Learn how to contribute to Adobe Stock by following our account and submission guidelines, which ensure quality, consistency, and fairness.
Contributing to Adobe Stock means joining a global creative community. These guidelines help you get started and succeed.
Contributor account requirements
Before you submit the content, ensure your Contributor account meets the following requirements.
- Age requirement: You must be 18 years or older.
- Contributor agreement: You must accept the terms of the Contributor agreement, which incorporates account and submission guidelines.
- Tax and payment setup: Ensure your tax information and payment method are correctly entered in your Contributor Portal.
- Set up Adobe ID: Create or use an existing Adobe ID to access your Contributor Portal. Ensure your name, email address, and country of residence are accurate and match your legal documents.
Content submission
Follow these guidelines when preparing your submissions. Each submission you upload strengthens the diversity and innovation of Adobe’s collection. Ensure all the content meets the technical, legal, and creative standards. Before uploading to Adobe Stock, ensure your content meets the following requirements:
- Technically strong: High resolution, well composed, and free of watermarks or compression artifacts.
- Metadata ready: Include accurate titles and keywords that reflect the subject and setting of your content.
- Necessary releases attached: Submit signed model and property releases when required.
The following requirements should be referenced depending on the type of content you are submitting to Adobe Stock:
Legal requirements and guidelines
To help protect your work and the Adobe Stock community, follow the established legal and ethical standards to ensure content is respectful, responsible, and suitable for global use. All Contributors must comply with Adobe Stock content standards. Content that violates these guidelines may be refused or could result in account deactivation.
Intellectual property (IP)
Refer to our complete IP guidelines:
- Don't include logos, brands, or copyrighted designs.
- Avoid famous landmarks or buildings that require property releases.
- Don't mimic well-known artwork, visual styles, or characters.
Metadata Non-compliance
- May not contain logos, names of companies, or brands.
- May not imply the content is a depiction of an actual newsworthy event.
- Artist names, real people, or fictional character names cannot be included in titles, keywords, or used in prompts for Generative AI.
- May not contain or reference the name of artists whose work is still in copyright.
- May not contain or reference names of real known people.
- May not contain or reference fictional characters.
- May not include or reference other creative work, such as “...in the style of...”, “...inspired by...”, “...influenced by...”, “...in the tradition of...”, or “....drawing on...”
Third-party rights guidelines
Content must not infringe on third-party rights, including publicity, privacy, property, cultural, or similar rights. For more details, refer to the third-party rights guidelines.
Public domain content
Adobe Stock does not currently accept public domain content. Public domain content is content where the copyright has expired, or where the content has been dedicated to the public domain.
Fraudulent activity
Our moderation team carefully and consistently reviews all Adobe accounts to maintain the integrity of the collection. Fraudulent activity isn't permitted. This includes any account or content behavior intended to artificially increase sales rankings, manipulate search results, or obtain payments unlawfully. Accounts found engaging in such activity may be suspended or terminated.
Additional requirements and guidelines
Adobe Stock Contributor community standards
A trustworthy marketplace depends on respecting fellow Contributors. All submissions must be original and must not be created using other Adobe Stock Contributors’ work as reference:
- Titles, keywords, prompts, or visual data should not mirror the content of another Contributor.
- Repeatedly creating original works that are based on the visual, concept, composition, or style of another contributor’s portfolio without their consent is prohibited and can result in your content being removed and your account being blocked
Submit distinct content
To maintain quality and discoverability, Contributors should submit diverse, thoughtfully curated content and avoid overly similar submissions. Excessive similarity is a common reason for refusal and can reduce the visibility of your work. Discover the difference between content variations and similar content in this guide.
Hateful or offensive content
Contributors must use respectful, inclusive language in both visuals and metadata. Adobe Stock prohibits content that includes hate, discrimination, or harassment, including material that promotes intolerance or mocks or demeans individuals or groups based on attributes such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.
Minors
Content featuring minors must include a signed model release from a parent or legal guardian. Nudity or suggestive material involving minors is strictly prohibited. All content must be age-appropriate, non-sexualized, and non-exploitative. Adobe may remove content or terminate accounts that violate these rules.
Nudity
Submitted content must not contain nudity or any sexually explicit, pornographic, or immoral material involving individuals of any age.
Self-harm
Don't submit content that depicts self-inflicted harm or injury.
Violence
Don't submit content that depicts or promotes violence, including threatened or actual actions against individuals or groups that may cause physical injury, death, or psychological harm.
Gore
Don't submit content containing excessive gore, including blood, bodily fluids, mutilation, or dismemberment of humans or animals.
Profanity and language
Don't submit content containing offensive language or gestures, including profanity, obscenities, or culturally insensitive terms. This applies to words or imagery that are religious, sexual, racial, derogatory, or targeting protected groups. All visuals and metadata must use respectful, inclusive language; offensive content will be refused.
Content removal and account termination
To maintain a safe, ethical, and high-quality space for all Contributors, violations of these guidelines are taken seriously. Content that does not comply with our legal, ethical, or collection standards may be removed, and accounts may be suspended or terminated. Review and follow the guidelines carefully before submitting content.
Your creativity helps shape the collection and inspires customers around the world. Continue submitting original, thoughtful, and high-quality content, and grow with Adobe Stock.
