Legal deposit of printed matter

Regulatory fact sheet, updated on 2 November 2026. General information, not legal advice: legislation changes, so check it at the source.

In brief

• Legal deposit applies to printed, graphic and photographic documents made available to the public in multiple copies, free of charge or not (Code du patrimoine, the French Heritage Code, article R. 132-1).
• Two separate obligations:
  • the publisher deposits 1 copy at the BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France), no later than the day the document is put into circulation (article R. 132-4);
  • the printer deposits 1 copy as soon as the print run is completed, at the BnF for Île-de-France (and therefore Paris), or at the authorised library for their region elsewhere (article R. 132-6).
• No minimum print run for a document published in France.
• Excluded in particular are social, commercial and administrative printing and election documents (article R. 132-2).
• Wilfully evading deposit: a fine of up to €75,000 (article L. 133-1).

1. Who must deposit?

Code du patrimoine, article L. 132-2 (version in force since 1 January 2022): the obligation falls in particular on

• a) publishers and importers of printed, graphic or photographic documents;
• b) the printers of these documents.

Article R. 132-3: deposit is the responsibility of the persons referred to in a and b of article L. 132-2 and of those who manufacture the documents.

• Several printers (printing, finishing, binding): the one who makes the final delivery to the publisher makes the deposit (article R. 132-6).
• Publisher who prints in-house: they have two obligations, the publisher's deposit and the printer's deposit (BnF, “Dépôt légal imprimeur : mode d'emploi”, the printer's legal deposit guide).
• Self-publishing and print on demand: covered (BnF, “Dépôt légal éditeur : mode d'emploi”, the publisher's legal deposit guide).

Sources: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006074236/LEGISCTA000006159935/ and https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGISCTA000024240057

2. Which documents?

Article R. 132-1 (in force since 27 May 2011): books, periodicals, booklets, prints, engravings, postcards, posters, maps, plans, atlases, musical scores, choreographies and photographic documents, whatever their medium or process, provided they are made available to the public in multiple copies, free of charge or for a fee.

Exclusions — article R. 132-2 (version in force since 1 January 2018):

• so-called social printing (travaux de ville: announcement cards, business cards, invitations…), commercial printing (invoices, order forms…) or administrative printing (templates, slips…);
• the election documents referred to in articles R. 26, R. 29 and R. 30 of the Code électoral (candidate statements, ballot papers);
• documents imported in fewer than 100 copies (30 for scores and choreographies);
• patents, industrial designs and models;
• collections of photocopies or reproductions of press articles;
• identical reprints after the initial deposit;
• certain collections of administrative acts.

Election posters: the BnF classes them among the excluded election documents. Its handbook on the printer's legal deposit (October 2021) states that the exclusion covers “election posters and posters announcing election meetings (art. R26)”, candidate statements (R. 29) and ballot papers (R. 30). Article R. 26 of the Code électoral was, however, repealed by decree no. 2020-1397 of 17 November 2020; article R. 132-2 of the Code du patrimoine has not been updated, but the BnF, after this repeal, maintains the reading above.

Leaflets, folded leaflets, advertising material: they are subject to legal deposit. The BnF states that advertising material and commercial catalogues do not fall under social or commercial printing “and are therefore subject to the deposit obligation”; leaflets, folded leaflets, booklets, small posters and flyers are processed as collections (2021 handbook, § 1.2 and 1.3). For reference, the BnF classes the following among excluded commercial printing: letterheads, invoices, business cards, order forms, delivery notices, labels, price lists, instructions and user manuals.

Sources: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGISCTA000024240057 (article R. 132-2, version in force since 1 January 2018); BnF, Vade-mecum à l'usage des bibliothèques de dépôt légal imprimeur, October 2021: https://www.bnf.fr/sites/default/files/2021-11/vade-mecum_BDLI_BnF_0.pdf ; https://www.bnf.fr/fr/depot-legal-pour-quels-documents

3. How many copies, when, where?

• Copies identical to those put into circulation and of perfect quality (article R. 132-8).
• Postage exemption: items may be sent without postage, bearing the wording given by the BnF: “Franchise postale - Code du patrimoine - Art.L132.1- Dépôt Légal” (as worded on the BnF page “Dépôt légal imprimeur : mode d'emploi”, consulted on 1 November 2026). The exemption only applies to items sent to the deposit addresses given by the BnF.
• Periodicals: initial declaration, then an annual global declaration is possible.

Sources: https://www.bnf.fr/fr/centre-d-aide/depot-legal-imprimeur-mode-demploi and https://www.bnf.fr/fr/centre-d-aide/depot-legal-editeur-mode-demploi

4. Notices to be printed on documents

An order (arrêté) of the Minister responsible for culture sets the notices to be printed on documents subject to legal deposit (article R. 132-8, last paragraph): the arrêté du 12 janvier 1995 fixant les mentions obligatoires devant figurer sur les documents imprimés, graphiques et photographiques soumis au dépôt légal (order of 12 January 1995 setting the mandatory notices), article 1 (version in force since 1 January 2002).

• Books, maps and plans:
  • name (or company name) and address of the publisher;
  • name (or company name) and address of the printer;
  • date the print run was completed;
  • ISBN (and ISSN where applicable);
  • price in euros;
  • the words “dépôt légal” followed by the month and year;
  • for an unchanged reprint: month and year of the reprint.
• Periodicals: identity of the publisher (for a legal entity: name, legal form, registered office, legal representative and three main shareholders), names of the publication director and of the editor-in-chief, name and address of the printer, date of publication and of legal deposit, price, ISSN.
• Prints: surname and first names (or mark) of the artist, title, date of printing, number within the edition.
• Musical scores: publisher, printer, the words “dépôt légal” with month and year.

The text does not provide a specific list for posters.

Penalty for missing notices: the fine provided for 5th-class petty offences (contraventions) against persons who fail to include the mandatory notices on documents subject to deposit (Code du patrimoine, article R. 133-1, 3°, version in force since 14 February 2014).

Sources: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000185764 and https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000028603482

5. Penalty

Code du patrimoine, article L. 133-1: wilful evasion of legal deposit by a person referred to in article L. 132-2 is punishable by a €75,000 fine; the court may defer sentencing while ordering the deposit to be made, where appropriate subject to a daily penalty. Version in force since 1 May 2010 (ordonnance no. 2010-420 of 27 April 2010, article 113); no more recent version appears on Légifrance as of 1 November 2026. Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006074236/LEGISCTA000006144103/

For Paris printers: summary

1. For each publication intended for the public (book, magazine, booklet, poster, postcard…), deposit 1 copy at the BnF as soon as the print run is finished, with the printer's declaration form in 3 copies.
2. Also deposit leaflets, folded leaflets, flyers and commercial catalogues. Do not deposit business cards, announcement cards, letterheads, invoices or forms, nor election posters, ballot papers and candidate statements.
3. Do not deposit an identical reprint again.
4. The printer's deposit does not replace the publisher's, and vice versa.

Main sources

• Code du patrimoine, articles L. 132-1 and L. 132-2: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006074236/LEGISCTA000006159935/
• Code du patrimoine, articles R. 132-1 to R. 132-8: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGISCTA000024240057
• Code du patrimoine, article L. 133-1: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006074236/LEGISCTA000006144103/
• BnF, Dépôt légal imprimeur (printer's legal deposit): https://www.bnf.fr/fr/centre-d-aide/depot-legal-imprimeur-mode-demploi
• BnF, Dépôt légal éditeur (publisher's legal deposit): https://www.bnf.fr/fr/centre-d-aide/depot-legal-editeur-mode-demploi
• BnF, handbook on the printer's legal deposit (2021): https://www.bnf.fr/sites/default/files/2021-11/vade-mecum_BDLI_BnF_0.pdf
• Arrêté du 12 janvier 1995 (mandatory notices): https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000185764
• Code du patrimoine, article R. 133-1: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000028603482

General information, not legal advice. Written on 1 November 2026.

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