--- title: Do I need an ISBN to publish my book? Which stores require it? description: The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numeric commercial book identifier, and is a global standard in the publishing industry. Its original role was to help publishers track sales. --- [Skip to content](https://help.publishdrive.com/do-i-need-an-isbn-to-publish-my-book-which-stores-require-it#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [More support](https://help.publishdrive.com/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) ![pd-white.png\]](https://help.publishdrive.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pd-white.png?height=38&name=pd-white.png) Open main navigation Close main navigation - English Show submenu for translations - [More support](https://help.publishdrive.com/kb-tickets/new) - Go to publishdrive.com Go to publishdrive.com Hello. How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [PublishDrive Help Center](https://help.publishdrive.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Book Upload And Correction](https://help.publishdrive.com/book-upload-and-correction?hsLang=en) 3. [Uploading A Book](https://help.publishdrive.com/book-upload-and-correction?hsLang=en#uploading-a-book) # Do I need an ISBN to publish my book? Which stores require it? The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numeric commercial book identifier, and is a global standard in the publishing industry. Its original role was to help publishers track sales. **You don't need an ISBN to publish an ebook or an audiobook through PublishDrive, but you need an ISBN for print-on-demand books.** We don't assign any official ISBNs to books, but you can receive PublishDrive’s Unique Identifier (PUI) which is accepted by most retailers. The way to do so is by leaving the ISBN field empty when uploading your book. Some stores may still require ISBNs which can be obtained from your [local ISBN agency](https://www.isbn-international.org/agencies) or it can be bought from several vendors over the Internet and these are all perfectly safe to use. For those residing in the US, we recommend using [Bowker](https://www.bowker.com/isbn-us) since they are the most well-known in the publishing industry. If you already have an ISBN assigned to your book, you can carry it on and use it on PublishDrive. If you have an ISBN for the print version of your book, that can only be used for print distribution. You cannot use the ISBN you received for the print version when distributing your ebook or audiobook: you need to apply for a new ISBN for all new formats, or use the PUI number we assign to books uploaded without ISBNs. **The following stores require ISBN for distributing your ebook:** bibliotheca Gardners Mackin Hoopla Baker & Taylor Perlego Empik   **The following stores require ISBN for distributing your audiobook:** Findaway/Spotify Gardners Empik - [Book Upload And Correction](https://help.publishdrive.com/book-upload-and-correction?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Uploading A Book](https://help.publishdrive.com/book-upload-and-correction?hsLang=en#uploading-a-book) - [Book Correction And Common Errors](https://help.publishdrive.com/book-upload-and-correction?hsLang=en#book-correction-and-common-errors) - [Ebook Conversion](https://help.publishdrive.com/book-upload-and-correction?hsLang=en#ebook-conversion) - [Content Guidelines](https://help.publishdrive.com/book-upload-and-correction?hsLang=en#content-guidelines) - [Stores And Distribution](https://help.publishdrive.com/stores-and-distribution?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Store Selection](https://help.publishdrive.com/stores-and-distribution?hsLang=en#store-selection) - [Publishing Status](https://help.publishdrive.com/stores-and-distribution?hsLang=en#publishing-status) - [Partner Stores And Special Terms](https://help.publishdrive.com/stores-and-distribution?hsLang=en#partner-stores-and-special-terms) - [Terms Of Distribution](https://help.publishdrive.com/stores-and-distribution?hsLang=en#terms-of-distribution) - [Payout Terms](https://help.publishdrive.com/stores-and-distribution?hsLang=en#payout-terms) - [Account, Subscription and Pricing](https://help.publishdrive.com/account-subscription-and-pricing?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Subscription Options](https://help.publishdrive.com/account-subscription-and-pricing?hsLang=en#subscription-options) - [Account Management](https://help.publishdrive.com/account-subscription-and-pricing?hsLang=en#account-management) - [About PublishDrive](https://help.publishdrive.com/account-subscription-and-pricing?hsLang=en#about-publishdrive) - [PublishDrive Distribution](https://help.publishdrive.com/account-subscription-and-pricing?hsLang=en#publishdrive-distribution) - [Royalty Payments And Sales Analytics](https://help.publishdrive.com/royalty-payments-and-sales-analytics?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Sales Analytics](https://help.publishdrive.com/royalty-payments-and-sales-analytics?hsLang=en#sales-analytics) - [Royalty Payments](https://help.publishdrive.com/royalty-payments-and-sales-analytics?hsLang=en#royalty-payments) - [Marketing And Promotion](https://help.publishdrive.com/marketing-and-promotion?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Promotion Tools On PublishDrive](https://help.publishdrive.com/marketing-and-promotion?hsLang=en#promotion-tools-on-publishdrive) - [Marketing Tips](https://help.publishdrive.com/marketing-and-promotion?hsLang=en#marketing-tips) - [Print-On-Demand And Audio Distribution](https://help.publishdrive.com/print-on-demand-and-audio-distribution?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Audiobook Distribution](https://help.publishdrive.com/print-on-demand-and-audio-distribution?hsLang=en#audiobook-distribution) - [Print-On-Demand Distribution](https://help.publishdrive.com/print-on-demand-and-audio-distribution?hsLang=en#print-on-demand-distribution) - [PublishDrive Abacus](https://help.publishdrive.com/publishdrive-abacus?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Team Royalties](https://help.publishdrive.com/publishdrive-abacus?hsLang=en#team-royalties) - [PublishDrive Abacus](https://help.publishdrive.com/publishdrive-abacus?hsLang=en#publishdrive-abacus) - [Publishing Assistant](https://help.publishdrive.com/publishing-assistant?hsLang=en) - [PublishDrive Essentials](https://help.publishdrive.com/publishdrive-essentials?hsLang=en#main-content) - [First Steps With PublishDrive](https://help.publishdrive.com/publishdrive-essentials?hsLang=en#first-steps-with-publishdrive) - [Exclusive Copyright Documents / Trademarks](https://help.publishdrive.com/exclusive-copyright-documents-trademarks?hsLang=en) - [General Information](https://help.publishdrive.com/general-information?hsLang=en) [![Chill listening crop-3](https://help.publishdrive.com/hs-fs/hubfs/publishdrive_logos_rgb-02.png?width=55&height=55&name=publishdrive_logos_rgb-02.png "Chill listening crop-3")](http://publishdrive.com?hsLang=en) PublishDrive Help Center Copyright © 2026, PublishDrive Inc.