“Licenses” or “Licences”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 7 prefer “licenses” and 3 prefer “licences”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	licenses	licences	Preference
United States	92	8	“licenses”
United Kingdom	41	59	“licences”
India	68	32	“licenses”
Philippines	89	11	“licenses”
Canada	67	33	“licenses”
Australia	43	57	“licences”
Liberia	0	0	Not enough data
Ireland	37	63	“licences”
New Zealand	56	44	“licenses”
Jamaica	74	26	“licenses”
Trinidad & Tobago	100	0	“licenses”
Guyana	0	0	Not enough data

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“licenses”

…well as professional certifications and licenses for psychologists.
…Khan played in granting driving licenses.
…in American money, and driver's licenses, and put aboard two U-boats…
…order to maintain their broadcast licenses.
Israel states they lack licenses, which Israel has not supplied…
…v. Adkins, which applies to licenses and holds that public policy…
…Michigan would not issue driver's licenses or state identification of any…
…federal government does not grant licenses.
…government in Portland to require licenses for liquor dealers and to…
…March 22, to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples: Barb Byrum…

“licences”

…is particularly true where Import Licences are concerned: they are tightly…
…obtaining personal information on driving licences, criminal records, vehicle registration searches,…
…not to issue new free-to-air licences.
…holders of A or B licences (within the meaning of Part…
…an opposition motion regarding export licences for sheep was rejected by
No licences have been issued since to…
…in order to hold their licences.
The licences for the 2014–15 season were…
…more than 20,000 private pilots' licences.
…recognise the validity of driving licences for persons under eighteen or,…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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