Did you know that 23 April is World Book and Copyright Day? This is the perfect time to find out about the legal deposit and identification number of Luxembourg publications, which are compulsory procedures to be carried out at the National Library of Luxembourg (Bibliothèque nationale du Luxembourg - BnL).

Each year, the BnL compiles the national bibliography of the publications deposited with it. Any publication published on the national territory must be subject to legal deposit.

Publication should be understood as any document (paper or digital):

• usually produced in multiple copies; and
• intended to be made public, even if the target audience is narrow.

In addition, Luxembourg publications must receive an identification number. The BnL is also responsible for allocating these numbers at the request of publishers.

There are 3 types of identifiers:

• the ISBN (International Standard Book Number):
• the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number):
• the ISMN (International Standard Music Number).

The declaration of legal deposit and the application for an identification number are steps that:

• must be initiated by the interested parties (and not by the BnL);
• are managed via MyGuichet.lu, without the need for a LuxTrust product or a Luxembourg identity card. 

For more information on the publishing sector in Luxembourg, please consult our explanatory information pages.