You agree to use the PubMLST website (“Website”) on the basis of these terms exclusively. If you do not accept all of these terms, do not use this Website.
Provider
The provider of this Website is the University of Oxford acting through the Department of Biology (“University”/“we”). We can be contacted at pubmlst@biology.ox.ac.uk.
Use of the Website and Scope of Services
A guide for using the Website is provided at https://pubmlst.org/software/database/bigsdb/, which, subject to these terms, defines permitted uses of the Website and its content.
For each organism, two main databases are accessible:
- Sequence and profile definitions database; and,
- Isolate and genome assembly database.
The primary purpose of the Website is to make available, free of charge to the global scientific community, the Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) databases for the typing and global epidemiology of bacterial pathogens. Data analysis for research is a secondary objective.
Ribosomal MLST (rMLST) data are governed by a separate licence agreement (https://pubmlst.org/rmlst/).
Access to the Website
The Website, including its search tools, visualisations, and analytical functions, is freely accessible to all users - academic, governmental, clinical, and commercial.
Accessing and interacting with the Website in a browser does not, by itself, impose limitations on the purpose of use.
Distinction Between Pre-2025 and Post-2024 Data
Data submitted to PubMLST on or before 31 December 2024 was generated during a period in which the Website was supported by funding from the Wellcome Trust, providing free and unrestricted public access to all MLST data.Access conditions:
- Anonymous (non-logged in) users may view only pre 2025 data.
- Logged in users may view both pre 2025 and post 2024 data, subject to the licensing restrictions described in Sections 4 and 5.
Accordingly:
- All data submitted on or before 31 December 2024 may continue to be downloaded, used, and redistributed without restriction, subject only to proper scientific citation and acknowledgement.
- The restrictions described in Sections 4 and 5 do not apply to pre-2025 data.
- The date of submission, not the date of sequence generation, publication, or discovery, governs which policy applies.
Data submitted on or after 1 January 2025 are governed by the licensing and usage restrictions described in Sections 4 and 5.
Licence for Downloaded Data (Academic or Public Health, Non-Commercial Use Only)
The following terms apply only to data submitted to the Website on or after 1 January 2025.
Downloading nomenclature data, including allele sequences, allele definitions, profiles, or sequence types, is permitted only for non-commercial academic research or public health surveillance use.
Downloading isolate metadata or genome assemblies is permitted only for non-commercial academic research.
By downloading post-2024 data, you agree:
- to use downloaded data solely for non-commercial academic research or public health surveillance;
- not to redistribute, publicly post, publish, transfer, or aggregate significant portions of the data into any public, semi-public, or commercial database, knowledgebase, software system, or service;
- not to use downloaded data in diagnostic, clinical, surveillance, fee-for-service, or commercial analytic workflows that replicate or compete with services available on PubMLST;
- to comply with any applicable intellectual property rights, database rights, and licensing conditions.
These restrictions apply only to downloaded data. They do not restrict Website browsing or interactive use.
Commercial Use of Downloaded Data (Licence Required)
Commercial or non-academic use of downloaded data submitted on or after 1 January 2025 is not permitted without prior written authorization from the University of Oxford and the establishment of an appropriate commercial licence.
Commercial use includes, but is not limited to:
- incorporation of PubMLST data into commercial products, software, databases, or services;
- use of data in genotyping, clustering, diagnostic, surveillance, or analytical pipelines operated for commercial or clinical purposes;
- large-scale automated extraction of data for internal commercial knowledgebases;
- redistribution, sale, sublicensing, or repackaging of PubMLST data.
Users seeking commercial rights must contact the University to arrange a suitable licence.
No commercial licence is required for using pre-2025 data, which remains unrestricted.
Data Submission
We welcome submissions of MLST data to strengthen the resource. Users who wish to submit data must be registered and provide a valid email address.
Contributors are responsible for ensuring that they:
- have the legal right to submit the data;
- submit accurate data.
By submitting data to the Website, contributors grant the University an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence (with the right to sub-license) to:
- display, copy, adapt, revise, amend, publish, distribute, transmit, and use the submitted material;
- use isolate data to generate and maintain allele definitions, profiles, sequence types, nomenclature elements, and derivative resources necessary for the operation and improvement of PubMLST.
Submitted data may be used without obligation of confidentiality.
Publication Requirements
Publications based on data or analyses derived from PubMLST must include the following acknowledgement:
This publication made use of the PubMLST website (https://pubmlst.org/) sited at the University of Oxford. The development of that website was funded by the Wellcome Trust.
You should also cite Jolley et al. Wellcome Open Res 2018, 3:124 [version 1; referees: 2 approved].
Warranty Disclaimer
The Website and its content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude:
- all warranties as to the satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from computer viruses and non-infringement of third-party rights with regard to the Website; and,
- all liability for negligence.
We are not liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or profit-related damages resulting from your use or inability to use the Website. The entire risk as to quality and performance rests with you.
Intellectual Property Rights
All database rights, copyrights, designs, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights in the Website and its content (including all copies, adaptations, and derivative works) remain the property of the University or its licensors.
User rights are strictly limited to those expressly granted by these Terms & Conditions.
Revisions, Modifications, and Access Control
The University reserves the right, without notice, to:
- revise, amend, or replace the content of the Website;
- modify nomenclature, allele definitions, or database structure;
- suspend Website access generally or for specific users;
- take down the Website temporarily or permanently.
These Terms may be updated at any time. You are bound by any changes and should periodically review the current version.
Jurisdiction
You agree that the Courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute or claim relating to your use of the Website or arising from these Terms.
Updated: 2026-01-16