Draft upload wizard, first entry page

What you may upload

Any file that is free content, i.e. that is legally free both for use on Wikipedia and for re-use everywhere else. In particular:

A work that you have created entirely yourself and that you own the copyrights for and are willing to donate to the public
A work created by someone else, where you can prove that the author has explicitly released it under a fully free license (e.g. "Creative Commons by-sa" or "GFDL")
A work that is very old, old enough to have fallen into the public domain
Certain other cases of works in the public domain (see article for details)

You are very welcome to contribute such a file. However, please consider uploading it not here on the English Wikipedia, but on the Wikimedia Commons. That way it will be automatically useable both here and in all other Wikipedias in all languages.
Uploading on Commons is just as easy as uploading here on the English Wikipedia. You don't need to learn any new techniques or register any new username.

Yes, upload on Commons or: Learn more about uploading here

What you can't upload

Anything that doesn't fit one of the conditions above, or one of the special exceptions in the next section. In particular, this goes for:

Any file that you have simply found somewhere, and where you don't know who created it or you can't prove that the creator has released it under a free license. This applies to most images out on the web. Just because somebody put them on a freely accessible website does not mean they are free for you to take! Please don't try to upload them.
Any file taken from a commercial news source, especially files credited to commercial agencies such as Reuters, AP, or Getty Images.
Any file that you created but which is derived from some other work that is itself copyrighted and not your own, for instance a screenshot taken out of a movie or video, or a photograph that you have edited or cropped, or a photograph of a copyrighted painting or artwork
Promotional images showing persons who are still alive, or groups of people that still exist, even if the image was released for publicity by the people in question themselves. Unless their owners are willing to release them under a fully free license that allows free re-use for any purpose, we won't take such images but prefer to wait until someone creates a truly free one.

Please don't upload any of these.

Also please don't try sneaking in any such images under a false claim that they are your own. We really, really mean it. If you upload files under false copyright claims, you might get blocked from editing.

Things you may upload, under certain conditions

Where it is unavoidable, Wikipedia sometimes allows the use of works even though they are copyrighted and not fully free, by way of exception, if they meet the conditions called fair use in US copyright law, and if they are indispensable for an article. The rules for this are laid out in detail in the page about Non-Free Content (NFC).

If you decide to upload a file of this kind, you need to pay careful attention to the rules described on the WP:NFC page. You must also be careful about filling in all information about your source and about the owner and author of the image, and you must be prepared to provide a brief written justification of why you think your file meets the requirements. This justification is also known as a fair use rationale (FUR).

Wikipedia has a policy of trying to use as little of this kind of content as possible, so please be prepared that your upload might come under some scrutiny from other editors and don't be upset if somebody thinks it should be deleted again. Sometimes it can be difficult to work out whether a given file meets the requirements.

There are a few cases where the use of such files is considered more or less a routine matter and you can rely on ready-made tags that provide the necessary rationale for you:

For an article about an organization, company or similar entity, you may upload the entity's logo if you need to display it at the top of the article. Go to special upload form
For an article about a work of art, such as a famous modern painting or a very famous historic photograph, you may upload a small-scale reproduction of the work itself. Go to special upload form
For an article about a book, a music album, a movie, a video game, a TV show or similar items, you may upload a representative piece of cover art, e.g. the book's cover, the movie's theatrical release poster, the show's title screen etc. Go to special upload form
For an article about a person who is no longer alive (such that new free images of them can no longer be created), you may upload a portrait photograph, provided you can demonstrate that free alternative images of the person in question do not exist, and the use of the image does not damage the commercial interests of somebody who might own it. Go to special upload form

There are also other cases where a non-free file may be legitimate. Examples include:

a reproduction of an artwork, if it is necessary to illustrate an article that discusses the style of the artist.
a small number of screenshots from a movie or TV program, when it is necessary to help the reader understand an article that discusses the movie's style, techniques, special effects or similar issues
a short sound sample from a song or piece of music, if it is necessary to illustrate the article on the song
an historic photograph, if it is necessary to make an historic event understood

In these and similar cases, it is crucial that you provide an individual explanation what exactly it is that you need the file for: what point in the article is it meant to illustrate? Why is it necessary for the reader to see this illustration in order to understand the article?

Go to upload form

Uploading a free file

Thank you for contributing a free file to Wikipedia.
However, it will be even more useful if you upload it not here but on Commons instead, so people on other wikis can use it too. Please consider uploading it there.

If you prefer to upload it here on the English Wikipedia only, please go ahead below.

This page is for uploading free files, i.e. files that are legally free both for use on Wikipedia and for re-use everywhere else. Please use it only when you know for sure that this applies to your file. Do not use it if you just copied the file somewhere from the web or from some other publication, unless you can point to an explicit, free release statement by its author.

This file is entirely my own work. I have created it, own the copyrights to it and am willing to donate it under a free license. By "entirely", we mean "entirely". If you copied, cropped, extracted or otherwise adapted this from some other work that isn't yours and that is itself copyrighted by somebody else, then you can't treat it as your own work. In some cases, this also applies in the case of a photograph of a copyrighted artwork, such as a statue.	Go to upload
This file is from a free published source. I found this on a website or in a publication where its author has placed it explicitly under a free license, such as {{cc-by-sa}} or {{GFDL}}. You will need to provide a link to the exact page where the file was found, so the licensing statement can be confirmed. Please note that many websites, such as "Panoramio" or "Flickr", contain a mixture of both free and non-free files, so it is crucial to check in each individual case. Most sites out on the web, even when they are freely accessible, are not freely licensensed in this sense.	Go to upload
This file was given to me by its owner. The owner of this file has provided it to me and asked or allowed me to use it on Wikipedia. I can demonstrate that the owner is willing to release it under a fully free license, so that it can be used not just by Wikipedia but elsewhere and for other purposes too. It is important that you make sure the owner is okay with this kind of free release. If they merely told you you could use the file "on Wikipedia", that is unfortunately not enough. You might be required to provide proof of the owner's agreement, for instance by means of an e-mail sent by them to "permissions-en (at) wikimedia.org".	Go to upload
This work is old enough to be in the public domain. This is a very old photograph, or a photographic reproduction of an old painting, drawing, print etc. It was never copyrighted by anybody, or its original copyright has expired. I have ascertained when and where it was created and published and can point to a source for it, and I have checked that it is now in the public domain. In many cases, this applies if the work was first published before 1923, and/or its original author has been dead for more than 70 years. Unfortunately, the exact rules of when a work's copyright expires can vary a lot, depending on the country in which it was was created and/or published. If in doubt, check the public domain page or ask at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions.	Go to upload
This work is in the public domain for some other reason. This file was produced by the US federal government, whose works are never copyrighted; is an official image such as a state's flag, coat of arms, banknote etc., from a country where such items are considered public domain consists only of very simple graphics, such as individual letters, written words or simple geometrical shapes There might be yet other reasons why something might be in the public domain. If in doubt, check the public domain page or ask at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions.	Go to upload

Uploading your own work

You declare that this work is entirely your own. You created it yourself, and it is not based on any other work copyrighted by anybody else. In some cases, you might also own the copyright of a work not because you created it yourself, but for instance because you inherited it from somebody else. In such a case, please use one of the fields below to explain who the actual creator was and how you came to own it. You are releasing this image under a free license, so that anybody who wants can use it, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, for any purpose. You have the choice between several different licenses, some of which will impose the obligation on the re-user to credit you as the author.
Choose a license*:	[dropdown box]
Please provide a brief description of this file. What is it an image of?
Description*:	[text box]
When was this work originally created? (Please provide a date in YYYY-MM-DD format, if possible)
Date*:	[text box]
Please provide a brief description of how you created this work. If it is a photograph: where and how did you take it? If it is a diagram, map or other graphical work: what data is it based on? What is the source of the data? What software did you use to create it?
Mode of creation:	[text box]
If you have previously published this same work also somewhere else (for instance on your own Flickr account), then please state it here, to avoid later misunderstandings.
Previous publication:	[text box]

Uploading work from a free published source

You found this work in an external published source, for instance a website such as Flickr. You now need to provide precise documentation of the source you found it, and of the licensing conditions its original author released it under. If the source is a website, please don't link directly to the file, but to the html page where the file can be seen in its context. If the source is a print source, please provide full bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, year, pages etc.)
Source:*	[text box]
Please name the original author of this work.
Author:*	[text box]
Please provide a link or source description of where in the original publication the author's licensing statement can be found, unless it's clearly visible on the same page as the file itself:
Source for licensing statement:	[text box]
Please select the exact licensing condition chosen by the original author:
Select a license*:	[dropdown box]
Please provide a brief description of this file. What is it an image of?
Description*:	[text box]
When was this work originally created? (Please provide a date in YYYY-MM-DD format, if possible)
Date*:	[text box]

Uploading a work provided by somebody else

The author of this work gave it to you, together with the permission to publish it under a free license. Please remember it is crucial that it is a fully free license, not one merely for Wikipedia alone, or merely for "non-commercial" or "educational" use.
Author:*	[text box]
Please state how the owner/author gave this file to you, and in what form they confirmed their licensing agreement. Remember that somebody might ask you to provide proof of this agreement. In that case, you will need to ask the owner to send a brief statement of confirmation to our e-mail volunteer service at "permissions-en (at) wikimedia.org", or provide a statement to the same effect on their own website.
Licensing agreement:	[text box]
Please select the exact licensing condition chosen by the original author:
Select a license*:	[dropdown box]
Please provide a brief description of this file. What is it an image of?
Description*:	[text box]
When was this work originally created? (Please provide a date in YYYY-MM-DD format, if possible)
Date*:	[text box]
If the owner has previously published this same work also somewhere else (for instance on their own website), then please state it here, to avoid later misunderstandings.
Previous publication:	[text box]

Uploading a work whose copyright has expired

This work is old enough that its copyright has expired. Please note that this applies to original 2-dimensional works, such as photographs, and to digital reproductions (photographs or scans) of original 2-dimensional works such as paintings, drawings, prints, posters, or book pages. In all these cases, the only "work" in question whose copyright needs to be considered is the original 2-dimensional work. However, in cases of photographs of 3-dimensional works such as sculptures, there are two potential copyrights to consider: that of the original artist and that of the photographer.
Please provide your immediate source for this file, i.e. the website or printed work you found it in:
Immediate source:*	[text box]
Please name the original author/creator of this work. In the case of authors who lived in the early 20th century, please try to also provide the dates of their birth and death if you can (because PD status sometimes is dependent on this information).
Author:*	[text box]
Please state the date when this work was first created, and (if different) the date when it was first published. For works first published in print, try to give as much of the complete bibliographical information of the first publication as you can.
Creation date:*	[text box]
Originally published (source and date):*	[text box]
Please select the correct statement according to which this work has fallen into the public domain
Public domain status:	[dropdown box]
Please provide a brief description of this file. What is it an image of?
Description*:	[text box]

Uploading a logo

This upload form will create a suitable description page for a non-free logo of an organization (company, club, corporation, etc.), assuming the typical case that it will be used only in the article about that organization, as the organization's principal logo displayed near the top of the page (typically in the infobox).

In the rare cases where you might need the logo for any other purpose (e.g. if there is a compelling reason to display and discuss this logo in more than one article, or to display more than one logo on the same page), please do not use this upload form but go to the general non-free content upload form at [...]

Source:
Date:
Organization:

Uploading cover art

This upload form will create a suitable description page, with a fair-use rationale, for a piece of cover art of a creative work such as a book, movie, CD etc.

This applies only to the typical case where the image will be displayed in exactly one article, dedicated to the work in question, and will be displayed as the primary means of visual identification of the work near the top of the article (typically in an infobox).

If you have a compelling reason to use this image for any other purpose, for instance if you wish to use it in an article other than that about the work itself, or if you have some special reason to discuss more than one cover image on the same page, please don't use this form but go to the general non-free content upload form at [...]. Please note that it is normally not acceptable to use images of this kind in articles that merely mention the work in passing, or in mere lists of work.

Source:
Author/owner:
Date:
Type of work:
Type of cover art:

Uploading a non-free portrait of a deceased person

Immediate source:
Original creator:
Date of original creation:
Original published source/date:
Description:
In the case of people who lived during the early/mid 20th century: please explain why you think no older photograph exists that might have come into the public domain by now and could serve as an alternative.
In the case of people who lived until recently: please explain why you think there is little or no chance to find somebody who has another image of this person and might be willing to release it under a free license.
Please explain why you think our use of this file will not have a negative impact on any commercial interests of its owner(s).
If you wish to use more than one image of this person, explain why this is necessary and what particular contribution this image makes towards the article.Please note that it is normally not acceptable to use multiple images merely in order to show the natural ageing process of a person across different stages of their lives, or to show multiple images merely because they are contemporary with several important events in the life of a person.

Uploading general non-free works

This upload form will help you create an image description page for a non-free file together with a suitable non-free content rationale. Please read our policy on non-free content to understand what the issue is about this kind of content. There is also a help page about how to write a good non-free content rationale at Non-free use rationale guideline. However, please don't just copy a blanket rationale from somewhere. It is imperative that you write an explanation that refers specifically and in concrete terms to this file and to the exact purpose you need it for.

Do not be led to think that a good rationale has to be complicated and long-winded and has to sound like legalese. A good rationale is a simple statement in plain words that simply describes what you wish to do with this image and why you think it is necessary and legitimate to use it.

Immediate source:
Original creator:
Date of original creation:
Original published source/date:
Description: what does this image show:
Please explain what issue in the article will be illustrated through this image.
Please explain why the presence of this image will be necessary for the reader to understand the article and why its absence would be detrimental to this understanding.
Please explain why this purpose cannot be fulfilled through another, freely licensed illustration that might yet be created or found.
Please explain why you believe our use of this image will not have a negative impact on its owner's commercial opportunities.
If you are using several pieces of non-free content in the same context, please explain why it is necessary to use as much as you are using.
Please remember that non-free images should normally be scaled down to a fairly small size. If necessary, please explain why you think this image needs to be as large as it is now.