16/06/2025
The National Library of Egypt Announces the Pilot Launch of the Electronic Legal Deposit Service
As part of the efforts of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, under the patronage of H.E. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Fouad Henno, Minister of Culture, to promote cultural equity and facilitate access to services for creators and publishers across the country, the National Library and Archives of Egypt, chaired by Prof. Dr. Osama Talaat, is pleased to announce the pilot launch of the electronic legal deposit service.
This first phase will run for a period of three months, from Tuesday, June 10, 2025, until Tuesday, September 10, 2025, and will cover 103 publishing houses located in governorates outside of Cairo.
The covered governorates include: Alexandria, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Beheira, Kafr El-Sheikh, Dakahlia, Minya, Luxor, Sohag, and Assiut.
What is the Electronic Legal Deposit Service?
The electronic legal deposit service is a digital mechanism that enables publishers, authors, and cultural institutions to submit electronic copies of books or periodicals they publish through an official online platform. This is in compliance with the Legal Deposit Law and serves to preserve the nation's intellectual production in a secure and sustainable digital format.
Objectives of the Service:
To provide an officially archived version of every publication.
To support the preservation of cultural and intellectual heritage in digital form.
To simplify deposit procedures without requiring in-person visits.
To document intellectual property rights through the issuance of official deposit numbers.
To support national publishing and intellectual output statistics.
Steps to Obtain a Legal Deposit Number Electronically:
Visit the official website of the National Library and Archives of Egypt:
http://www.darelkotob.gov.eg
Navigate to: Services → Publisher Services → Book Deposit.
Review the list of required documents for legal deposit.
Prepare all required documents, stamped by the publishing house, and convert them into PDF format for upload.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Request Book Deposit.”
Log in to your account:
If you already have an account: enter your email and password.
If you don’t have an account: click on “Register Now”, fill out the form, upload the required documents (PDF format), and click “Submit.”
You will receive an email confirming that your documents have been submitted.
Your documents will be reviewed within 48 hours by the Legal Deposit Department. A staff member will contact you to schedule an appointment to visit the department’s headquarters at Corniche El-Nile – Ramlet Boulak to collect your deposit number or to complete any missing documentation.
After obtaining the deposit number, you must submit five printed copies and one CD containing the book’s digital content within three months from the date of issue.
Important Notes:
The service is currently available only to the publishing houses included in the pilot phase.
Uploaded files must be in PDF format and not password-protected.
This service protects the intellectual rights of publishers and authors and ensures the official archiving of a digital copy in the national deposit record.
For inquiries or technical support, please contact the Legal Deposit Department at the National Library of Egypt.
Together, we move forward in digitizing Egypt’s cultural heritage and safeguarding national knowledge.
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