PolyForm Small Business allows commercial use only under the employee-count cap in the text. Larger companies need a separate license.
On this page
What it does
PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0 lets companies under the headcount threshold in the license use the software commercially. Above that cap, the grant does not apply. Source is available to read. This is a source-available commercial limit, not OSI open source. Read the number in the copy you received; do not guess from a blog.
Pros
- You can read the code and often run it in the ways the vendor listed.
- The limits are in one document instead of a hidden EULA behind a login.
Cons
- Production, SaaS, or company-size limits can appear. Missing one is a contract problem, not a notice miss.
- Buyers treat these rows as commercial terms. Do not list them next to MIT as if they were the same family.
What it allows and requires
Choose a category to see the full grant in one scannable list. Permissions show what the license allows, limits show what it withholds, and obligations show the conditions your release process must satisfy.
Permissions
Private use
Use inside your company, including internal forks, does not by itself trigger distribution duties.
Modify
You can usually read and change the source. Production use after the change date, or in a competing service, is where these licenses bite.
Limits
Hold liable
The authors disclaim warranty. Recipients cannot hold them liable for damages arising from the software, except where law forbids that disclaimer.
Production use
Source-available licenses often delay or restrict production use, especially as a competing hosted service.
Obligations
Include license
Keep the license text with the source you received.
What PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 requires when you ship
PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 is readable source with use limits. The work is to match your use to the written grant, then keep the text on the record so procurement can read it. Do not treat a source-available identifier as OSI-style open source because the code is on GitHub.
You stay inside PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 when your use matches the vendor's written grant, not a hope that public source means OSS.
You keep the license text on the record so procurement can read the actual limits.
You have asked counsel before a production use that looks close to a forbidden production or SaaS clause.
The duties named in PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0
The written grant is the source of the limits. These rows are the usual conditions teams have to match against their actual use, then keep on the record.
Include license
Keep the license text with the source you received.
Things to be aware of
- Assuming public GitHub means the OSI definition. Source available is a different bucket in this catalog.
- Copying clauses from a sibling PolyForm or BUSL file. The numbers in the filename are the grant.
What the PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0 does not do
Search results often flatten PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0 into a slogan. These are the usual misreads. PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 is a grant with conditions, not a permission to skip the paperwork below.
- PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 is not OSI-approved open source. Readable source is not permission to use it any way you like.
- PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 does not become MIT because a README says 'free to use.' Read the grant.
How PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 differs from nearby licenses
These licenses are often confused with PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0, but their release duties differ. Each row summarizes what the license requires when you ship. Open the linked page for the full checklist.
- PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0
- PolyForm Small Business allows commercial use only under the employee-count cap in the text. Larger companies need a separate license.
- PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0
- PolyForm Noncommercial allows non-commercial use only. Source is readable. This is not OSI open source. Paid products need a separate grant.
- BUSL-1.1
- Source available, not open source. Each version converts to an open license on its own Change Date, usually four years after release.
- source-available
- You can read the code. That is not the same as permission to use it any way you like. Source available is not open source.
Common questions about PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0
Answers to common questions about what PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0 requires, when its duties apply, and what evidence belongs with a release.
What is the PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0?
PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0 lets companies under the headcount threshold in the license use the software commercially. Above that cap, the grant does not apply. Source is available to read. This is a source-available commercial limit, not OSI open source. Read the number in the copy you received; do not guess from a blog.
What does PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 require when you ship a product?
You stay inside PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 when your use matches the vendor's written grant, not a hope that public source means OSS. You keep the license text on the record so procurement can read the actual limits. You have asked counsel before a production use that looks close to a forbidden production or SaaS clause.
Is PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 open source?
Not in the OSI sense. PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 is source-available: you can read the code, but the grant restricts how you may use it. Read the actual text.
How is PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 different from PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0?
PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 asks this: PolyForm Small Business allows commercial use only under the employee-count cap in the text. Larger companies need a separate license. PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 asks this: PolyForm Noncommercial allows non-commercial use only. Source is readable. This is not OSI open source. Paid products need a separate grant. Open the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 page for what that license requires when you ship. Do not treat the SPDX ids as interchangeable because the short names look similar.
Where do I record PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 for a buyer?
PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 is recorded as source-available, not OSI-style open source. The catalog still stores the identifier and the license text you attach. Publishing stays blocked until a person on your team confirms the record. SourceTrust does not rewrite the vendor's terms.
Where do I record PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 for a buyer?
PolyForm-Small-Business-1.0.0 is recorded as source-available, not OSI-style open source. The catalog still stores the identifier and the license text you attach.
Publishing stays blocked until a person on your team confirms the record. SourceTrust does not rewrite the vendor's terms.
See also
The hub is the pillar for this cluster. Sibling licenses are the other spokes. Product FAQ links explain how SourceTrust records the duty, not the license text itself.
Practical guidance for procurement review, not legal advice. Confirm high-stakes use with counsel.