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Your photo was removed from Instagram, YouTube or Etsy after a copyright complaint — and you know the complaint is wrong. You took the photo, or you have a licence for it, or the claim names the wrong file entirely. A DMCA counter notice is the formal reply that can put it back.
Direct answer: A DMCA counter notice is a statement asking a platform’s designated agent to restore content removed after a copyright takedown. If it contains the six elements required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), the platform must forward it to the claimant and restore your photo or video within 10 to 14 business days, unless the claimant has filed a court action.
A DMCA counter notice is a legal document, not a complaint form. It is a statement made under penalty of perjury, it hands your name and address to the person who reported you, and it includes your consent to be sued in a federal court. Used correctly, it is the fastest way to reverse a wrongful removal. Used carelessly, it can invite the very lawsuit you wanted to avoid. This guide walks through when to file, what to include, how each major platform handles it, and a worked example — including how reverse image search helps you prove the photo is yours before you sign anything.
What Is a DMCA Counter Notice?
A DMCA counter notice is a written statement sent to a service provider’s designated agent, asking the provider to restore material that was removed or disabled in response to a copyright takedown notice. It is the second half of the notice-and-takedown system created by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a United States law, and it exists to correct mistakes: the law gives copyright owners a fast way to get material taken down, and it gives the person whose material was removed a fast way to get it put back.
The process works because of the deal the DMCA makes with platforms. Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g), a provider that removes material in good faith after a takedown notice is protected from liability — and when it receives a valid counter notice, it must tell the original complainant that the material will be restored in 10 business days, then restore it no sooner than 10 and no later than 14 business days later, unless the complainant first notifies the platform that they have filed a court action. A provider that follows this procedure is not liable for restoring the material, which is why the big platforms track the timeline closely.
Three things make a counter notice different from an ordinary appeal. First, it is sworn: you state under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief the removal was a mistake or misidentification. Second, it is shared: the platform must send a copy to the person who filed the takedown, including your name, address and telephone number. Third, it carries a jurisdictional consent: you agree to the jurisdiction of a federal district court and to accept service of process from the claimant. Those three features are what make platforms take it seriously — and what make it a poor choice for anyone who is not sure of their position.
The DMCA is a United States law, but the procedure still matters if you are in the UK. YouTube, Instagram and Etsy are US companies, and the counter-notice forms on your account are the same wherever you live. The UK has no statute that works exactly like section 512, so a UK creator disputing a removal on a US platform uses the platform’s DMCA process, not a UK one. If the dispute is about content hosted only on a UK service, different notice-and-takedown rules apply, and you should get advice rather than assume the DMCA clock is running.
Our guide to sending a DMCA takedown for stolen photos covers the other side of this process — what happens when you are the person reporting a theft. This article is for the person on the receiving end.
Should You File a DMCA Counter Notice?
Before you write anything, work through this checklist honestly. A DMCA counter notice is only for removals you believe in good faith were a mistake or a misidentification. If you cannot tick the first box, stop and consider your other options instead.
- You created the work yourself. You pressed the shutter, drew the design, or shot the video, and the takedown came from someone who does not own it — a former collaborator, a competitor, or an account falsely claiming your original work.
- You have a licence or permission. You bought a licence, were given written permission, or used the material under a licence such as Creative Commons that allows your use. Keep the licence terms and any correspondence ready.
- The wrong material was identified. The notice targeted content that does not contain the claimed work at all, or it swept your lawful material in alongside an allegedly infringing item.
- Your use is fair use or fair dealing. Fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107 is not infringement. In Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. (9th Cir. 2015), the Ninth Circuit held that copyright holders must consider fair use before sending a takedown. A fair use position can support a counter notice, but fair use is fact-specific and courts weigh four factors, so be realistic about how strong your case is.
- You are prepared to be sued. By filing, you consent to federal court jurisdiction and to accept service of process. Ask yourself whether you are ready to defend the use in litigation if the claimant files a court action instead of letting the clock run out.
- You have not actually infringed. If the claim is right — you used someone else’s photo without permission — a counter notice will not help. Under § 512(f), anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material was removed by mistake is liable for resulting damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees.
If you are unsure, the safer routes are to ask the claimant for a retraction, to re-edit and re-upload only material you clearly own, or to get legal advice before signing a sworn statement. On YouTube, for example, you can also wait 90 days for a copyright strike to expire once you have completed Copyright School, according to YouTube’s own help page. A counter notice is the right tool when you are confident the removal was wrong — not a way to test whether it was.
Build Your Evidence Pack Before You File
A counter notice is a claim about facts, so gather the facts first. The strongest filings are the ones where the evidence was collected before the form was opened. Spend an hour on this step; it is what separates a counter notice that gets restored from one that gets challenged.
Start with proof of authorship. Keep the original file with its metadata intact — the RAW file, the unedited export, or the layered design file — plus the date it was created. Screenshots of your camera roll, Lightroom catalogue or cloud backup showing the file’s creation date are useful. If you registered the work, keep the registration certificate: our guide to registering copyright for your photographs explains why registration strengthens every later step, including a counter notice.
Next, prove your photo was published by you first. Run a reverse image search on the removed photo and save dated screenshots of the results: your own website, portfolio or social post should appear as the earliest publication, while the claimant’s copy appears later or on a repost account. This matters most when the claimant is someone who downloaded your photo and re-uploaded it before reporting you — a pattern reverse image search exposes in minutes. Save the search results as PDFs with the date visible, and keep the URLs. If you find your photo on other sites too, note them; a pattern of unauthorised reposts supports your account of what happened.
Then keep everything the platform sent you. Save the removal notice email in full, including the claim reference or case number, the name of the claimant as given, the date and time of removal, and the exact URL or listing that was removed. You will need the URL and the claim details to identify the material in the counter notice itself. Also save the original upload confirmation, any licence agreement, and any messages in which the claimant contacted you before or after the takedown.
Finally, write a short timeline in your own words: when you created the work, where and when you first published it, when you received the removal notice, and why you believe the claim is a mistake. This is not part of the counter notice, but it stops you from contradicting yourself across the form, and it is the document you hand to a solicitor if the dispute escalates. Our guide to reverse image search for lawyers explains how to document image evidence so it holds up — dated screenshots, preserved URLs and a clear chain from original file to published post.
Do not re-upload the removed content while a counter notice is pending. Wait for the platform to restore it. Re-uploading can trigger a second takedown, a repeat-infringer strike, or an account penalty, and it gives the claimant a fresh complaint to file.
What Must a Valid DMCA Counter Notice Include?
Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), a counter notice must be a written communication to the provider’s designated agent that includes substantially the following six elements. Miss one and the platform may reject the notice outright, so check each element before you submit.
- Your physical or electronic signature. Type your full legal name — first and last name, not a company or channel name. On platform forms this is usually a typed-name field; in an emailed notice it is your typed name at the foot of the message.
- Identification of the removed material and where it appeared. Give the exact URL of the removed photo, video or listing, and describe the material precisely enough that the platform can find it. YouTube’s own help page requires direct links in a specific format for each content type, such as the watch URL for a video or the Shorts URL for a Short.
- A statement under penalty of perjury. You must state that you have a good faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification. Use the platform’s wording where it is provided; do not soften it, and do not add claims you cannot stand behind.
- Your name, address and telephone number. Your full legal name, your physical address and a telephone number. The platform will forward these to the claimant, so use an address you are willing to share and understand that this disclosure is part of the process, not a mistake.
- Consent to federal court jurisdiction. A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which your address is located — or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district in which the service provider may be found.
- Agreement to accept service of process. A statement that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted the takedown notice, or from that person’s agent.
Send the counter notice to the provider’s designated agent, not to general support. The U.S. Copyright Office keeps a public directory of designated agents, and most large platforms collect the same six elements through their own counter-notification forms. Read each field carefully and keep a copy of exactly what you submit, including screenshots of the confirmation page or email.
Below is an annotated fill-in example of the core of a counter notice. It is a template to adapt, not a form to copy blindly — change the bracketed details to match your case, and do not include anything you cannot verify.
Subject: DMCA Counter Notice — [exact URL of removed photo or video]
I, [full legal name], submit this counter notice under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3) in response to the removal of the material identified below.
Material removed: [describe the photo or video and give its exact URL before removal, e.g. “My photograph ‘Lake District sunrise, 14 March 2026’, posted at instagram.com/p/…”].
Good faith statement: I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled. [Add one sentence of fact: “I took this photograph myself on 14 March 2026 and first published it on my own website on 15 March 2026.”]
Contact: [full legal name], [physical address], [telephone number], [email address].
Jurisdiction and service: I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which my address is located, or if my address is outside of the United States, any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and I will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notification or an agent of such person.
Signature: [full legal name, typed]
Notice what the example does not contain: no insults, no threats, no legal argument, and no extra claims. The counter notice is a short, factual, sworn document. Save the argument for the court filing the claimant would have to make — your job here is to meet the statutory elements cleanly and let the clock run.
How Do You File a DMCA Counter Notice on YouTube, Instagram and Etsy?
The law is the same everywhere, but the route is different on each platform. Use the platform’s own process wherever one exists — a counter notice sent to the wrong inbox can sit unread while your 10 to 14 business day clock never starts. The table below compares the three platforms photographers and sellers use most, plus the direct route for smaller sites.
| Platform | Where to file | What you need | Restore timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | YouTube Studio counter-notification flow, or email to copyright@youtube.com | Video or content URL, contact details, rationale, two legal statements, typed signature | Restored if claimant takes no court action within 10 days, per YouTube’s help page |
| Counter-notification link in the removal notice, or Instagram’s copyright process | Removed post URL, contact details, good faith statement, jurisdiction consent, signature | Restored in 10 to 14 business days if no court action is filed | |
| Etsy | Counter-notice form via the unique link in the takedown email (etsy.com/legal/ip/counter) | Removed listing URL, contact details, sworn statements, typed signature | Listing may be reactivated after 10 business days, per Etsy’s policy |
| Smaller sites | Designated DMCA agent listed in the Copyright Office directory | All six statutory elements in a written notice | 10 to 14 business days under § 512(g)(2)(C) |
YouTube. For videos, open YouTube Studio on a computer or in the app, go to Content, filter by Copyright, find the video with “Removed” status, open See details, then Take action and Submit a counter notification. YouTube’s help page walks through 14 steps: confirm the requirements, enter your full legal name and complete physical address, write a clear rationale explaining why the removal was a mistake or misidentification, agree to the statements, and sign with your full legal name. For non-video content such as channel banner images, or if you prefer email, send the same information in the body of an email — not as an attachment — to copyright@youtube.com. YouTube’s help page states that counter notifications must be submitted by the original uploader, or by an authorised representative such as an attorney, and that your information is legally required to be shared with the claimant. YouTube also notes that a counter notification can clear the associated copyright strike if it is valid and forwarded to the claimant.
Instagram. Instagram’s removal notice usually includes instructions for submitting a counter-notification tied to that specific case, so start from the email or in-app notice rather than searching for a general form. You will need the URL of the removed post, your contact details, the good faith statement under penalty of perjury, your consent to jurisdiction, and your signature. Instagram forwards your counter-notification to the party who filed the original report, and if that party does not notify Instagram that they have filed a court action within roughly 10 to 14 business days, Instagram may restore the content, according to Instagram’s own help documentation. Do not file a counter-notification for a removal based on a trademark complaint: trademark disputes fall outside the DMCA framework and are handled through a separate appeal route.
Etsy. If you sell on Etsy, the takedown email contains a unique link to the counter-notice form at etsy.com/legal/ip/counter. Enter your name, address, phone number and the removed listing’s URL, then affirm the sworn statements of good faith belief and consent to federal court jurisdiction, and type your full name as an electronic signature. Etsy forwards your completed form, including your contact information and sworn statements, to the party who filed the original complaint. According to Etsy’s counter-notice policy, the removed material may be replaced or access restored 10 business days after receipt of the counter notice, unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order and informs Etsy. Etsy does not judge the merits of the dispute between you and the claimant.
Smaller websites and hosts. For a site with no counter-notice form, find its designated agent in the U.S. Copyright Office’s public directory of DMCA designated agents and send a written notice containing all six statutory elements. Keep proof of sending — a sent-email record or delivery receipt — because the 10 to 14 business day clock runs from the platform’s receipt of a valid counter notice.
What Happens After You File a DMCA Counter Notice?
Once the platform receives a valid counter notice, it must promptly send a copy to the person who submitted the takedown and tell that person it will replace the material in 10 business days. The platform must then restore the material no less than 10 and no more than 14 business days after receiving your counter notice, unless its designated agent first receives notice that the complaining party has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain you from the allegedly infringing activity. That is the whole mechanism: your filing starts a clock, and the claimant must go to court to stop it.
Calendar the window the day you file. Count business days, not calendar days — weekends and public holidays do not count — and note the date the platform confirmed receipt, not the date you pressed submit. If the claimant does nothing, your photo or video should come back inside the window, and on YouTube a valid counter notification that is forwarded to the claimant may also clear the associated copyright strike. If the platform rejects your counter notice, it should tell you why by email: the usual reasons are a missing element, a wrong URL, or a signature that is a company name instead of a full legal name. Fix the gap and file again rather than re-uploading the content yourself.
If the claimant does file a court action and notifies the platform, the statutory restoration duty does not apply and the dispute moves to court. That is the moment to get a lawyer involved if you have not already — and the reason the “are you prepared to be sued?” question in the checklist matters. If you receive a demand letter or a court complaint, get legal advice before responding, and do not ignore it: the consent to jurisdiction you signed means the claimant can serve you. Our guide to sending a copyright demand letter covers the fee-claim side of photo theft, while our guide to finding and removing leaked creator content covers what to do when your work is being reposted without permission.
Two risks deserve emphasis because they surprise people. First, section 512(f) cuts both ways: it makes anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material was removed by mistake liable for damages, costs and attorneys’ fees — and it also covers anyone who knowingly misrepresents that material is infringing, so a false takedown carries the same exposure. Second, your counter notice hands the claimant your real name and address. If the dispute involves someone harassing you, or if you have safety concerns about disclosing your address, ask an attorney or authorised representative to file on your behalf — YouTube’s help page expressly allows an authorised representative to submit for the uploader.
Worked Example: A Photographer’s Wrongly Removed Photo
The scenario below is an illustrative walk-through, not a real case. It shows the full process on one concrete photo so you can see how each step fits together; outcomes vary by platform and by the facts of each dispute.
Maya is a freelance photographer in Manchester. On 14 March 2026 she photographs a sunrise over the Lake District, edits the RAW file in Lightroom, and publishes the finished image on her own portfolio website on 15 March, then on Instagram the same day. In May, a repost account downloads her photo, crops out her watermark, and posts it as its own. In June, that account files a copyright complaint against Maya’s original Instagram post, and Instagram removes her photo and sends her a removal notice naming the repost account as the claimant.
Step 1 — Maya checks the claim. The removal notice names a work Maya recognises as her own photograph. She does not re-upload the photo. She saves the removal notice, including the claim reference and the URL of the removed post.
Step 2 — Maya builds her evidence pack. She screenshots the Lightroom catalogue showing the RAW file dated 14 March 2026, and exports a PDF of her portfolio page showing the 15 March publication date. She runs a reverse image search on the photo: the results show her portfolio as the earliest publication, the repost account’s copy dated weeks later, and two more unauthorised reposts she had not known about. She saves dated screenshots of the search results.
Step 3 — Maya files the counter notice. Using the counter-notification link in Instagram’s removal notice, she enters her full legal name, address and phone number, the URL of the removed post, and a good faith statement under penalty of perjury that the removal was a mistake: she took the photograph herself and published it first. She consents to federal court jurisdiction, signs with her full name, and keeps screenshots of the confirmation.
Step 4 — Maya calendars the clock. Instagram forwards her counter notice to the repost account and tells them the photo will be restored in 10 business days unless they file a court action. Maya notes the receipt date and the last business day of the window, and checks her account daily instead of re-uploading.
Step 5 — the outcome. The repost account takes no court action — it cannot, because it does not own the photograph — and Instagram restores Maya’s post inside the 10 to 14 business day window. Maya then files separate takedown notices against the repost account’s copy and the two other unauthorised reposts her reverse image search found.
The example works because each step is verifiable: a dated RAW file, a dated first publication, and a search result that shows who published first. If Maya had no original file and no dated publication, her counter notice would still be valid in form, but a determined claimant could have tested it in court — which is why the evidence pack comes before the filing, not after.
FAQs
How long does it take to get content restored after a DMCA counter notice?
Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(2)(C), the platform must restore the material no less than 10 and no more than 14 business days after receiving a valid counter notice. The clock only runs if the claimant does not first notify the platform that they have filed a court action seeking an order against you.
Can I be sued for filing a DMCA counter notice?
Yes. Your counter notice includes consent to federal court jurisdiction and an agreement to accept service of process, which makes it easier for the claimant to sue. If you knowingly and materially misrepresent that the removal was a mistake, you can also be liable for damages, costs and attorneys’ fees under § 512(f).
What should I do if the platform rejects my counter notice?
Read the rejection email carefully: most rejections are for a missing element, a wrong URL, or a signature that is a company name instead of a full legal name. Fix the gap and file a new counter notice with all six required elements. Do not re-upload the removed content while the dispute is pending.
Do I need a lawyer to file a DMCA counter notice?
No, you can file one yourself through a platform’s form or by email to its designated agent, and many photographers do. Get legal advice first if the claim involves valuable work, a fair use argument, a demand letter, or any sign the claimant may sue, because your filing is a sworn statement.
