License editorial Shutterstock images by acknowledging the editorial agreement in the licensing request
domain: api.shutterstock.com · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Search with GET /v2/images/search?license=editorial (or a dedicated /v2/editorial/images/search endpoint, depending on account configuration) and check that is_editorial is true on the returned assets
Confirm with your Shutterstock account representative whether your account accesses editorial media via the standard endpoints or the separate /v2/editorial/* endpoints
For standard-endpoint accounts, license with POST /v2/images/licenses, including 'editorial_acknowledgement': true in the request body alongside image_id and subscription_id
For editorial-endpoint accounts, license with POST /v2/editorial/images/licenses, sending an editorial array with editorial_id and license type, plus a country field
Handle the response the same way as standard image licensing, using the returned download URL within its validity window
Known gotchas
Omitting editorial_acknowledgement: true on a standard-endpoint editorial license request will cause the request to fail even if the subscription otherwise covers it
The editorial licensing sandbox path (POST /v2/editorial/images/licenses on api-sandbox.shutterstock.com) intentionally fails — editorial licensing cannot be tested in the sandbox
Which endpoint family (standard vs. /v2/editorial/*) applies is account-specific and not self-discoverable from the API alone; it must be confirmed with Shutterstock
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