Getting an ISBN That Identifies You as the Publisher of Your Title

One agency per country is designated to assign ISBNs for that country and must maintain a bibliographic database of titles published in that country. For the United States and its territories, R.R. Bowker is the official ISBN agency. R.R. Bowker is the publisher of Books in Print, the premier database for the publishing industry.

Since the US publishing industry is very large, R.R. Bowker has entered into agreements with a handful of companies to submit official applications on behalf of the self-publishers and authors with whom they work. These companies have agreed to provide special programs under which an ISBN can be assigned by the US ISBN Agency. These companies may also offer other programs and services that do not include such an ISBN. Please read all terms and conditions carefully before making your decision about the right program or service for you.

Why does this matter?

The ISBN identifies not only the specific product to which it is assigned, but also the publisher to be contacted for ordering purposes. If an ISBN is purchased from a company other than R.R. Bowker or through the special programs of the companies listed here, that ISBN will not identify you as the publisher of your title. This can have implications for your business in the publishing industry supply chain.

Companies that will submit certain
ISBN applications to the US ISBN Agency