FAQ Copernicus

General

In comparison to the existing legacy Copernicus Data Hub, what will be the free services other than stac/cog?

Compared to the previously existed Copernicus Data Hub, there will be additional APIs - OGC interfaces (WMS, WMTS, WCS), OpenEO, Sentinel Hub API, S3, and others. Please refer to the Roadmap for more information on the timing of these interfaces.

Is there an end user document that describes specific data products and specific services that are available?

The user level details for every service and dataset will be provided in this documentation. In accordance with each and every service and dataset embedded into the ecosystem, this documentation will be updated.

How long is the project timescale in total?

The time scale of the project is 6 years starting from late 2022 (i.e. to the end of 2028) with an optional extension up to 4 years (i.e. 2032).

Can anyone outside from Europe have free access to any data?

Yes, data and services will be available to users worldwide and according to the EU Policy. You can visit Terms and Conditions for more information.

What is the citation format for referencing Sentinel data downloaded from CDSE?

If the image in processed in the Copernicus Browser kindly use the phrase “Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data [YEAR] for Sentinel data processed in Copernicus Browser”

Where the user communicates to the public or distributes Copernicus Sentinel Data and Service Information, he/she shall inform the recipients of the source of that Data and Information by using the following notice:

• ‘Copernicus Sentinel data [Year]’ for Sentinel data; and/or
• ‘Copernicus Service information [Year]’ for Copernicus Service Information

Where the Copernicus Sentinel Data and Service Information have been adapted or modified, the user shall provide the following notice:

• ‘Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data [Year]’ for Sentinel data; and/or
• ‘Contains modified Copernicus Service information [Year]’ for Copernicus Service Information

For further reading kindly have a look at the Legal notice on the use of Copernicus Sentinel Data and Service Information or Copyrights section of the Terms and conditions .

Is there any difference between EU users and non-EU users?

There is no difference between EU users and non-EU users. That said, there will be a continuity of the accounts with higher throughput, managed by ESA (i.e. Copernicus Services, International Partners, etc.).

Which users are eligible for which account types (Quotas)?

There are four account types defined by the Quotas and Limitations policy: Copernicus General user Account, Copernicus Services user Account, Copernicus Collaborative Ground Segment user Account, and Copernicus International user Account. Users can find their user Account type under “Account info” in the Dashboard page. These user account types determine the quotas and limitations applied to users — for example, Copernicus Services user Accounts receive larger quotas than Copernicus General user Accounts.

• Copernicus Services user Account- this account type is reserved for European Union institutions and bodies and organisations working on Copernicus Services.
• Copernicus Collaborative Ground Segment user Account - Ground segment organisations from Copernicus Participating States with an agreement with ESA and European Commission.
• Copernicus International user Account- international partners with an agreement with ESA and European Commission.

If your organisation matches one of the profiles above, please fill out the Change your Copernicus user type form to request a user account type upgrade. If you are uncertain about your eligibility, you may still submit the form for evaluation. Please note that Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem monitoring requirements include reporting aggregated consumption on account level, shared within project stakeholder group. We would also recommend reviewing following resources:

• Information about quotas for specific services
• The Ecosystem developers, where users can get access to extended quotas under commercial terms.

Which users are eligible for which CCM user categories (CCM dataset access)?

There are six CCM User categories. These are: Copernicus Services and Union Institutional Users, Union Research Project users, National Public Authority users, International Organisations user, Public user, and Copernicus Operator user.

Users can find their CCM User cateogory under “Copernicus Contributing Missions Category” in the Dashboard page. Access to CCM datasets is determined by the user’s CCM user category.

For a complete description of each category and the detailed eligibility criteria, please refer to the official CCM User Categories page on the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem: Copernicus Contributing Missions User Categories.

Where can I find a forum for support and get more information about the available services and products?

You can find the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem forum here. Select your category of interest and you might find your question already answered. If not, ask and our team or other users will help you find a solution.

Where can I find Terms of Use and Privacy Policy?

Here are the links to both:

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

How can I stay updated and subscribe to your newsletter?

You can stay updated in various ways: subscribe to our Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem monthly newsletter, use our RSS feeds, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on social media. See this page for more information and links.

What license are the products released under?

See Terms and Conditions of the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, in particular chapter 3 for detailed information.

How to access the level of products that require expert knowledge (e.g. Sentinel-2 Level 1B, or the WV mode for Sentinel-1 Level 0)?

Taking into account working with such level of products require expert knowledge (e.g. Sentinel-2 Level-1B product requires expert knowledge of orthorectification techniques.), please submit a request by including the following information:

• a brief information / justification about the request
• the user role (Engineer, PhD…)

Then our teams will facilitate the processing of your request.

How should I cite Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem?

For the generic use of Sentinel data, the following legal notice applies: Sentinel Data Legal Notice.If you are using CDSE APIs or discussing CDSE as a source of data, please cite the following paper:
Dávid D. Kovács, Jan Musial, Jędrzej Bojanowski, Dennis Clarijs, Jurry de la Mar, and András Zlinszky. “Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem establishes public cloud processing for earth observation data.” Scientific Data (2026). doi: 10.1038/s41597-026-06765-8