Model Licenses Explained
Every model page shows a license in its Specifications table. There are two, and the difference decides what you may do with the model after you buy it. This page says what each one means in practice.
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The short version
Royalty Free - buy once, use in commercial work. Client projects, released games, broadcast, print, advertising. You pay nothing further, however many times the finished work is shown or sold.
Editorial Uses Only - the model shows a real branded product, so it may be used in editorial contexts: news, commentary, documentary, education, portfolio and personal work. It may not be used in advertising, on merchandise, or in anything offered for sale.
Neither license lets you resell or redistribute the model file itself. That is the one rule both share.
Why some models are Editorial Uses Only
A model of a Tesla Model 3, a Boeing 737 or an iPhone depicts a product someone else owns the trademark to. Marketplaces list such models under an editorial license because using them commercially would trade on a brand that is not ours to license. This is TurboSquid's rule, applied to the listing, not a limitation we add.
It is not a warning about quality. An Editorial model is built the same way as any other in the catalog and carries the same certification.
How to tell which one you are looking at
Open any model page and find the License row in the Specifications table on the right. It says either Royalty Free (TurboSquid) or Editorial Uses Only (TurboSquid). The questions section further down the page repeats the same answer in plain words.
The listing on TurboSquid is the authoritative source. If our page and the listing ever disagree, the listing is right - tell us and we will fix the page.
Common cases
An advertising campaign. Royalty Free, yes. Editorial, no - regardless of how the model is edited or how small it appears in the frame.
A film or television production. Royalty Free, yes. Editorial models are fine in documentary and news contexts; a fictional feature that is sold or licensed is commercial use, so it needs a Royalty Free model.
A game you intend to sell. Royalty Free only.
A portfolio piece, a student project, a personal render. Both licenses allow it.
Architectural visualization for a client. Royalty Free. A branded car in the driveway of a rendering sold to a developer is commercial use.
Reselling the file, or bundling it into an asset pack. Neither license allows it.
Modifying a model
Both licenses allow editing: retopologising, changing materials, cutting the model down, adapting it to your pipeline. Editing an Editorial model does not turn it into a Royalty Free one - the restriction follows what the model depicts, not how much of it you changed.
Where the binding terms live
This page explains; it does not govern. The terms that actually apply are in our License Agreement, which also covers refunds, and in TurboSquid's own license terms shown at checkout. Where this page and those documents differ, those documents prevail. Our Terms of Use say the same.
If you need a model for a use its license does not cover, commission one: a model built for you carries no third-party trademark and no editorial restriction.