UCSC Genome Bioinformatics

Conditions of Use

The UCSC Genome Browser was created by the Genome Bioinformatics Group of UC Santa Cruz. Software Copyright (c) The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. The software is made available with the following conditions:

  • The Genome Browser and Blat software are free for academic, nonprofit, and personal use. A license is required for commercial use.
  • Please cite us if you use the Genome Browser software or data in a publication or web page.
  • Program-driven use of this software is limited to a maximum of one hit every 15 seconds and no more than 5,000 hits per day.

The sequence and annotation data displayed in the Genome Browser are freely available for any use with the following conditions:

  • Usage restrictions for genome sequence data are noted within the species sections on the Credits page.
  • Some annotation tracks contributed by external collaborators contain data that have specific use restrictions. To check for restrictions associated with a particular annotation data set, review the Genome Browser description page associated with the track. (To display the description page, click on the track's name in the section below the Genome Browser tracks image.)
  • Please credit the data contributor when using Genome Browser data in a publication or web page. In most cases, this information can be found on the Credits page (for genome assemblies) or in the "Credits" section on the track description page (for annotation tracks).

For assistance with questions or problems regarding the UCSC Genome Browser software, database, genome assemblies, or release cycles, click here.