Licence vs License: Noun, Verb and Country Rules

In British, Australian, Irish and New Zealand English, licence is the noun and license is the verb: you need a licence to drive, and the government licenses drivers. In American English, license is used for both the noun and the verb, and licence is not used at all.

That means a British or Australian writer has to think about grammar, while an American writer only needs one spelling. The trickiest part, for everyone, is the related words: licensed, licensing and licensee use an s in every country, even where the noun takes a c.

Quick answer: UK and Australia: licence (noun), license (verb). US: license for both. Everywhere: licensed, licensing, licensee, licensor with an s.

On this page

1. The Rule in One Table
2. Noun vs Verb: How to Tell Them Apart
3. Meanings of the Word
4. Where the Two Spellings Came From
5. Licensed, Licensing, Licensee: Always S
6. Tricky Case: Nouns Used as Modifiers
7. Common Collocations by Country
8. Licence vs Permit vs Certificate
9. 24 Example Sentences
10. US vs UK vs Australia
11. Mistakes to Avoid
12. A memory trick
13. Quiz: Choose the Right Spelling
14. Getting It Right Every Time

The Rule in One Table

This is one of the few spelling pairs where a single country uses both forms with different jobs. If you have read our guide to practice vs practise, you will recognize the same noun/verb split.

Noun vs Verb: How to Tell Them Apart

For British and Australian writers, the real skill is identifying which part of speech you need. Here are some quick tests.

The noun test

If you can put a, the, my or another determiner in front of it, it is a noun and takes a c:

• "She has a licence to sell alcohol."
• "Show me your licence, please."
• "The licence expires in March."

The verb test

If it describes an action and could change tense, it is a verb and takes an s:

• "The council licenses food vendors." (present)
• "The council licensed three new taxis." (past)
• "The council will license the venue." (future)

A useful parallel

British English has a similar pair with advice (noun) and advise (verb), which is easier to hear because the two words sound different. With licence/license, the pronunciation is the same, so you have to rely on grammar. For the pronounced version of the rule, see our guide to advice vs advise.

Meanings of the Word

The noun and verb cover a group of closely related ideas.

As a noun, it means:

• an official permit: a driving licence, a fishing licence, a liquor licence, a broadcasting licence
• a legal right to use something: a software licence, a music licence, a patent licence
• freedom to act: "The manager gave her licence to redesign the process."
• excessive freedom or lack of restraint (formal, somewhat old-fashioned): "Critics warned that liberty could turn into licence."

As a verb, it means:

• to grant official permission: "The state licenses electricians."
• to allow someone to use intellectual property: "The studio licensed the song for its advertisement."

Pronunciation

Both spellings are pronounced LY-suhnss. The c or s makes no audible difference.

Where the Two Spellings Came From

The word came into English in the fourteenth century from Old French licence, from Latin licentia, "freedom" or "permission," based on the verb licere, "to be allowed." The same root gives us licit (lawful) and its opposite illicit.

Early English writers spelled the word both ways. British usage gradually sorted the two spellings by part of speech, following the model of advice/advise and practice/practise. American English, influenced by Noah Webster's push toward simpler spelling, settled on the single form license for both jobs. The same thinking produced American defense and offense, covered in defence vs defense.

Licensed, Licensing, Licensee: Always S

The derived forms trip up even confident writers. Because licensed and licensing are built on the verb, they take an s in every country.

You may see "licenced" on pub signs in Britain or Australia. Some dictionaries record it as a variant, but most editors and style guides treat licensed as the standard spelling everywhere, and it is the safer choice in formal writing.

Tricky Case: Nouns Used as Modifiers

British and Australian writers often slip when the noun sits in front of another noun, because it starts to feel like a describing word. The rule does not change: if the word is still the noun, it keeps its c.

• licence fee, licence holder, licence number, licence conditions (noun + noun, so c)
• licensing authority, licensing laws, licensing hours (built on the verb, so s)

That produces some pairs that look inconsistent but are both correct in British English. A licence agreement and a licensing agreement describe much the same document; the first uses the noun as a modifier, the second uses the -ing form of the verb. Choose one and use it throughout a contract or report rather than alternating.

Software and open-source names

Software licences add a twist. Many well-known open-source licences have official names that use the American spelling, such as the MIT License, the Apache License and the GNU General Public License. Those are proper names, so a British or Australian writer keeps License in the name while using licence for the common noun: "The project is released under the MIT License, a permissive open-source licence." The same principle applies to product names and company documents: copy the owner's spelling exactly, and apply your own rule only to the ordinary word around it.

Common Collocations by Country

A few of these are worth explaining. The UK TV licence is an annual fee that funds the BBC; Australia had a similar broadcast licence fee but abolished it in the 1970s. In the US, the metal plate on a car is a license plate, while British and Australian speakers usually say number plate.

Licence vs Permit vs Certificate

Learners sometimes wonder whether licence is the right word at all. In everyday English, the three words overlap but have different centers of gravity:

• A licence/license gives ongoing permission to do something regulated, usually for a set period: driving, selling alcohol, practicing medicine.
• A permit often covers a specific, limited activity or time: a parking permit, a building permit, a work permit.
• A certificate proves that something has been achieved or checked, such as a qualification or a safety inspection. It does not necessarily grant permission.

So a nurse might hold a certificate showing she completed her training and then a licence (or registration) allowing her to practise. In Australia, healthcare workers usually speak of registration rather than a licence, while in the US, state licensing boards are the norm.

24 Example Sentences

The spelling in each example matches the setting.

Everyday life

1. I finally got my driver's license the week I turned sixteen in Michigan.
2. Have you got your driving licence with you? You'll need it to hire the car in Cornwall.
3. My son passed his driving test in Geelong and now has his P-plate licence.
4. Dad renewed his fishing license before our trip to the Florida Keys.
5. The pub in our village has just got its licence extended until midnight.
6. You'll need to show your licence at the bottle shop if you look under 25.

Workplace and email

7. Hi Tom, our software license renews automatically on 1 January.
8. Please make sure the venue is licensed for live music before we sign anything.
9. The Leeds office needs two more licences for the design software.
10. Our Brisbane team handles licensing agreements with overseas publishers.
11. The company licenses its technology to manufacturers in Ohio and Texas.
12. Could you confirm whether the photographer has licensed these images for commercial use?

Academic and legal

13. The study compared licensing requirements for nurses across five US states.
14. Under the Act, a licence may be suspended if the licensee breaches its conditions.
15. The author takes considerable poetic licence with the historical timeline.
16. Patent holders may license their inventions to other firms in exchange for royalties.
17. The thesis examines how broadcast licences shaped Australian radio in the 1930s.

News-style

18. The state of California will license the first autonomous delivery vehicles next year.
19. A Manchester nightclub has had its licence revoked after repeated safety breaches.
20. Police in Victoria caught an unlicensed driver travelling at 150 km/h.
21. The streaming service licensed the classic series for an undisclosed sum.
22. Ministers are reviewing whether the TV licence fee should be replaced.
23. The New York liquor authority suspended the bar's license for thirty days.
24. Western Australia has tightened licensing rules for firearms dealers.

US vs UK vs Australia

United States

Americans use license for every form: noun, verb and in compounds such as license plate and driver's license. Licence looks foreign to American readers and would normally be corrected. American legal writing, government agencies and newspapers use license consistently.

United Kingdom

British English distinguishes the noun licence from the verb license. You need a driving licence, a TV licence or a premises licence; the local authority licenses pubs and taxis. Writing "driving license" in a British publication would be marked as an American spelling.

Australia

Australian English follows the British rule. Australians carry a driver's licence (with the American-style possessive but the British spelling) and see liquor licence signs on bottle shops. State transport authorities use licence for the noun on official documents. The verb is license, and derived forms like licensed and licensing use s.

Canada

Canadian English officially follows the British noun/verb split, though American license is widespread as a noun. Many Canadian provincial governments use licence on driving documents.

Mistakes to Avoid

❌ I need to renew my driving license, in British English. ✅ I need to renew my driving licence.

❌ The council will licence the new food truck, in British or Australian English. ✅ The council will license the new food truck. (Verb takes s.)

❌ The restaurant is fully licenced. ✅ The restaurant is fully licensed. (Standard spelling everywhere.)

❌ She showed her driver's licence to the officer in Atlanta. ✅ She showed her driver's license to the officer in Atlanta. (American English.)

❌ The licencee must display the permit at all times. ✅ The licensee must display the permit at all times.

❌ The software licence and the software license are both included, in the same document. ✅ Pick the spelling for your audience and keep it consistent.

A memory trick

For British and Australian English, borrow the logic of advice and advise: C is for the thing (noun), S is for the action (verb). You hold a licence in your hand; an authority licenses you to act.

A shorter version: "Noun? C. Verb? S." Then add one footnote for the derived forms: "Licensed always has an s." For American English, there is nothing to remember beyond license with an s.

Quiz: Choose the Right Spelling

1. (US driving test website) Bring your learner's permit to collect your driver's ______. (license / licence)
2. (UK newspaper) The bar lost its ______ after a fight broke out. (license / licence)
3. (Australian council notice) The council will ______ two more food vans on the foreshore. (license / licence)
4. (Any audience) The restaurant is fully ______. (licenced / licensed)
5. (UK publisher) The novel takes poetic ______ with the dates of the war. (license / licence)
6. (Any audience) The ______ must display the permit in a visible place. (licencee / licensee)

Answers

1. license – American English uses s for the noun.
2. licence – British English uses c for the noun.
3. license – In Australian English, the verb takes s.
4. licensed – The adjective/past tense uses s in every country.
5. licence – Noun in British English, so c.
6. licensee – Derived from the verb, so s everywhere.

Getting It Right Every Time

If you write for Americans, use license every time and you are done. If you write for British, Australian, Irish or New Zealand readers, decide whether the word is a noun (licence) or a verb (license), and then use an s for licensed, licensing and licensee regardless. That one grammatical check removes nearly every error in this pair, and it will help with practice/practise as well.