Publications Office Identification Service

The Publications Office is a registration agency of ISBN (International Standard Book Number), DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) and is the designated central point for allocating these identifiers to all publications published by the EU institutions, agencies, and bodies anywhere in the world. 

In line with the EU Legal Deposit scheme, all publications produced by the EU institutions, agencies and bodies are required to be identified by, and deposited with, the Publications Office.

Assigning identifiers to your publication makes it part of the global publishing ecosystem, enhances its discoverability and visibility, and ensures its long-term preservation and accessibility.

Through identification, the Publications Office offers you:

a fast, efficient and streamlined service to receive unique and persistent identifiers tailored to the individual requirements of your publication;

long-term preservation of your publication, in our digital and physical archives;

wider distribution of your publication’s metadata through our online catalogue called OPac (the name of which is based on the widely used library acronym OPAC, meaning ‘Online Public Access Catalogue’. This catalogue includes a persistent link to the publication as it appears on EU Publications;

export of metadata (containing a permanent link to the content) for import into library catalogues around the world as well as inclusion in global discovery services;

display of your publication on the EU Publications website;

the ability for you to check its performance on the EU Publications website through our EU Publications analytics platform;

the possibility to have your publication promoted through our own promotional channels.

About How can I ask for this service?

You can ask for this service through the Author Portal, our online tool for requesting publishing services. By filling in a request for this service, identifiers will be assigned to your publication(s), according to the needs of your publication and the rules in force. 

For more information: Assignment of identifiers - Publicare - Publications Office of the EU