property of software built

Regardless of whether software is built, internally or with support from service providers, or bought you must understand the ownership of the intellectual property involved. This is especially important during contract transitions, where software and documentation owned by HMRC can be transferred easily, reducing the risk of service interruptions.

You MUST understand and adhere to the licences of open source code you depend upon

There are many different types of open source licence that may be applied to code libraries that you may wish to use. These can vary significantly and may impact upon the licence used for your own code or modifications you make to the code library, therefore it is important you understand any implications.

You MUST consider publishing your code in an open source repository

Following Service Standard 12 of the cross-government Service Standard, the code behind our services should be openly available for people to reused and adapt where possible, under an appropriately permissive licence.

Where it is not appropriate to release the code openly you should be able to justify the reason why not. For example, it may relate to unannounced government policy.