U S Government Printing Office

Government Publishing and Information Disseminationgpo.gov

The U.S. Government Publishing Office is a legislative branch federal agency established in 1860 that produces official U.S. government documents, the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and U.S. passports, serving Congress, 90 federal agencies, depository libraries, and the public through digital platforms like GovInfo and print distribution.

Company typePrivate
Founded1860
HeadquartersWashington, United States
Headcount1,001–5,000
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingServices

What U S Government Printing Office does

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), established by Congress in 1860, is a legislative branch federal agency that serves as the official publisher and printer for all three branches of the U.S. government. Headquartered at 732 North Capitol Street NW in Washington, D.C., with a 50-year-old distribution center in Laurel, Maryland, GPO produces essential government documents including the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, President's Budget, and legislative materials such as bills, hearings, and reports. The agency also produces U.S. passports for the State Department under Continuity of Operations planning, and operates Government Integrated Print Services (GIPS) for custom federal publishing needs.

GPO's digital platform ecosystem centers on GovInfo, a free public access portal hosting more than 1,000 Congressionally Mandated Reports from 90 federal agencies, alongside the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications for discovery and the U.S. Government Online Bookstore for commercial publication sales. The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) provides physical and digital access through 1,200+ partner libraries nationwide. Supporting platforms include GPO Publish for agency order management and G-Invoicing for federal billing. The agency employs 1,001-5,000 people and is funded through congressional appropriations rather than commercial revenue.

The business model combines appropriated funding (legislative branch agency), commercial sales via the online bookstore with free worldwide shipping, paid training programs (e.g., "Building a Website with AI" at $575), and government printing services billed through G-Invoicing. Customer segments span the U.S. Congress, 90 federal agencies, the State Department, federal depository libraries, students and educators via Ben's Guide, and the general public. Distribution channels include the online bookstore, a Washington D.C. retail storefront, the FDLP network, GovInfo digital access, phone ordering, and direct federal agency services.

U S Government Printing Office firmographics

Firmographics

Name: U S Government Printing Office
Legal name: U.S. Government Publishing Office
Website: https://gpo.gov
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1860
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1,001–5,000 employees
Short description: The U.S. Government Publishing Office is a legislative branch federal agency established in 1860 that produces official U.S. government documents, the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and U.S. passports, serving Congress, 90 federal agencies, depository libraries, and the public through digital platforms like GovInfo and print distribution.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

U S Government Printing Office industry classification

Industry

Product category: Government Publishing and Information Dissemination
NAICS: Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (9211), Public Administration (92)
akta.pro primary industry: Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking) (MPAJACAI)
akta.pro secondary industries: Data Extraction & Structuring (Invoices, POs, Receipts, KYC) (BPAAAKAF), Database Build, Migration & Master Data Management (MDM) Support (BPAAAKAJ), Data Cleansing, Standardization & De-duplication (BPAAAKAE)

Keywords

Government publishing services
Official federal printing
Passport production
Public information dissemination
Congressional document publishing

Where U S Government Printing Office is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Washington
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

U S Government Printing Office business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

Publication Sales: Sales of government publications, books, maps, and official documents through the U.S. Government Online Bookstore and retail store. Includes both print and eBook formats.
Government Printing Services: Printing and publishing services for Congress and federal agencies, including essential government documents such as Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, President's Budget, and legislative documents.
Passport Production: Production of U.S. passports for the State Department, operating as an essential government function under Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning.
Federal Appropriations: Congressional appropriations funding to support core government publishing and information dissemination missions for the Legislative Branch agency.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
One time/ perpetual license	Pay-as-you-go	Standard publications with free shipping
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Training Events
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Bulk/Institutional Purchases

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

U S Government Printing Office product offering

Product offering

Core offering

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) is the official printing, publishing, and information dissemination arm of the U.S. federal government, producing authentic documents from all three branches including the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and President's Budget. It operates the GovInfo digital platform and the U.S. Government Online Bookstore for public access, the Federal Depository Library Program across 1,200+ libraries, and produces secure U.S. passports for the State Department under Continuity of Operations planning.

Product overview

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) operates as a government information dissemination agency providing both digital and print access to federal publications. The core digital platform GovInfo offers free public access to authentic government documents from all three branches, including the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations. GPO's services are complemented by the U.S. Government Bookstore for purchasing publications, the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications for discovery, and GPO Publish for agency order management. Educational outreach is served through Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government, while the Government Book Talk blog highlights notable publications. GPO also maintains physical distribution through the Federal Depository Library Program and the Pueblo distribution center, along with electronic systems like G-Invoicing for billing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

GovInfo: GPO's official database providing free public access to authentic, published information from all three branches of the Federal Government
Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government
U.S. Government Bookstore

Products and services

GovInfo

Quantifiable outcome

Over 1,000 Congressionally Mandated Reports from 90 Federal agencies available on GovInfo
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use U S Government Printing Office

Customer profile

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

U S Government Printing Office technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

U S Government Printing Office partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

Federal Depository Libraries (FDLP)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGPO partners with over 1,200 federal depository libraries across the United States through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). These libraries provide public access to government publications and information, receiving both tangible items and digital access to official government documents.
Federal Register and Office of the Federal RegistercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPO works with the Office of the Federal Register to publish the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and related regulatory documents that are essential to public access of federal regulations.
Library of CongresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPO collaborates with the Library of Congress on various government publication initiatives and provides links to Library resources through GovInfo and partner site links.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPO partners with NARA for preservation and access to government records and publications, with links provided through GovInfo and related platforms.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPO distributes citizenship and immigration-related publications including the Citizen's Almanac and naturalization study guides in partnership with USCIS.
Administrative Office of the United States CourtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership to provide public access to court opinions through the USCOURTS collection on GovInfo. This collection provides opinions from selected U.S. appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts in compliance with the E-Government Act.
Joint Committee on PrintingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOversight committee for GPO's congressional publishing activities. Joint Committee on Printing creates official guides like the Congressional Directory.
Department of StatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPO produces U.S. passports for the State Department as part of essential government operations. Passport production is maintained under Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning for national security.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPO publishes FEMA emergency management and preparedness publications including guides on earthquakes, floods, and disaster planning available through the Government Bookstore.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

U S Government Printing Office competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Office of the Federal Register (NARA): The Office of the Federal Register works directly with GPO to publish the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and related regulatory documents. Its narrow scope and publishing-focused mission make it a tight functional peer for GPO's regulatory publishing work.
Government Accountability Office (GAO): GAO is a Legislative Branch agency that produces reports and publications for Congress, much of which is distributed via GPO channels. It shares GPO's legislative-branch structure, federal publishing dependency, and report-production mandate.
Library of Congress: Library of Congress is the largest library in the world and a fellow Legislative Branch agency that preserves and provides public access to federal information, including congressional materials. It directly collaborates with GPO on government publication initiatives through GovInfo and partner links, making it the closest functional peer in scope and mission.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): NARA preserves and provides access to permanently valuable federal records and documents. GPO partners with NARA for record preservation and access, and together the two agencies form the federal government's authoritative content lifecycle — GPO for publication, NARA for archival preservation.

Regional players

The Stationery Office (UK): Historically the UK government's official printer and publisher, equivalent in mission to GPO. Operates across publishing, legislation, and official document distribution for the UK government, providing a national-jurisdiction analogue rather than a direct competitor.
Library and Archives Canada: Combines a national library and national archive, providing public access to government information and publications in Canada. Comparable in scope (library/archive + government information dissemination) though operating under a different national mandate.
Government Publishing Office of Australia (Canberra): Provides publishing and printing services to the Australian Parliament and federal agencies. Closest international counterpart in mission to GPO, serving a different national jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

U.S. Census Bureau: A major federal statistical agency producing high-volume government publications and reports that flow partly through GPO. Comparable in scale of federal information production and dissemination, though narrower in subject matter.
Thomson Reuters (Westlaw): A commercial legal and regulatory information provider whose products incorporate federal regulatory and legislative content. Overlaps with GPO's authoritative regulatory publishing role, but operates as a profitable commercial aggregator rather than a free public-access publisher.

Emerging players

Deltek (GovWin): Provides government contracting intelligence and federal market data, partially overlapping with GPO's information dissemination role but oriented toward commercial contractors and private-sector decision-making rather than public access.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

U S Government Printing Office compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance5 records

U S Government Printing Office financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

U S Government Printing Office leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

U S Government Printing Office funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

U S Government Printing Office M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about U S Government Printing Office

What does U S Government Printing Office do?

Is U S Government Printing Office a public or private company?

U S Government Printing Office is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.

When was U S Government Printing Office founded?

U S Government Printing Office was founded in 1860. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.

Where is U S Government Printing Office based?

U S Government Printing Office is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.

How does U S Government Printing Office make money?

Four revenue lines are on record. Publication Sales are the primary driver. The others are government Printing Services, passport Production and federal Appropriations.

Who are U S Government Printing Office's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Office of the Federal Register (NARA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Regional players are The Stationery Office (UK), Library and Archives Canada and Government Publishing Office of Australia (Canberra). Broad incumbents are U.S. Census Bureau and Thomson Reuters (Westlaw). Deltek (GovWin) is listed as an emerging player.

Does U S Government Printing Office have an API?

No public API is recorded for U S Government Printing Office.

What industry is U S Government Printing Office in?

U S Government Printing Office's product category is Government Publishing and Information Dissemination. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJACAI, Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking), with a secondary code of BPAAAKAF, Data Extraction & Structuring (Invoices, POs, Receipts, KYC). Its NAICS code is 9211.