Monotype Fonts tracks how your team uses licensed fonts so you can stay aligned with your subscription. This section explains how font licensing works on Monotype Fonts.
Find what you need
Select a topic below to view the related help article.
Topic | Related article |
Overview of Monotype Fonts' licensing workflow | |
Dashboard | |
Fonts for review | |
Add new production font (s) | |
Confirmed production fonts | |
Designers (non-admin users) | |
Reporting | |
Font licensing with Monotype Desktop App | |
Help |
Overview
Font tracking and reporting ensure that fonts are used in compliance with their licensing terms. Although Monotype Fonts supports font usage reporting through quarterly font utilization reports, tracking production font usage in spreadsheets is time‑consuming and complex. Monotype Fonts streamlines this process by eliminating the need for manual tracking and reporting.
As an admin user, you can easily mark, review, approve, or deny production font usage directly in the Monotype Fonts interface. The Font Licensing tab under Manage provides a dedicated License Dashboard, allowing you to efficiently manage fonts that are currently used or planned for use across your organization. And as a non-admin user, you can share your intent to use a font as production font with the admin user.
Note: Monotype encourages you to utilize this functionality and enhance your experience of production font tracking and reporting. This feature is equipped with all the necessary learning resources and email messages to guide you in every possible way. You can also contact our support team or click on the chat icon if required.
What is a font license?
A font license (end-user license agreement or EULA) is a legally binding document authorizing you to use the font software under pre-defined conditions.
Intellectual property law recognizes copyright in font software. So, you need a license from the copyright owner to use font software. The license grants under EULAs may differ for each foundry. You should be careful not to violate the terms of the EULA to avoid legal disputes. Font licenses should be secured properly before using them.
Keeping track of which fonts are licensed for which use cases can be complex and difficult to manage. Your existing inventory may include fonts from different foundries, with different license types and EULA terms.
Monotype Fonts simplifies the process through its standard subscription model that applies to all fonts in Monotype’s library, regardless of whether the font is owned by Monotype or one of our foundry partners.
Note: For details on Monotype Fonts plans, refer to Font Subscription Plans | Monotype Fonts.
What is a production font?
A production font is a font you choose from the Monotype Fonts inventory to use under the terms of your Monotype Fonts license agreement. For example, depending on the licenses you have purchased, you may use this font to create static graphic images, on a web page, or within a software application.
A subscription to Monotype Fonts gives you and your users access to our font inventory for prototyping purposes.
Once content containing the font moves beyond the prototyping phase and you have deployed it in one of the use cases described in your license agreement, the fonts used there will be counted as production fonts.
All the production fonts (either marked or added by you) on Monotype Fonts have 
icon on them. You can hover over this icon to learn more about it.
Note: A font’s production font count could be more than one production font, depending on its tier type. These fonts are identified with a star icon. Hover over the star icon to learn about their tier type and production font count.
Click here to learn more about production fonts.
How font licensing works on Monotype Fonts
Monotype Fonts splits font use into two stages:
Prototyping: Anyone with access to your Monotype Fonts subscription can sync, download, and try fonts in design work.
Production: Once a font is deployed in a finished asset (such as a website, a published design, an application, or a static image) it counts as a production font and must be confirmed against your subscription.
Admin users confirm production fonts every quarter. The list of confirmed production fonts is reported to Monotype as part of your quarterly usage report.
How are user roles defined within font licensing
Font licensing roles define what actions users can take within the font license management workflow, from requesting and using fonts to reviewing approvals and handling compliance reporting.
Each role has clearly defined permissions to ensure proper oversight, accountability, and efficient use of licensed fonts across the organization.
Role | Permissions |
Admin | Marks fonts as production-ready, reviews fonts for production, accepts or denies requests, submits the quarterly licensing report, and receives licensing-related emails. |
Limited Admin | Reviews fonts and accepts or denies production requests. Cannot submit the quarterly report and does not receive licensing-related emails. |
Creative designer / end user/ non-admin user | Syncs, downloads, and uses fonts for design work. Can request that a font be marked as production for admin review. |
This structure ensures designers can work efficiently while maintaining proper review, compliance, and reporting through administrative roles.
Suggested readings