ISSN International Centre

What ISSN International Centre does

The ISSN International Centre is a Paris-headquartered international organization that administers the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) system defined by ISO 3297, providing unique standardized identifiers for serials, journals, magazines, and periodicals in both print and electronic formats. The Centre coordinates a global network of more than 130 ISSN National Centres and maintains the ISSN International Register, which holds approximately 2.5 million ISSN records, with roughly 70,000 new assignments and 130,000 modifications processed annually.

The Centre's principal commercial offering is the ISSN Portal (portal.issn.org), a subscription-based platform providing tiered access to the bibliographic register. Complementary online services include ROAD (Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources), the Keepers Registry, the ISSN-L linking table, Title Word Abbreviations under ISO 4, URN services, and ISSN Premium (customized data processing for publishers). On the standards side, the Centre maintains PRESSoo (a formal FRBRoo-derived ontology for serials), the ISSN Linked Data Application Profile (published in RDF/XML, Turtle, and JSON using Schema.org, Dublin Core, Bibframe, and Marc21rdf.info), MARC21/UNIMARC cataloguing profiles, and the ISSN Manual — co-developed with partners including the Bibliothèque nationale de France and IFLA.

The Centre operates as a non-profit international standards body rather than a venture-backed or publicly traded company. Revenue is generated primarily through ISSN Portal subscriptions, ISSN registration services coordinated via the national centre network, and ISSN Premium customized processing. The organization has no parent company, no disclosed funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no publicly disclosed revenue or headcount. Distribution is hybrid: localized registration via the 130+ national centres and direct relationships with multinational publishers.

Name

ISSN International Centre

Legal name

ISSN International Centre

Website

https://issn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The ISSN International Centre, based in Paris, administers the ISSN system (ISO 3297) — unique international identifiers for serials and continuing resources — coordinating a network of 130+ national centres and operating the subscription-based ISSN Portal serving publishers, libraries, and the scholarly communication ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bibliographic Identification Services

NAICS

Other Publishers (51319)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Rights, ISBN & Publishing Administration Services (Identifiers, Metadata, Royalties) (MPAJAJAK)

Keywords

• Bibliographic identification services
• Serial registration services
• Scholarly metadata portal
• ISSN assignment services
• International standards coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. ISSN Registration Services: ISSN assignment and registration services for serial publications (journals, magazines, periodicals) in both print and electronic formats, coordinated through national centres and the International Centre.
2. ISSN Portal Subscription: Subscription-based access to the ISSN International Register containing 2.5 million ISSN records. Multiple subscription tiers available for different levels of access.
3. ISSN Premium: Customised services for processing publisher data with enhanced features.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The ISSN International Centre assigns and administers the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), a unique 8-digit code identifying serial publications. It maintains the authoritative ISSN Register and exposes bibliographic metadata through the ISSN Portal, ROAD directory, Keepers Registry, ISSN-L linking service, and ISO 4 title abbreviations, supported by a global network of more than 130 National Centres.

Product overview

The ISSN International Centre operates as an international standards organization offering the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) system as its core product - a unique identifier for serials and continuing resources in both print and electronic formats. The primary service offering is the ISSN Portal, a subscription-based platform providing access to the ISSN International Register containing over 2.5 million records. The portfolio includes complementary online services: ROAD (Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources), the Keepers Registry, ISSN-L linking table, Title Word Abbreviations following ISO 4 standard, and URN services. Premium customized data processing is available through ISSN Premium. The organization also publishes technical standards including PRESSoo (a formal ontology for serials), the ISSN Linked Data Application Profile (RDF-based), and MARC21/UNIMARC cataloguing profiles. The ISSN Manual documents implementation standards for ISO 3297.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources - an online service providing access to ISSN records with links to related information in the scholarly knowledge ecosystem.
• ISSN Portal
• Keepers Registry

Products and services

• ISSN Assignment Service Official registration and assignment of ISSNs to serial publications (journals, magazines, newspapers, continuing digital resources). Delivered through 130+ National Centres globally, with a multinational direct track for large international publishers.
• ISSN Portal Online platform offering access to the ISSN Register, including verified bibliographic metadata for serials, with subscription tiers for institutional users such as libraries and aggregators.
• ROAD (Directory of Open Access scholarly Resources) Directory service providing bibliographic information on open access scholarly serials worldwide, facilitating discovery of freely available scholarly resources.
• Keepers Registry Registry service that monitors which serial publications are preserved by which archiving services, supporting preservation policy and decision-making for libraries and publishers.
• ISSN-L (ISSN Linking) Service Linking service that assigns a single ISSN-L to a title across its different media (print, electronic, etc.), enabling consistent identification and linking of serial variants.
• Title Word Abbreviations (ISO 4) Service and standard providing abbreviated forms of serial titles per ISO 4, used in citations, references, and bibliographic indexing.
• URN:ISSN Resolution Service Persistent identifier resolution service providing URN:ISSN resolution, supporting stable citation and reference linking for serial publications.
• ISSN Premium Premium ISSN variant offered as a higher-tier identifier option for serial publications, providing enhanced identifier services beyond the standard ISSN.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.5 million ISSN assigned globally
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• AI4LAM AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2025Memorandum of Understanding signed to promote the adoption of artificial intelligence in archives, libraries, and related institutions. The partnership involves collaboration with the National Library of Norway and Stanford University Library.
• ISSN National Centres NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal network of over 130 national centres in countries worldwide. National centres coordinate ISSN assignment activities for publishers within their territories, acting as authorized intermediaries for the ISSN International Centre based in Paris.
• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe BnF collaborated with the ISSN International Centre and the ISSN Review Group to develop PRESSoo - a formal ontology extension of the FRBRoo model for representing bibliographic information relating to serials and continuing resources.
• IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFLA cataloguing section oversees the PRESSoo Review Group chaired by the ISSN International Centre. The ISSN data model is designed to be consistent with the IFLA-Library Reference Model.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CrossRef: Official DOI registration agency for scholarly publications; operates as a non-profit identifier infrastructure provider in the same scholarly communications ecosystem as ISSN, and is the most direct competitor/companion for article-level and increasingly serial-level identification.
• DataCite: Non-profit DOI registration agency for research data and other scholarly resources; comparable to ISSN as a non-profit identifier registry serving libraries, publishers, and researchers globally.
• International ISBN Agency: Coordinates the global ISBN system for books through national agencies — the closest functional parallel to ISSN, operating as a standards-body identifier registry for a different publication type (monographs vs. serials).
• ISNI International Agency: Manages the International Standard Name Identifier for creators and contributors; parallel to ISSN as an ISO-backed identifier authority coordinated internationally and embedded in library/publisher workflows.
• Bowker (ISBN Agency for the US): US ISBN agency and identifier services provider offering ISBN, ISSN administration, and publisher metadata services; directly comparable as a registration-services organization serving publishers.

Broad incumbents

• Bibliothèque nationale de France: French national library and ISSN strategic partner that co-developed PRESSoo with the ISSN International Centre; comparable as a major bibliographic/identifier stakeholder and large-scale library institution serving publishers and researchers.
• OCLC: Global library cooperative operating WorldCat and shared cataloguing infrastructure; comparable as a large-scale bibliographic/metadata infrastructure provider serving libraries and indirectly relying on ISSN identifiers.

Emerging players

• ORCID: Non-profit identifier registry for researchers; overlaps with ISSN in the scholarly communications ecosystem and increasingly integrates with publication metadata, making it adjacent competitor/complement for academic publishing identifiers.
• ROR (Research Organization Registry): Community-led registry of open identifiers for research organizations; operates as an identifier infrastructure player in the same scholarly ecosystem as ISSN, with overlapping publisher/library customers.
• Ringgold: Provider of the Ringgold Identify digital identifier for institutional customers in publishing; comparable as a private-sector identifier service targeting the same scholarly publishing customers as ISSN.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ISSN_IC
• Facebookfacebook.com/ISSNInternationalCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/issn-international-centre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about ISSN International Centre