Verified 15 October 2026
Publishing terms
- Territories
- Canada
- Fees
- ISBNs — freeFree for eligible publishers, for printed books, ebooks, audiobooks and educational DVDs.
Editorial note
Cost, eligibility, the BAnQ exception and account processing time read on Library and Archives Canada's ISBN pages on 2026-10-15. Older LAC pages gave shorter processing times; the current application page's two-month figure is the one recorded. No privacy assessment has been made, so the record does not appear in the Rights & Privacy Index.
Sources
Every factual claim above is drawn from these documents.
Official help centre
About ISBNsLibrary and Archives Canada
Accessed 15 October 2026
Source for eligibility, the eligible formats and the French-only exception.
Official help centre
Apply for an ISBN accountLibrary and Archives Canada
Accessed 15 October 2026
Source for the online account and the processing time for new accounts, attributed to a backlog.
Official help centre
International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN)Library and Archives Canada
Accessed 15 October 2026
States that ISBN Canada provides free ISBNs to eligible publishers and publications.
Related
The rest of the stack
ISBN Canada covers one part of publishing a book. The author tools directory covers the writing, formatting, cover, email and promotion tools around it.
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