- for mailers of newspapers and periodicals in Ireland
Do you publish newspapers or periodicals? Do you mail to numerous readers nationwide? Make sure you sign up to our Publication Services to reduce your distribution costs and encourage customer subscriptions
How does it work?
Address each newspaper/periodical clearly making sure to include a return address. Pre-sort to the level appropriate to your chosen discount. Deliver bags to your pre-agreed bulk mail acceptance office.
Step by step
- Do you have at least 100 readers nationwide? (This is the minimum number of newspapers/periodicals required per posting.) If you are mailing over 2,000 items, you get a higher discount.
- Make sure your publication confirms to the criteria of newspaper or periodical laid down by An Post (see terms and conditions)
- Fill out the application form for approval. All applications must include a sample of the publication and any supplements/inserts.
- An annual registration fee of €12.70 applies to the newspaper service.
- Items packaged in flat format must be: - Length: minimum: 100mm; maximum: 610mm - Width: minimum: 70mm; maximum: 460mm Items packaged in tube format are subject to size constraints and must be pre-approved for mailing.
- Each newspaper/periodical must be posted in a sealed plastic cover/wrapper on which the words 'Publication Service' must appear, centred on the top of the front side of the cover/wrapper. Address each item clearly.
- Pre-sort according to county or Dublin district using separate bags with special bag labels supplied by An Post. You can use our handy Pre-sort tool, Sort It online (new window), to help you sort your mail.
- Deliver bags to your agreed office of posting before the latest time of acceptance Monday to Friday.
- Note that the publication service is only open to mailings within Ireland (incl. Northern Ireland).
Terms and conditions
- A newspaper is defined by An Post as a publication which consists of political, news-related articles and/or current topics and can include advertisement material. It must be printed and published at intervals of not more than seven days. Newspapers must be registered annually at the GPO, Dublin. An annual registration fee of €12.70 per publication applies.
- A periodical is defined by An Post as a magazine or similar printed matter published at intervals of not more than three months. Periodicals must be submitted annually for approval prior to being eligible to avail of the service.
- A newspaper/periodical must be printed/reproduced and published in any state which is for the time being a member of the European Union. An Post may refuse to approve as a newspaper/periodical, a publication printed and published outside its postal area unless arrangements have been made to its satisfaction for maintaining a responsible representative of the publication within the state.
- The publication must not contain publicity or a habitual and prominent advertisement relating to a lottery (except a duly authorised home lottery); fortune telling; football betting or similar business outside the State. It must also comply with the sections of Eolaí an Phoist dealing with 'Embarrassing Postal Packets' and 'Prohibitions'.
- The full title, date and/or issue number of publications must be printed on the first page or outer front cover and on every subsequent page. This applies also to 'Table of Contents', 'Indexes' and 'supplements'.
- Any supplement issued with a newspaper/periodical must consist wholly or in great part of matter like that of the publication, or of advertisements. It must in every case be published with the newspaper/periodical, and must not exceed the newspaper/periodical in size or weight.
- All the sheets of the supplement must be put together in some part of the newspaper/periodical whether or not gummed or stitched up with the publication. The front page or cover must bear the word 'Supplement'. Supplements must comply with any other relevant regulation prescribed for registered newspapers/periodicals.
- With the exception of an almanac, a separate document intended to be used for separate purposes is not a supplement to a newspaper/periodical. Furthermore any documents drawn up in the form of direct personal communications to the recipients, such as printed circulars in the form of letters, are not regarded as supplements or part of the publication.
- No publication, and advertising promotional/article which is not part of or related to the business area catered for by a publication approved as a newspaper/periodical or supplement thereto, may be enclosed in a packet sent as a newspaper/periodical. Exceptionally, up to three non-related advertisement inserts may be enclosed. Each insert must comprise of advertising matter and contain some form of response mechanism.
- Supplements and inserts enclosed in newspapers/periodicals must be identical in all copies of any issue of the publication dispatched by post. The supplements and inserts enclosed must together not exceed the size or weight of the publication itself.
- The newspaper/periodical is subject to examination in the post. Therefore the publication must be posted in a sealed plastic cover or a cover which can be opened for inspection.
- The bulk rate for newspapers/periodicals is available only to mailers sending a minimum of four newspapers/periodical postings annually.
- The words 'Publication Service' must appear centred on the top of the cover or wrapper.
- The newspaper/periodical should be folded in such a way as to permit the name of the title to be read.
- A request for return in the case of non-deliver and the return address must be on the cover or wrapper - top left of address side.
- Meter or Ceadúnas facilities may only be used to pre-pay the postage. Payment of postage for the publication Service must be made prior to or at time of posting. Customers availing of the bulk rate must use the Ceadúnas system to pre-pay postage.
- Customers using a Ceadúnas should ensure that the Ceadúnas logo is within the minimum (35mm x 15mm) and maximum 870mm x 36mm) dimensions allowable. The service identifier 'PER' or 'NEWS' must be used in the Ceadúnas logo.
- Newspapers/periodicals must be presented for posting before 4pm Monday to Friday. All items should be the same size and weight and should contain identical contents. A minimum of 100 items per posting is applicable.
- Newspapers/periodicals should be pre-sorted according to the pre-sort information table and should not be mixed with other categories of mail when presenting them in bags using special bag labels supplied by An Post. The labels should be accurately completed in full.
- A docket supplied by An Post must be completed for each individual Ceadúnas posting. An Post reserves the right to introduce additional pre-sort requirements (available on request) if and when the volume per posting exceeds 10,000 items.
Please note that non-compliance with any of these conditions can result in your items being delayed and charged at the full letter rate.
For more information
Contact the Business Desk on 1850 262 362
Application forms
Publication Services Brochure & Application