OpenStax textbook licensing and customization

Creative Commons licensing

The OpenStax textbook library is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) license. You can use and adapt OpenStax content for noncommercial purposes, including educational use, as long as you follow the license terms.

License Terms

OpenStax content is free to use and adapt, but not for commercial purposes.

You are free to:

  • Share the material in any medium or format
  • Adapt, remix, build upon, and translate the material

Under the following terms:

  • Attribution: You must give appropriate credit to OpenStax, include the book title, and provide a link to the free version of the book
  • NonCommercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes
  • ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license

Attributions

We provide pre-formatted attribution at the bottom of every page in our online books and PDFs. You must include this attribution on every customized page that uses OpenStax content. If you are printing directly from the OpenStax PDF, attribution is already included. For more information on how to attribute OpenStax content, please visit our help article Citing OpenStax Texts.

Commercial use of OpenStax content

OpenStax content may not be used for commercial purposes. If you would like to request permission for commercial use, please complete the OpenStax Content Reuse Request Form.

How to Customize While Following the License

If you plan to adapt or reuse OpenStax content, the following options show common ways instructors can customize materials while complying with the license terms. There is no single way to customize an OpenStax book. Common approaches include:

Links

Instructors may share direct links to specific sections of the online book to reorder or omit content.

Custom Printing

Instructors may:

  • Use third-party custom print services
  • Print and manually modify PDFs
  • Create revised PDFs for students

All customized versions must include proper attribution and follow the CC BY-NC-SA license terms.

Some custom print options are available through OpenStax partners. Pricing and logistics are managed by each provider.

DOCX Files

DOCX files are available for each textbook section on the Instructor Resources page.

You must have an educator account to access these files. To create an educator account, click Login to begin on OpenStax.org.

These files can be used in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, or Google Docs.

When editing DOCX files, be sure to retain attribution and apply the same license to any adaptations.

 

Textbooks