Verified Circulation Guide

Verified Circulation Defined

Verified circulation is defined as subscription copies designated by publishers for readership in public places or intended for individual use by recipients who are likely to have a strong affinity for the content of the magazine. See Rule F 15.1 Verified Circulation.

Verified circulation is not subject to Rule F 1.1 Paid Circulation Defined. However, in the explanatory paragraph of ABC Publisher’s Statements, publications have the option to disclose any payments received from a sponsor for verified circulation, provided the payment reported is net of all considerations and adequate records are in place to verify the transaction.

There are two sub-classifications of verified circulation:

1. Public Place
2. Individual Use

Public place verified circulation represents copies served to business establishments for use by its patrons in waiting rooms, hotel rooms, or by airlines on-board the planes or in restricted access airline clubs. It is not intended for these copies to be picked up and removed by the individuals, rather the copies should remain at the location for further use by other patrons.

Individual use verified circulation represents copies distributed to individual names at private residences or business offices intended for personal consumption by the addressee. The recipients are individuals whose names were either obtained from a list-type source or who specifically requested a subscription to the magazine.

For list-type source recipients, the source of the list should reflect individuals who have a strong affinity for the editorial content of the magazine. For individually requested copies, the individual must have opted in to an offer to receive the magazine. See also Rule F 15.2 Individually Requested Circulation.

Please note:
The sub-classification of verified individual use may not include:

• Copies generated from an offer for a paid subscription, but for which payment was never made (i.e. credit cancellations).
• Copies claimed as paid circulation on a Publisher’s Statement, then disqualified as such during the ABC audit.

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