# License

Sovrium is released under the **Business Source License 1.1 (BSL 1.1)**. This page summarizes what that means in practice. The authoritative terms are in the [`LICENSE.md`](https://github.com/sovrium/sovrium/blob/main/LICENSE.md) file at the root of the repository.

:::callout
The Business Source License is **not** an open-source license today, but the Licensed Work automatically converts to a true open-source license on the Change Date. Until then, every feature is free to use in self-hosted mode — there is no paid edition, no license keys, and no feature gates.
:::

## What you can do

You may use Sovrium for **any purpose**, with a single restriction described below. Permitted uses explicitly include:

- Internal business applications for your organization
- Client deployments where the client self-hosts and controls the software
- Non-commercial personal projects
- Educational and research purposes
- Contributing improvements back to the project

## The one restriction

You may **not** use Sovrium to provide a hosted or managed service to third parties where Sovrium — or a substantial portion of its functionality — provides the primary value of that service.

"Third parties" means individuals or organizations other than you, your employees, your contractors working solely on your behalf, or your wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Restricted uses (which require a separate commercial license) include:

- Offering "Sovrium Cloud Hosting" as a service to customers
- Embedding Sovrium as the core feature of a SaaS platform offered to third parties
- Providing managed Sovrium instances to customers as a commercial offering
- White-labeling Sovrium and selling it as a hosted service

## Change Date

On **2030-06-02** — four years from this version's release — the license automatically converts to the **Apache License, Version 2.0**. From that date, the corresponding version of Sovrium is fully open source.

## Copyright

The Licensed Work is Copyright (c) 2025-2026 ESSENTIAL SERVICES. Every source file carries the BSL 1.1 header.

## Commercial licensing

If your use falls under the restriction above, a commercial license is available. Contact **license@sovrium.com**.

## See also

- [Trademark](/en/docs/trademark) — how the "Sovrium" name and logo may be used
- [Contributing](/en/docs/contributing) — how to propose changes