Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• How long will the licence application process take?

  FAQ Topic: General

  If you apply for a non-commercial or low-value licence online, the licence application process should take between 10 and 30 minutes to complete depending on the speed of your connection and how many of our products you want to reproduce.

  If we process your application for a non-commercial or low value licence, it will take us up to 7 working days to send you a licence agreement.

  Commercial applications will usually take up to 20 working days for us to process and offer you a licence agreement.If your application is particularly complicated, this may take longer.We will give you an estimate of the time-scale once we receive your application.

• When can I start copying the material?

  FAQ Topic: General

  You can start copying the material for non-commercial or low value purposes once you receive an email from us attaching your full licence agreement through the online licensing system.

  You can start copying the material for commercial purposes once a signed licence agreement is in place, which has been signed both by you and by us.

• How does UKHO perform against the target times and how many licences does UKHO grant?

  FAQ Topic: General

  Please see this document regarding the UKHO Licensing Activity.

• Can I use a chart extract in my thesis, college report or school work?

  FAQ Topic: Non Commercial

  Please refer to The Copyright Licensing Authority who can provide educational institutions with the comprehensive coverage and rights that staff and students need to be able to use and share published information without the fear and cost of infringing copyright. Their licences have been developed specifically to meet particular needs across the sector and they can offer specific solutions for schools, colleges and universities, whether public or independent.

  • JISC website which offers a national collection of online resources for education and research, including an interactive tool to help make sense of copyright as well as provide resources to manage rights.
  • One of the UKHO’s licensees called SeaZone has sub-licensed Higher Education Funding Council For England (HEFCE) to access and use Marine Data (Marine Digimap) to the Authorised Institutions for Educational purposes. EDINA is funded by the Higher Education funding councils Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), to provide national online services for universities and colleges to offer to their academic staff and students. JISC through Edina offer access to marine mapping through the following links:
    • http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Catalogue/Overview/Index/53
    • http://edina.ac.uk/about/
• Can I use a chart extract as part of my teaching material?

  FAQ Topic: Non Commercial

  Please refer to The Copyright Licensing Authority who can provide educational institutions with the comprehensive coverage and rights that staff and students need to be able to use and share published information without the fear and cost of infringing copyright. Their licences have been developed specifically to meet particular needs across the sector and they can offer specific solutions for schools, colleges and universities, whether public or independent.

  • JISC website which offers a national collection of online resources for education and research, including an interactive tool to help make sense of copyright as well as provide resources to manage rights.
  • One of the UKHO’s licensees called SeaZone has sub-licensed Higher Education Funding Council For England (HEFCE) to access and use Marine Data (Marine Digimap) to the Authorised Institutions for Educational purposes. EDINA is funded by the Higher Education funding councils Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), to provide national online services for universities and colleges to offer to their academic staff and students. JISC through Edina offer access to marine mapping through the following links:
    • http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Catalogue/Overview/Index/53
    • http://edina.ac.uk/about/
• I want access to marine and coastal data for use in geographical information systems?

  FAQ Topic: Non Commercial

  For information on this please contact intellectualproperty@ukho.gov.uk

  Please refer to The Copyright Licensing Authority who can provide educational institutions with the comprehensive coverage and rights that staff and students need to be able to use and share published information without the fear and cost of infringing copyright. Their licences have been developed specifically to meet particular needs across the sector and they can offer specific solutions for schools, colleges and universities, whether public or independent.

  • JISC website which offers a national collection of online resources for education and research, including an interactive tool to help make sense of copyright as well as provide resources to manage rights.
  • One of the UKHO’s licensees called SeaZone has sub-licensed Higher Education Funding Council For England (HEFCE) to access and use Marine Data (Marine Digimap) to the Authorised Institutions for Educational purposes. EDINA is funded by the Higher Education funding councils Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), to provide national online services for universities and colleges to offer to their academic staff and students. JISC through Edina offer access to marine mapping through the following links:
    • http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Catalogue/Overview/Index/53
    • http://edina.ac.uk/about/
• Can I add items to my current copyright licence?

  FAQ Topic: Non Commercial

  If you have obtained a licence online for non-commercial or low-value commercial purposes, you will need to apply again for a new licence agreement as it is not possible to add products to an existing licence. You must ensure that you still meet the Qualifying Criteria for a non-commercial or low-value licence.

• I have returned my draft licence email but an error message appears?

  FAQ Topic: Non Commercial

  The email to accept your draft online licence requires you to cut and paste your licence code into the subject line. If this has not been done an error message will appear. Please reply to the e-mail again, with the licence code in the subject line. Ensure you remove any excess wording in the subject line of return e-mail leaving only licence Acceptance number remaining otherwise this will result in a further error. If you continue to have problems, then please contact us.

• I now have my licence but I need to purchase Tidal or Astronomical & Calendarial material. Where can I buy it from?

  FAQ Topic: Non Commercial

  To purchase UKHO Tidal Data please contact our Tidal Prediction Service.

  To purchase Astronomical & Calendarial Data please contact the HM Nautical Almanac Office.

Still feel like you need to know more information? You can contact us by phone, email or via the Online Enquiry Form (Product Enquiries Only)

You can also visit our Contact Us page where you can provide us with feedback.