NFT sales can be programmed to pay creator earnings of up to 10% each time the NFT is sold, allowing creators to be rewarded for their work. When respected by web3 marketplaces, these creator earnings are paid every time an NFT moves from wallet to wallet after a purchase.
We believe creators should be able to choose whether or not to set creator earnings and should have the tools they need to help enforce these earnings if they choose to set them. How you’ll set creator earnings on OpenSea depends on your smart contract and when you added your NFT collection to OpenSea.
Below we’ll provide guidance on how to set creator earnings:
- If you created your collection using the OpenSea "Create" button
- If you created your collection using your own smart contract before 12 pm ET on 1/2/23
- If you created your collection using your own smart contract after 12 pm ET on 1/2/23 with no on-chain enforcement
- If you created your collection using your own smart contract after 12 pm ET on 1/2/23 with on-chain enforcement
On-chain enforcement is likely the best solution for preventing your items from being sold without creator earnings. Since there isn’t a standard and perfect solution in the ecosystem for creator earnings, we’re including guidance below for making sure you receive creator earnings for sales using OpenSea. This applies to all EVM chains, including Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Klaytn, Optimism, and Polygon.
I created my collection using OpenSea’s “Create” button
If you used the “Create” function on OpenSea to create a collection, you can set creator earnings percentages and recipient addresses directly on OpenSea in your collection settings. You don’t need to do anything else in order to receive creator earnings from sales using OpenSea.
I created my collection using my own smart contract before 12 pm ET on January 2, 2023
You can continue to set creator earnings percentages and recipient addresses directly on OpenSea in your collection settings. You don’t need to do anything else in order to receive creator earnings from sales using OpenSea.
These creator earnings settings are separate from the Royalty Registry and will not reflect any changes made to your collection using the Royalty Registry. Likewise, you’ll need to set your creator earnings on other web3 marketplaces separately. We recommend checking each marketplace's individual policies and guidelines.
I created my collection using my own smart contract after 12 pm ET on January 2, 2023, and I don’t have an on-chain enforcement method in my smart contract
In order for creator earnings to be enforced on OpenSea, new collections created after the above date and time will need to include an on-chain enforcement method in their smart contract, such as Operator Filter, to prevent the sale of your NFTs using marketplaces that do not respect creator earnings.
For collections without this type of on-chain enforcement method, you can set optional creator earnings in your collection settings. Secondary sellers will be able to choose whether to include creator earnings when creating a listing or accepting an offer. This means the seller of the NFT will determine whether creator earnings can be collected for a transaction or not.
You can follow these instructions in GitHub to learn how to add the Operator Filter code to a new contract or an upgradeable contract. If you’ve recently upgraded your contract, you’ll need to navigate to your collection settings on OpenSea and click Refresh eligibility.
Please reach out to us at support.opensea.io if you run into any issues.
I created my collection using my own smart contract after 12 pm ET on January 2, 2023, and I have an on-chain enforcement method in my smart contract
After January 2, 2023, when you update your creator earnings on OpenSea for Ethereum or Polygon collections, you’ll be prompted to update them on-chain using the Royalty Registry. Because updating your creator earnings on the Royalty Registry updates the blockchain, you’ll need to sign a transaction in your wallet and pay gas each time you edit your creator earnings on OpenSea.
Any changes you make directly on the Royalty Registry will automatically sync to OpenSea.
Support for additional EVM chains will be added soon.
Setting creator earnings directly on OpenSea
You can follow the steps below to edit the creator earnings percentage and recipient addresses on OpenSea.
- On OpenSea, navigate to the upper right corner and click the Profile icon.
- Select My Collections.
- On the collection you'd like to edit, click the three-dot menu and select Edit.
- Under the Creator earnings heading, enter the earnings wallet address or ENS domain.
- Set a percentage of up to 10% total. You can split creator earnings between multiple addresses and you can change the percentages at any time. Changes will only apply to new listings.
- If you’re entering multiple addresses, you’ll also need to specify what percentage each address will receive. For example, you can set Wallet A to receive a 3.0%, and Wallet B to receive an additional 2.5%.
- Scroll down and click Submit changes.
Viewing your creator earnings on OpenSea
To view your creator earnings, navigate to your collection page, click the three-dot menu on the top right, and select Creator earnings.
Creator earnings are paid out in the cryptocurrency of the sale. You can learn more about the cryptocurrencies that can be used on OpenSea in our Help Center guide.
Error 401
Only the owner of a collection can edit creator earnings percentages. If you're seeing an error message when editing creator earnings, you'll need to ask the collection owner to make the change.
FAQs
Q: What will optional creator earnings look like?
When a seller lists an item with optional creator earnings, they’ll see the creator’s recommended earning percentage and have the option to adjust it. They’ll see the same option when accepting an offer for an item with optional creator earnings.
Q: Is the creator earnings policy enforced in Testnets? If it works on my smart contract in Testnets, will it work in mainnet?
Yes, our updated approach to creator earnings is live in the Ethereum Testnets environment. If you add on-chain sale enforcement to your test collection, you can also expect it to work in mainnet when you launch your collection.
