Font licensing
How font licensing works and what you need to know before using a font in your documents.
Fonts are software, and like any software, they come with a license that governs how they can be used. Using a font without the right to do so is a licensing violation, regardless of whether you downloaded it for free.
Format's font policy
Every font Format provides is licensed under a permissive open-source license. This means you can use them freely in your documents for any lawful purpose, including commercial use.
Why licensing matters
Many common fonts you encounter day-to-day are not free to use. They are proprietary, owned by a company, and bundled with an operating system or software product for use within that product only.
Apple fonts such as San Francisco, New York, and Helvetica Neue are licensed exclusively for use on Apple platforms. Extracting the font files and embedding them in a PDF distributed outside of Apple's ecosystem violates Apple's license terms.
Apple Color Emoji is similarly restricted. It is proprietary to Apple and cannot be redistributed or embedded in third-party products without explicit permission.
Windows system fonts such as Segoe UI, Calibri, and Arial (the version bundled with Windows) are licensed for use on Windows only, not for redistribution.
The same applies to fonts bundled with design tools such as Adobe Fonts and Figma. A subscription gives you access to use them within that product, not to extract and embed them in documents you distribute.
If you use one of these fonts without the appropriate license, you are responsible for any consequences.
What to use instead
OFL fonts
The SIL Open Font License (OFL) is the most widely used open-source font license. It lets you use, study, modify, and distribute fonts freely, including in commercial products. The only restriction is that you cannot sell the fonts themselves in isolation.
Most fonts available on Google Fonts, Fontsource, and in Format's own font catalog are licensed under the OFL.
Purchased fonts
If you need a specific typeface that isn't available under an open license, purchase a license from the foundry. Most font licenses include a web embedding or PDF embedding tier. Make sure the license you purchase covers the distribution method you intend to use.
Using Fontsource
Fontsource is a convenient way to use Google Fonts and other open-source typefaces as npm packages. Always check the license listed for each font before using it.
Most fonts in the Fontsource collection use the SIL Open Font License, v1.1. Some use the Apache 2.0 License. The Ubuntu fonts use the Ubuntu Font License v1.0. Each of these permits free use in commercial products.