RNI Registration – Procedure, Certificate, Form & Fees

If you want to start publication of a newspaper, periodical, or a book in India, you need to abide by the rules of the Press and Books Regulation Act, 1867. It’s the foundation act whose amendment has led to the formation of the Office of Registrar of Newspaper in India, the primary authority that provides RNI registration, the permission to start a Newspaper in India 

RNI has the responsibility to:

1. Compile and maintain the Register of Newspapers that are circulated in India
2. Issue the Certificate of Registration, known as RNI registration, to those who seek to publish Newspapers in the country.
3. Watch over the compliances that are followed or not followed by the existing newspaper publication. 

What is RNI registration?

To establish a newspaper or periodical or printed publication of any kind, you need the approval of the Office of Registrar of Newspaper of India. That approval takes the form of RNI registration.

Under the control of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Registration of newspapers is a process that’s governed as per the provisions of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867. 

In short, if you want to start a magazine, journal, or newspaper, RNI approval is mandatory. 

What is the process of RNI registration?

RNI registration process is divided into two steps. The first step is to obtain verification of the title of the newspaper.

It’s the most important step that establishes the unique identity of the applicant in addition to preventing any conflict about newspaper titles in the future. 

To acquire Title Verification Letter, an online application has to be filed providing the following details:

1. Name of the Newspaper title
2. Name of the Newspaper owner
3. Language in which you want to circulate the newspaper
4. Area in which you want to distribute the newspaper. 

After applying online, you must submit the offline copy of the application alongside the requisite documents to the District Magistrate in your region. If the RNI accepts the title, you’ll obtain a notification from the DM along with a title verification letter. 

Authenticating the declaration

Once you get your hands on the title verification letter, you need to draft an affidavit making certain declarations including: 

1. 1. Newspaper’s title name
   2. Date of receiving the title verification letter
   3. Area in which you want to circulate your newspaper
   4. Language in which you want to publish your newspaper
   5. Details of your publisher
   6. Details of the printing Press’ location

• Interval of Publishing the newspaper or magazine. 

Submit the declaration along with the copy of the title verification letter to the District Magistrate. He will authenticate the declaration and send it back to you.

After you’ve obtained the declaration, it gets time to turn your attention to publishing your first copy. 

 Publication of the first issue of your newspaper

There are two categories of intervals to publish your newspaper or periodical;

1. Daily or weekly
2. Fortnightly or monthly

If you wish to publish on a daily or a weekly basis, you have to publish the first copy of your newspaper/periodical within 42 days of receiving the authenticated declaration. 

In case your publishing requirements are fortnightly or monthly, the publication of your first copy has to take place within 90 days of receiving the authenticated declaration. 

In case you fail to publish the first copy within those deadlines, you need to obtain a draft of a new declaration, get authentication for it and try again. 

Submit that publication along with the documents to obtain the final registration. 

Documents required to obtain the final Registration

To obtain the final registration, the RNI aspects the following documents from you:

1. Copy of the title verification letter
2. Declaration form (Authenticated)
3. The written agreement between the periodical and the owner if they are different entities
4. Copy of the first issue within the prescribed deadlines as per the specified interval of publishing. 

The copy of the first issue should meet the following requirements for final RNI registration:

1. You have to submit it within the prescribed deadline
2. When on the deadline, you have to ensure that you Print “issue 1” clearly on the front page. 
3. You have to ensure that each page contains the page number and date of publication
4. The title or the masthead of the page must have a uniform font type and size
5. The newspaper content must contain views or comments from the public
6. No emoticons, symbols, or graphics should be there in the newspaper’s content. 
7. The language of the content should be the one that you mentioned in your application form
8. The imprint line of the newspaper should have the correct information. 

Grant of RNI registration

After you submit the above documents and the District Magistrate and Registrar of Newspaper in India approve it, you will get the final RNI registration certificate. 

Conclusion

RNI registration is the permission to publish a newspaper in India. Needless to say, you need to take all the steps correctly with all the correct documents by your side. If you stumble even at a single step, RNI registration procedure won’t be completed successfully. Thus, consult with an RNI registration agent for support. They will assist you in everything from application filing to department follow-up.