Six months after a deal closes, someone asks "wait, can they still be running that?" — and the honest answer is usually "I think so? I'd have to check the DMs." A license certificate exists so that question has a real answer instead of a guess.
What it actually is
A license certificate is a written, verifiable record of the specific rights granted on one piece of content. Not a contract for the whole deal — just the license itself, isolated and checkable:
- Usage type — organic, paid ads, whitelisting, or full buyout.
- Duration — a fixed term (say, 6 months) or perpetual.
- Exclusivity — whether the creator is locked out of competitors for the term, and for how long.
That's it. Three facts, always checkable, instead of three facts buried somewhere in a conversation from months ago.
Why a DM agreement isn't enough
A verbal or DM-based "yeah that's fine" works right up until it doesn't — someone forgets the exact term, a screenshot gets lost, or two people remember the conversation slightly differently. None of that is anyone acting in bad faith; it's just what happens to unwritten agreements over time.
The certificate is the tiebreaker. When a question comes up about what's allowed, the certificate answers it — no need to reconstruct a conversation from memory or scroll back through months of messages.
Who it protects, and how
For the creator: proof of exactly what you agreed to, so a use beyond that scope is easy to identify and push back on — instead of an ambiguous "well I thought that was included."
For the brand: clarity on what they're actually allowed to do, so there's no risk of accidentally running content past its licensed scope.
How it works on Plug
Every license granted on a Plug deal — a piece of content, a whitelisting term, a buyout — generates a certificate automatically from the terms you agreed. No separate paperwork to remember to create; it's part of closing the deal itself. Combined with Plug's takedown enforcement, a use that runs past what's certified is something you can actually act on, not just complain about.
Read content licensing explained for the full picture of what gets licensed, price your next usage right with the Usage-Rights Calculator, or see content licensing on Plug directly.