Rules & Resources
Bylaws & Rules

Chapter F: Article 15

F 15.1 Verified Circulation

(a) Verified circulation shall consist of copies designated by publishers for readership in public places and to individual users who may have an affinity for the publication. Copies classified as 'verified' will not be subjected to paid circulation qualification standards, however all recipients (individuals and public place locations) must be afforded an option to 'opt-out' of receipt on an annual basis and as further described below.

(b) Verified circulation will consist of subscription circulation only. Single-copy distribution will not be eligible to be reported as 'verified' circulation, but may be eligible to be reported as 'analyzed non-paid bulk' or 'analyzed non-paid market coverage' if distribution is in accord with the provisions of Rule F 13.5 or F 13.6.

(c) Verified circulation will be reported in total in Paragraph 1 of ABC Publisher's Statements and Audit Reports and be further analyzed within the appropriate paragraphs of each statement and report. Once a copy served to an individual address or to a public place is reported as verified circulation, all copies served to that address or public-place locations are to be reported as verified circulation through the full term of the subscription service.

(d) There are two sub-categories of 'verified' circulation: Public Place and Individual Use. Total verified circulation reported in Paragraph 1 of ABC Publisher's Statements and Audit Reports must be further analyzed into these categories as appropriate in paragraphs devoted to such an analysis and as described below. In addition, publications shall have the option of reporting fees received from a sponsor for copies reported under verified circulation provided adequate records are in place to verify amount received net of all considerations.

(e) Verified Public Place represents copies intended for use in waiting room locations, hotel rooms, for use by patrons of the business establishment at that location, and copies intended for distribution on aircraft or to restricted airline clubs. All such copies are not intended for individual pick-up and removal. To qualify to be reported as Public Place, the following conditions must be met:

(1) Each business establishment identified as a public place must be given the ability to opt-out as a receiving location on an annual basis.

(2) No more than three copies of each issue of any magazine may be served to a public place location. However, no limit will be placed on the total number of unique magazines that may be served to each public place location.

(3) There must be at least two consecutive issues served for each unique magazine at each public place location.

(4) The copy served must be the current subscription issue being distributed.

(5) Copies to be distributed to hotels for in-room placement as Public Place locations must also meet the following criteria:
(i) Publications of monthly or less frequency may provide a maximum of four copies per hotel room to each hotel location;
(ii) Publications of greater than monthly frequency may provide a maximum of one copy per hotel room to each hotel location;
(iii) The publisher or publisher's agent must maintain a current contract with each hotel or responsible hotel corporate management. The contract is to be signed by an individual in senior management at the hotel. The contract must stipulate the hotel's agreement to participate, confirm the number of copies of each unique magazine to be provided, and identify the specific locations within the hotel where the copies are to be placed. The contract must be renewed at least annually.


[See Verified Airline Update below]
(6) Copies distributed to airlines for aircraft or restricted-access club locations to be reported as Verified / Public Place shall be required to adhere to the following conditions:
(i) The publisher / publisher's agent must enter into a formal agreement with the airline for the term of distribution. The agreement must specify the airline's choice of magazine(s); affirmation that the airline has not received other inducements or considerations to participate in the program; and the average number of daily flights operated by the airline (to be based on activity for at least one calendar month). The term of the agreement shall be for not less than two consecutive issues and if the intended distribution is for a period longer than one year, the agreement must be updated at least annually.
(ii) Upon request, the airline must be willing to provide an affidavit attesting that all magazine copies supplied to the airline were distributed by the airline and made available to its customers either on-board aircraft or in restricted-access clubs.
(iii) The maximum number of copies to be provided to an airline by any magazine, regardless of frequency, is two copies per flight based on the total number of monthly flights for an airline with a maximum of 8,000 copies per airline, per issue.
(iv) The airline shall have full discretion as to where the copies are made available to its customers. For example, the airline may elect to place all copies on only selected flights, or only in restricted-access club locations, or some combination thereof.
(v) Copies that do not meet these qualifications or are placed in other airport public locations and/or made available for pick-up shall not qualify as Verified circulation but rather shall be governed by Rule F 13.5 Analyzed Non-Paid Bulk Defined.


(f) Verified Public Place circulation must also be analyzed so as to report the number of copies distributed to the top five location types (e.g., doctors/healthcare provider locations, personal care salons, etc.). A standard listing of location types will be maintained by ABC.

(g) Verified Individual Use circulation will represent copies delivered to individuals who have been provided the option to 'opt-out' and not receive the magazine. The 'opt-out' option must be presented to the recipient within three months of the initial start of service, and at least annually thereafter. Publishers electing to offer an 'opt-in' may do so and report the circulation as Verified Individual Use if the provisions of F 15.2 are followed.

(1) Only one subscription per household may be reported as Verified Individual Use.

(2) Verified Individual Use circulation must also be analyzed as to the top five sources of names included in the category (e.g. show attendees, charitable donors, individual requested, etc.). A standard listing of source categories will be maintained by ABC.

(3) Copies originally served by a publisher with the intention to qualify as 'paid' circulation, shall not be eligible to be reported in ABC Publisher's Statements as 'Verified Individual Use' but rather may be eligible to be reported as 'analyzed non-paid market coverage' copies.

(4) Copies originally reported as 'paid' circulation and subsequently disqualified through the audit process are not eligible to be reported as Verified Individual Use but rather may be eligible to be reported as 'analyzed non-paid market coverage' copies unless it can be shown to the satisfaction of the Managing Director that each individual recipient took an affirmative action to specifically order the magazine at the inception of service.

(5) Recipients must be served at least two consecutive issues.

(6) Copies served must be the current issue being distributed to subscribers unless subscriber has directly requested the publication in accordance with Rule F 15.2.

***Updated Standards for Verified Airline Copies (effective Dec. 4, 2007)***

Following the November 2007 board meeting, a special subcommittee of the ABC board clarified the standards that were announced for verified copies distributed to airlines. Below are the updated standards that will be applied by ABC staff pending a vote by the full board at its March 2008 meeting. The previously announced standards have been superceded by the standards approved by the subcommittee.

Publishers may distribute up to two copies per flight, per issue based on the total number of monthly flights for an airline. A maximum of 8,000 copies per airline, per issue may be claimed as verified. These copies may be distributed on board the aircraft or at limited access airline clubs.

The following are examples of calculations to determine the number of allowable verified airline copies:

Example A:
Airline XYZ conducts 100 flights per day for the month of June.

  • 100 x 30 (the number of flights per day multiplied by the number of days in the month of June)
  • 3,000 x 2 (the number of flights per month multiplied by two, the number of copies that may be distributed per issue, per flight)
  • = 6,000 (this is the maximum number of copies per issue, per magazine that can be distributed to Airline XYZ)

Since 6,000 is less than the 8,000-copy maximum, the total number of verified copies that may be distributed to Airline XYZ for the month of June is 6,000 per issue, per magazine.

Example B:
Airline JKL conducts 300 flights per day for the month of June.

  • 300 x 30 (the number of flights per day multiplied by the number of days in the month of June)
  • 9,000 x 2 (the number of flights per month multiplied by two, the number of copies that may be distributed per issue, per flight)
  • = 18,000 (the maximum number of copies that may be distributed to airline is 8,000 per issue, per magazine)

Since 18,000 is more than the 8,000-copy maximum, the total number of verified copies that may be distributed to Airline JKL for the month of June is 8,000 per issue, per magazine.

ABC staff will apply these revised standards pending formal approval by the full ABC board at its March 2008 meeting. For all airline copies, the publisher must continue to demonstrate that a contract is in place with the airline that specifies the following through an affidavit: distribution location, title of the publication requested and number of copies requested for each publication.

F 15.2 Individually Requested Circulation

Individually requested circulation may be included as Verified circulation provided it conforms to the following requirements:

(a) If subscription service is requested of a publisher, the letter or order requesting the service must be signed by the individual specifically requesting delivery of the publication and retained by the publication for auditor's examination.

(b) If individually requested subscription service is solicited by the publisher, the order form, questionnaire or reader service card must conform to the following specifications:

(1) It must have specifically asked whether or not the individual wished to receive the publication by using a phrase approximating the following: "I wish to receive (name of publication) magazine. Yes ___ No ___." Alternate phrasing approximating the following may be used: "Please sign here if you wish to receive (name of publication) magazine."
Forms using the alternate phrase must be signed.


(2) If the order form used to solicit new subscribers is publication specific (does not include offers for other products or services) and is to be completed by the recipient, the order form shall not be required to contain a phrase asking whether or not the individual, or corporate official in the case of group orders, wished to receive the publication.


(3) The order form must have either required the individual to fill in his name and address or requested his signature.

When publishers use telemarketing, the telephone interview forms must have been signed and dated by the interviewer. The interviews shall, for verification purposes, include a personalized question which only the recipient is likely to be able to answer, such as date of birth or mother's maiden name. Different questions must be used when requests are renewed and all personalized questions shall be subject to approval by the Bureau. Publishers shall be responsible for maintaining adequate records to verify the placement of the telephone calls.

(c) Individually requested subscriptions must be renewed at least once each 36 months.

(d) Individually requested subscriptions must be served at least two consecutive issues.

F 15.3 Late Mailing Explanation

When 15% or more of the copies mailed to recipients for an issue are mailed on or after the stated mailing date of the next issue, the completion date of mailing for that issue shall be reported in the paragraph of the Publisher's Statements and Audit Reports devoted to general explanations.

In the absence of a stated mailing date for a publication in either its rate card or in recognized directories, the first day of the cover date of the next issue shall be used to determine if copies are mailed late. The explanation shall state the percentage and number of copies mailed late.