# Licenses

The licenses configured here serve three functions:

- The display name, acronym and icon are shown for the content license rather than the URL.
- If the "License metadata" setting is checked in the "General settings" section of "Site options", the licenses are displayed to authors when they create content.
- Authors are restricted to the licenses configured here unless the "Allow custom licenses" setting is checked in the "General settings" section of "Site options".