Licence or license: which is correct?
Correct
licence (noun, UK) / license (verb, UK; noun and verb, US)
Avoid
license (as the noun in UK English)
Avoid
licence (any use, in US English)
Summary
Correct: licence (noun, UK) / license (verb, UK; noun and verb, US) — Avoid: license (as the noun in UK English) / licence (any use, in US English). Licence = an official permit (British noun); license = to grant a permit (verb everywhere) and, in American English, also the noun.
Both spellings are correct in their own variety; pick one and use it consistently.
- Part of speech
- noun / verb
- Source
- Oxford / Merriam-Webster
Why
Oxford: in British English the noun is licence (a driving licence) and the verb is license (licensed premises), the same -ce/-se split as practice/practise; Merriam-Webster uses license for both in American English, with licence as a British variant.
Examples
- You need a licence (UK) / license (US) to drive a lorry.
- The council licensed the venue for live music.
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- Checked against
- Merriam-Webster / Oxford
- Spelling authority
- Merriam-Webster · Oxford English Dictionary / Oxford spelling · SCOWL
- Commonly confused and non-standard forms
- 64
- Dictionary
- Hunspell en_US / en_GB / en_AU / en_CA · Dictionary license: MIT AND BSD (SCOWL combined licence)