How to Find a Publisher Name by ISBN Number

Finding the publisher of a book is often as simple as looking at the spine. But when you only have an ISBN number or need to verify the official registered entity, you need a specialized database.

The most authoritative source for this information is the Global Register of Publishers (GRP). Managed by the International ISBN Agency, this database tracks publisher prefixes worldwide.

The Official Source: GRP

The Global Register of Publishers is the official directory maintained by the International ISBN Agency. It allows you to look up the publisher associated with a specific ISBN prefix.

While accurate, the official interface is designed more for industry verification than casual browsing. It requires registration for full access and is strictly a database of record.

A Faster Way: GRP Search by ISBNBarcode.org

For a more user-friendly experience, ISBNBarcode.org has developed a specialized GRP Search Tool.

This tool is built directly on top of the official GRP database but adds a layer of convenience. It allows you to search by ISBN and apply filters to narrow down your results.

Key Features:

• Direct ISBN Search: Enter the number to find the publisher.
• Official Data: Pinpoints the registered publisher name from the global database.
• Filtering: Helps sort through records efficiently.

Limitations to Know:

• Result Limit: You are limited to viewing 10 results per search.
• No Contact Details: The tool provides the publisher’s name but does not list contact information like email or phone numbers.

The “One Year” Data Lag

It is important to understand a major limitation of the GRP system itself, regardless of which tool you use.

The data is not real-time. It typically takes one year or more for a new publisher or a new ISBN assignment to appear in the GRP.

This delay happens because the system depends on individual national ISBN agencies to report their data back to the International ISBN Agency. This reporting cycle is slow. If a detailed publisher record is missing, it often means the local agency hasn’t “fed” the update to the global database yet.

Conclusion

If you need to verify a publisher’s name/company name or imprint name from an ISBN, the Global Register of Publishers is your gold standard. Tools like the GRP Search by ISBNBarcode.org make this data easier to access for quick checks. Just remember to account for the potential delay in records for very new publishers; also, there is no requirement on imprint name usage. So, anyone can use any imprint name to register an ISBN.

Sometimes a book publisher uses some other imprint name at the time of publishing a book regardless of the imprint name used during ISBN registration. The GRP database stores the publisher name or imprint name that was used during ISBN registration. So, expect a mismatch in the imprint name of some published books.