FAQs

For entities registered as companies in India, the Corporate Identification Number (CIN) - a unique 21‑digit identification code issued by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) upon registration - should be entered.

The CIN can be located on the Certificate of Incorporation issued to the company, or you may search on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal.

If the organization does not possess a CIN, they may alternatively enter their:

• PAN (Permanent Account Number), or
• TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number).

To complete profile creation, the Owner or Applicant must upload the following documents as per the selected ownership category:

For Individual Ownership

• Photograph of the Owner (maximum size: 20 KB).
• PAN Card of the Owner.
• Document in support of Date of Birth (DOB) of the Owner.
• Original Certificate of Registration of a periodical for Previous Data Mapping (if applicable).
• Any Other Document (preferably Aadhaar Card).

For Non-Individual Ownership

• Photograph of the Owner/Applicant (maximum size: 20 KB).
• PAN Card of the Owner/Company.
• Document in support of Date of Incorporation (DOI) of the Company/Organization.
• GST Certificate (if available).
• Import Export Code Certificate (if available).
• Document in support of Date of Birth (DOB) of the Applicant (preferably Aadhaar Card).
• Authorization Letter issued by the Owner/Company on its official letterhead.
• Original Certificate of Registration of a periodical for Previous Data Mapping (if applicable).
• Any Other Document (preferably Aadhaar Card).

Note: All documents should be uploaded in clear, legible, and unaltered format for successful submission and verification.

Note: Owner/Applicant is requested to fill the required details in their profile as per Aadhaar Card. At later stages, where e-sign is required to update the profile or submit any application, any mismatch between the information provided and the Aadhaar data may result in e-sign failure.

To complete e-Sign on the Press Sewa Portal, please follow the steps below:

1. Click on the e-Sign button. You will be redirected to the CDAC e-Sign authentication page.
2. Enter your Aadhaar Number.
3. Verify the request by entering the One-Time Password (OTP) received on the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar.
4. Once the authentication is successful, the e-Sign process will be completed, and you will be redirected back to the Press Sewa Portal.

Note:

• Maintain stable internet connectivity while performing e-sign.
• The details entered by you in the profile or application form on the Press Sewa Portal must exactly match the Aadhaar details.

The “Invite Publisher” feature is used when the Owner and the Publisher of a periodical are not the same person. In such cases, the Owner must invite the Publisher through the Press Sewa Portal to enable them to complete the application process.

Steps to Invite a Publisher

1. Log in to your Press Sewa Portal Owner account.
2. On the dashboard, click on the “Invite Publisher” tab.
3. On the Invite Publisher page, select the relevant application category: New Registration, Existing Registration, or Revised Registration.
4. Choose the Application Number / Registration Number of your periodical.
5. Enter the required Publisher details carefully. Ensure that the e-mail ID is entered correctly, as this will serve as the username for the Publisher’s Press Sewa Portal account.
6. Submit the form to send the invitation.

Once invited, the Publisher will receive a notification via e-mail and can proceed with 
the further application steps using the provided log-in credentials.

To create your Publisher profile, please follow the steps below:

1. Log in to the Press Sewa Portal using the login credentials shared with you via e-mail.
2. After successful login, navigate to the Profile section available in the top-right corner of the homepage/dashboard.
3. Upload your profile photograph (maximum file size: 20 KB).
4. Carefully and accurately complete the mandatory details. The following details are required:
   • Name
   • Mobile Number
   • E-mail ID (pre-filled and non-editable)
   • PAN Number
   • Nationality
   • Address
   • Date of Birth (DOB)
   • GST Number (if available)

Note: Publisher is requested to fill the required details in their profile as per Aadhaar Card. At later stages, where e-sign is required to update the profile or submit any application, any mismatch between the information provided and the Aadhaar data may result in e-sign failure.

The key statutory obligations for owners and publishers under the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act, 2023 are as follows:

• Registration of a Periodical (Section 7(1) of the PRP Act, 2023) 

  A periodical shall be printed or published only in accordance with the provisions of the PRP Act, 2023. That is, no periodical shall be printed or published in India without being registered with the Press Registrar General of India (PRGI).

• Commencement of Publication of the Periodical (Section 7(6) of the PRP Act, 2023) 

  Upon receiving the certificate of registration, the publisher shall commence publication of the periodical. Provided that if the publisher fails to commence publication within twelve months from the end of the month in which the certificate was issued, the Press Registrar General may cancel the certificate of registration without prejudice. 

• Discontinuation of a Periodical (Section 10(1) of the PRP Act, 2023 and Rule 8 of the PRP Rules, 2024) 

   When an owner of a periodical, who has been granted a certificate of registration, decides to discontinue the publication of the periodical, they shall, within six months of such discontinuation, send an online intimation to the Press Registrar General and the specified authority on the Press Sewa Portal. 

• E-filing of the Annual Statement (Section 12(1) of the PRP Act, 2023 and Rule 9(1) of the PRP Rules, 2024):A publisher who has been granted a certificate of registration by PRGI shall furnish an annual statement by the 31st May of a calendar year, in respect of the preceding financial year, on the Press Sewa Portal, containing the particulars and documents specified in that Portal.

• Delivery of Physical Copies of Periodicals (Section 12(2) and Rule 10(2) of the PRP Act, 2024):Every publisher of a newspaper in India shall deliver the physical copy to the office of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) located in the respective State or Union Territory by the fifth day of every month, covering all issues published during the preceding month.

  Note: Periodicals published within the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi shall submit the physical copy of each issue to the Office of the Press Registrar General of India (PRGI), New Delhi, by the fifth day of every month for all days on which the newspaper was published during the preceding month.

  Periodicals published in the National Capital Region (NCR), excluding the NCT of Delhi—that is, those published from areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan falling within the NCR—shall submit the physical copy at the nearest Press Information Bureau (PIB) office.

• Upload of E-copies of Periodicals (Rule 10(1) of the PRP Rules, 2024):The publisher shall, within forty-eight hours of the publication of a periodical, upload the scanned copy of the printed periodical on the Press Sewa Portal.

The appropriate application type depends on the purpose of your request. Please refer to the categories and their applicable conditions below:

New Registration 

Apply under New Registration when:

• The Publisher intends to register a new periodical for the first time.
• An existing periodical is intended to be registered for publishing from a different state than its current registered state of publication.

New Edition 

Apply under New Edition when:

• The proposed edition is to be published in a different language, or with a different periodicity, or from a different location within the same state of publication as the existing registered periodical.

Revised Registration 

Apply under Revised Registration when changes or revisions are required in any of the following published/registered details:

• The title of the periodical (minor modifications are allowed).
• The editor of the periodical.
• The printing press of the periodical.
• The place of publication of the periodical within the State or Union Territory.
• The periodicity of the periodical.
• The publisher of the periodical.

Transfer of Ownership of Periodical 

Apply under Ownership Transfer when:

• The Owner of a periodical wishes to transfer ownership rights to another person or entity (the transferee). The transfer must be applied only on the Press Sewa Portal to request the change of ownership.

Ownership Transfer to Legal Heir 

Apply under Ownership Transfer to Legal Heir when:

• Ownership is to be transferred to a legal heir, in the event of the demise of the registered Owner, through the Press Sewa Portal, along with the necessary supporting documents.

Discontinuation / Ceasing of a Periodical 

Apply under Discontinuation when:

• The owner of a periodical registered with PRGI decides to discontinue its publication. In such cases, the owner must submit an online intimation to the Press Registrar General and the specified authority through the Press Sewa Portal within six 
  months of the discontinuation.
   

To register a new periodical, please follow the steps outlined below:

Navigation Path: Dashboard > Registration > New Registration Part A (to be filled by Owner) > Add New > New Registration

After selecting New Registration, complete the following sequential steps:

Step 1 – 

Owner/Applicant Details: Enter all required details of the Owner/Applicant. Please ensure that the information provided matches exactly with the supporting documents uploaded for verification.

Step 2 

• Publisher Details.
• Share-Holding Pattern in the ownership (only if owner is a company).
• Place of Publication of the proposed periodical.

Step 3 – Proposed Title DetailsFill in the details of the title proposed for the periodical. 

Step 4- PRGI Verified/Registered Title Details (if applicable) 

• If the title has already been verified or registered with PRGI, provide the details.
• Owner/Applicant photograph.
• Eligibility and Content Affidavit ( https://prgi.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-03/affidavit_for_registration.pdf )

Confirmation & E-Sign 

Review the submitted information, confirm the application, and complete the process by e-signing the Part A. Once e-signed, the publisher has to fill Part B of the Application.

Navigation Path: Dashboard > Registration > New Registration Part B (to be filled by Publisher) > Registration List Page > New Registration

• Enter details of the Title, Price, Publisher, Editor, Printing Press, Place of Publication, and Owner.
• Upload the Eligibility & Content Affidavit ( https://prgi.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-03/affidavit_for_registration.pdf )
• Confirm and submit the application.

The application then moves to the Printer. After the Printer approves and e-signs the application, it returns to the Publisher to e-sign and complete the payment.

Once these steps are completed, the application is forwarded to PRGI and the Specified Authority (SA) on the Press Sewa Portal for final processing and verification.

Note: Upon successful uploading of the application, the Press Sewa Portal shall generate an acknowledgment along with a unique ten-digit alphanumeric Applicant Reference Number (ARN), and the publisher and the PRGI shall use the Applicant Reference Number (ARN) for all future correspondence and references.

Note: If the publisher intends to make any corrections or remove any omissions or error in the applicationfurnished, they may do so within five days of furnishing such application.

Note: During this 5-day window, the application status will appear as “Ready to Submit”. After five days, the status will automatically update to “Submitted to PRGI/SA”.

No. The shareholding pattern is not applicable to ownership categories such as Association, Corporation, Educational Institution, Partnership Firm, Registered Political Party, Society, or Trust — even though these fall under the Non-Individual ownership category on the portal.

Please note that the shareholding pattern is required only when the Owner of the periodical is a Company.

Note: The fields related to shareholder details (including Name, Address, Position, Share Value (%), and relationship between shareholders) are mandatory, along with uploading supporting documents that clearly mention the shareholding structure.

• The proposed title must comply with the Guidelines for Admissibility of Titles ( https://rgi.gov.in/policy/guidelines-admissibility-titles ) issued by PRGI.
• A maximum of five (5) titles may be submitted in a single application, in the order of preference.
• The following details must be furnished for each proposed title:
  • Language and periodicity in which the title is intended to be published/printed.
  • Name of the proposed title (in both English and Hindi).
  • Meaning of the proposed title.
  • A brief description of the content to be published in the periodical.

Note: Applicants are advised to ensure that the meaning of the proposed title is clear, appropriate, and effectively conveys the intended purpose or content of the periodical.