Copyright-safe documentary footage comes from public-domain archives and from libraries with free licences: Wikimedia Commons, NASA, the Internet Archive, Openverse, Pexels and Pixabay. Free still comes with rules. Check each file's licence, credit it when the licence asks you to, and keep a list of every clip you use. Never use clips from films, TV or other YouTube videos.
This guide explains the licence types in plain words, what each library allows (quoted from its own licence page), what to avoid, what to do when a public-domain clip gets claimed, and how to keep a credits file.
This is practical guidance from people who source footage every day, not legal advice. Licence pages change: we checked every one quoted here on 30 October 2026.
"Free to use" is not one licence
Before the libraries, the labels. Every file you find will carry one of these, and they mean different things.
| Licence | What you may do | What you must do |
|---|---|---|
| Public domain (expired copyright, US government works, Public Domain Mark, CC0) | Anything, including monetized videos | Nothing by law; crediting the source is still good practice |
| CC BY | Use, edit and monetize | Credit the author, name the licence and link to it |
| CC BY-SA (share-alike) | Use, edit and monetize | Credit as for CC BY; a changed version must be shared under the same licence |
| Pexels and Pixabay licences | Use, edit and monetize | No credit required; don't resell the file unchanged; rules on people and trademarks |
| CC BY-NC (non-commercial) | Non-commercial use only | Avoid on a monetized channel |
| CC BY-ND (no derivatives) | Use only unchanged | Avoid: cropping, zooming or re-cutting changes the work |
| Editorial or rights-managed | Only what you pay for | Not free: news-agency and stock-agency footage needs a paid licence |
The safest files for a monetized channel are public domain, CC BY, and the Pexels and Pixabay licences. Share-alike files are usable, but if you edit one, the edited version carries the same licence; when in doubt, choose a public-domain or CC BY alternative for anything you change.
The libraries, one by one
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons holds millions of historical photos, maps, scans and some video. It is the best source for history and geography. Each file page lists its author and licence; many are public domain, many are CC BY or CC BY-SA.
- Credit the original creator, which may not be the person who uploaded the file. The reuse guide says to follow any attribution the creator specified and to identify the licence.
- The Wikimedia Foundation gives no warranty that a file's licence is correct, so treat the licence like any other source and check it.
- Using a photo of a person commercially can need the person's consent as well as the photographer's, and trademarks are a separate right.
NASA
NASA's archive covers launches, missions, Earth from orbit, planets and telescopes. NASA's media guidelines say its images and video "generally are not subject to copyright in the United States" and that "NASA should be acknowledged as the source of the material".
- Don't suggest NASA endorses your channel or a product.
- The NASA insignia and logotype "are not in the public domain".
- Some images on NASA sites belong to third parties and are marked with their owner's name; those are not free to reuse.
- Identifiable people, including astronauts, can raise privacy and publicity rights in promotional uses.
Internet Archive and the Prelinger Archives
The Internet Archive hosts old newsreels, educational and industrial films. Not everything uploaded there is free: only use items whose page shows a clear public-domain mark or Creative Commons licence. The Prelinger Archives are the best-known collection. The Archive's help page says the films are available for reuse "according to the Creative Commons licenses, if any" on each film's page, and that credit is appreciated but not required. Its suggested credit line is "Archival footage supplied by Internet Archive (at archive.org) in association with Prelinger Archives." Written licence agreements and high-quality masters are sold through Getty Images.
Openverse
Openverse is a search engine for openly licensed images and audio from many collections. It saves time, but it is a search engine: open the original page of each result and confirm the licence there before you use it.
Pexels
Pexels has modern video and photos: cities, nature, people, oceans. Its licence says all photos and videos "are free to use", that credit "is not necessary but always appreciated", and that you may modify them. You may not sell unaltered copies, show identifiable people "in a bad light or in a way that is offensive", imply that people or brands in the footage endorse you, redistribute the files on other stock sites, or use them in a trademark.
Pixabay
Pixabay is similar: free use, no attribution required, and you may modify the content. It prohibits selling content on a standalone basis, commercial use of recognisable trademarks in relation to goods and services, immoral, illegal or misleading uses, and use in a trademark. It also notes that "It is your responsibility to check whether you require the consent of a third party", for example a recognisable person or building.
Which library for which topic
| Topic | Start with | Then try |
|---|---|---|
| Space and science | NASA | Wikimedia Commons |
| History (before about 1930) | Wikimedia Commons | Internet Archive public-domain films |
| History (20th century) | Internet Archive (Prelinger, US government films) | Wikimedia Commons, US National Archives files on Commons |
| Geography and places | Wikimedia Commons (maps, aerial photos) | Pexels and Pixabay (modern cities, landscapes) |
| Nature and animals | Pexels and Pixabay | Wikimedia Commons |
| Biography | Wikimedia Commons (portraits, archive photos) | Internet Archive |
What to avoid
- Clips from other YouTube videos, including "free" compilations and other people's uploads of public-domain footage, whose edits and narration are theirs.
- TV, news broadcasts, films and trailers. Short clips are not automatically allowed.
- Google Images and social media. Finding a picture online tells you nothing about its licence.
- "Fair use" as a plan. Fair use is a US legal defence that is judged case by case; it is not a permission. It can protect commentary on a clip, but background footage in a documentary is weak ground.
- AI images presented as real archive footage. A realistic AI image of a real event must be disclosed on YouTube (see the monetization guide), and passing it off as archive footage misleads viewers.
Music and sound effects
Music is checked even more strictly than pictures, because almost every commercial track is registered with Content ID. Use music made for reuse: YouTube's own Audio Library in YouTube Studio offers music and sound effects you can use in YouTube videos, and it shows next to each track whether the description must credit it. Stock music sites with a clear licence work too. Never use a track because you bought it or found it on another video; owning a copy is not a licence.
Keep music low under the narration. A documentary is carried by the voice, and loud music both tires viewers and makes clean edits harder.
When a public-domain clip gets claimed
Public-domain footage is free for everyone, including companies that put it in their own videos and register those videos with Content ID. Your upload can then be matched and claimed, even though you used the original, free source. This is why the credits file matters: it holds the link and licence for every clip.
YouTube lets you dispute a claim in YouTube Studio. Valid reasons include having all the necessary rights to the content, and believing the video was misidentified. YouTube also lists reasons that are not valid: giving credit to the owner, owning a copy, and not monetizing the video. A dispute should point to the original public-domain or licensed source.
Keep a credits file for every video
For each clip, note what it shows, the source, the author, the licence and the link. Paste the list into the video description; it satisfies CC BY and CC BY-SA, and it is your evidence in a dispute. Here is part of a real credits file from a VidGenn video about the Everglades:
| Clip | Author | Licence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pa-hay-okee, River of Grass | Reinhard Link | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Wikimedia Commons_-_Pa-hay-okee_-_River_of_Grass_(15673680998).jpg) |
| Air boat along the Tamiami Trail | Fred Ward (US National Archives) | Public domain | Wikimedia Commons |
| Everglades National Park, aerial view | Marek Ślusarczyk | CC BY 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Kissimmee River restoration | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | Public domain | Wikimedia Commons |
How VidGenn picks footage
VidGenn searches only Pexels, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons, NASA, Openverse and public-domain items on the Internet Archive. It never takes clips from YouTube, TV or films. For each sentence of the script it searches these libraries, ranks the results against what the sentence says, and places the best match; in the editor you can swap any clip for another licensed option before rendering.
Every finished video comes with a credits file in the format above. When no real footage fits a sentence, VidGenn can use an AI-generated illustration instead, and the credits file says so ("no real footage of those moments is implied"). Review those shots before you publish, and use YouTube's disclosure setting if one shows a realistic version of a real event.
Checklist before you publish
- Every clip comes from a library above, not from YouTube, TV, film or a web search.
- You opened each file's own page and read its licence.
- No NonCommercial (NC) or NoDerivatives (ND) files.
- Credits for every CC BY and CC BY-SA file are in the description.
- No logos or recognisable people used in a way that suggests endorsement.
- Realistic AI shots of real events are disclosed in YouTube Studio.
- The credits file is saved with the project, in case of a claim.