Group registration of contributions to periodicals for photographers
If your photos were first published in magazines, newspapers or other periodicals, the Copyright Office has a group option for them: group registration of contributions to periodicals. All the contributions must be by the same individual, not made for hire, and published within a twelve month period. The fee was $85 when we checked on 25 October 2026.
What counts as a periodical
Circular 62C defines a periodical as "a collective work that is issued or intended to be issued on an established schedule in successive issues that are intended to be continued indefinitely". Contributions "include articles, photographs, or illustrations that are published in a newspaper, magazine, or journal". An email newsletter with several articles on an established schedule can qualify, but "As a general rule, websites are not considered periodicals for the purpose of registration" (Circular 62C).
Who can use it
Circular 62C lists these conditions:
- "All the contributions in the group are created by the same individual."
- "The contributions are not made for hire."
- "The copyright claimant is the same person or entity for all contributions."
- "Each work is first published as a contribution to a periodical."
- "Each contribution is published within a twelve-month period", for example April 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017.
There is "no limit on the total number of contributions", but "you must include at least two contributions to use this option" (Circular 62C).
How it differs from GRPPH
| Contributions to periodicals | Group of published photographs (GRPPH) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Contributions first published in periodicals, which can include text as well as photos | Published photographs only |
| Time window | Any twelve month period | The same calendar year |
| How many | At least two, no upper limit | Up to 750 |
| Deposit | Each contribution as it appeared in the periodical | The photos themselves, JPEG, GIF or TIFF, plus a titles list |
| Fee (checked 25 October 2026) | $85 | $55 |
(Circular 62C, GRPPH help, Fees.) The Office has proposed raising the periodicals fee to $130 and the GRPPH fee to $85 (fee increase 2026).
How to file
- File online. "If you submit a paper application, the application will be refused."
- Choose the type. Click "Register a Group Claim", then "Contributions to Periodicals VA" for visual arts works such as photographs (or TX for literary works), choosing "the category that is most appropriate for the type of authorship that appears in the majority of the contributions".
- List each contribution "in chronological order", with a title that matches the deposit (or a descriptive title if it ran without one), the periodical's title, volume, number, issue date and ISSN if any, the page numbers, and "the precise date of first publication (month, day, and year)".
- Upload the deposit: "an electronic copy of each contribution as it appeared in the periodical of first publication", either the entire issue, the entire newspaper section or the specific pages. "Each individual contribution must be contained in its own separate electronic file", the Office prefers a .zip, and each file must not exceed 500 megabytes.
(Circular 62C.)
Timing
"The Office encourages you to submit your claims on a quarterly basis instead of an annual or semi-annual basis", because an author may seek statutory damages and attorneys' fees only "if the contribution was registered before the infringement began or within three months after first publication of the work" (Circular 62C). See copyright deadlines for photographers.
Photos published elsewhere
Photos first published on your own website, on social media or by a client are not contributions to a periodical. For those, the usual option is a group of published photographs (GRPPH), or a group of unpublished photographs (GRUPH) for work not yet published. Register My Photos builds the titles list and files for GRPPH and GRUPH claims; it does not prepare periodicals claims. See how to register a group of photos or try the checker.
Last checked 25 October 2026. Which option fits your photos is your decision.
Questions
Can I register photos published in magazines as a group?
Yes, if they meet the rules in Circular 62C: the same individual created them, they are not made for hire, the claimant is the same, each was first published in a periodical and all were published within a twelve month period.
How many contributions can one periodicals claim include?
Circular 62C says there is no limit on the total number, but there must be at least two.
How much does it cost?
$85 for a group of contributions to periodicals when we checked copyright.gov/about/fees.html on 25 October 2026. The Office has proposed $130.
Is a website a periodical?
As a general rule, no. Circular 62C says websites are not usually considered periodicals because they are updated continually rather than issued in discrete, numbered or dated issues.
Sources
- Circular 62C: Copyright Registration of Contributions to Periodicals (checked 25 October 2026)
- Fees, copyright.gov (checked 25 October 2026)
- GRPPH help (checked 25 October 2026)
- Circular 42: Copyright Registration of Photographs (checked 25 October 2026)
Skip the spreadsheet
Register My Photos fills in the Office's own titles list, names it with your group title and case number, checks file types and dates, splits claims at 750 photos and makes zips under 500 MB. It runs in your browser and your photos never leave your device.