NOAA/NWS: information on NWS web servers is in the public domain — no attribution required, provided "as is"

reference·Scope: business·Status: current

Created 2026-05-22

Quote (National Weather Service disclaimer):

"The information on National Weather Service Web servers and Web sites is in the public domain."

Source: https://www.weather.gov/disclaimer

Confidence: Verified.

Important "as is" clause: NWS data is provided as-is with all warranties of merchantability/fitness-for-purpose disclaimed. Reproduce this disclaimer in any derivative product.

Legal frame: U.S. federal government works are public domain under 17 USC §105. But this applies ONLY to federal works — state and local government works carry their own (often more restrictive) terms. NOAA name and visual identifier remain trademarked; cannot imply endorsement.

NOAA Coast Survey (2025+) adopted Creative Commons licensing for external-source data — CC0 default, CC-BY 4.0 with attribution. Federal public-domain default still holds for NOAA-authored works.

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