Request an ISSN at the ISSN Centre

The KB houses the Dutch ISSN Centre. You can contact us to request an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) free of charge. This unique code is used to make your serial publications, such as newspapers, magazines and series, available for sale and also makes them easy for retailers and consumers to find. The ISSN numbers are collected in an international database, issn.org/.

You can request an ISSN for all serial publications which were published in the Netherlands and meet the criteria. Serial publications are publications that appear periodically and have consecutive issues or parts, such as a volume, serial number or annual or monthly edition. Examples of this include magazines, newspapers and annuals.

An ISSN can be requested for print and digital publications. In the case of a digital publication, an ISSN can only be assigned once the first issue is available. If a publication is issued both in print and digitally, the printed version and the digital version will each have their own ISSN.

New ISSN with title change

According to international guidelines, virtually each time the title of a serial publication is changed, a new ISSN must be assigned. You can report such a change to the ISSN Centrum Nederland. Use the ISSN title change application form. 

ISSN and ISBN

Sometimes a publication receives both an ISSN and an ISBN (identification number for books). The ISBN then applies to 1 specific issue, e.g. 1 annual from a series of annuals. The ISSN applies to the entire series. More information about ISBN can be found on the Bureau ISBN website.

The ISSN helps make your newspaper, magazine or series internationally visible. The ISSN is always the same for all issues within the series, as long as the title has not changed. It therefore facilitates searching in digital files and processing and exchanging data.

No rights can be derived from an assigned ISSN in any way. It is intended for identification purposes only. ISSNs are not copyrighted.

An ISSN consists of 8 digits: 7 numbers and a control digit. If the control digit is a 10, there will be an X instead of a 10. These are examples of what an ISSN might look like:

• ISSN 1234-5679
• ISSN 1384-279X

You should preferably list the ISSN in the editing, design, production and printing information of each issue of the publication. If there is no such information, display the ISSN on the outside of the publication. You can also include the ISSN in the form of a barcode. 

The Dutch ISSN Centre is housed at the KB, National Library of the Netherlands. We are part of the ISSN International Centre in Paris and apply the international guidelines.

Do you have questions about ISSN or the request procedure? Please contact us:

• Telephone number: 070 314 04 10 or 070 314 04 11
• Email: @email