From 1 April 2012 you can apply for both the UK and Irish PLR schemes through the UK PLR office.

Please select a topic from the drop down list below:

Am I eligible to claim PLR?

The information below relates to both the UK and Irish PLR schemes. Please note that this is a summary.  Full details relating to eligibility is available in our Information Leaflet.

To qualify for PLR in a book you should be named on its title page or be entitled to a royalty payment from the publisher (but you do not have to own the copyright). When two or more contributors are involved they must divide the PLR between them. This is done on the basis of percentage shares which they must agree before applying for registration.

Every contributor named on the title page of a book needs to be consulted when agreeing percentage shares and the agreed division should reflect contribution. Each eligible contributor may then submit a separate application.  The following types of contributor must be taken into account:

• Writers - share to reflect contribution
• Illustrators/photographers - share to reflect contribution even if paid by fee
• Translators - share fixed at 30%
• Original author - even if out of copyright or deceased a notional share should be allocated to reflect contribution
• Adaptors/Re-tellers - 80% of the text share (after the illustrator's share is allocated) where the original author is named on the title page or 100% of the text share where no original author is named or has an agreeemnt witht he author named on the title page
• Ghost writers - if named on the title page or entitled to royalties from the publisher
• Editors/compilers/abridgers/revisers - share to reflect contribution.  Refer to the guidelines in Section 2 of the Information Leaflet for further details.

 Dead or Missing Contributors

Where a contributor has died or cannot be located, the remaining contributor(s) may still register a share. If similar books have been registered in the past, the same share agreement may stand. If not the shares should be reasonable in relation to actual contribution. Before submitting your application you must take into account all eligible contributors named on the title page (refer to information above), and apply to register a share which reflects your individual contribution to the book(s).

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 How do I apply?

After checking that you and your book(s) are eligible for PLR registration, you may apply via the following methods:

• If you are applying for UK PLR, or for both UK and Irish PLR you can apply Online using our online registration service.  Unfortunately, the online service is not yet available if you are only applying for the Irish PLR scheme.  You will need to complete an application form (see below)
• Download an application form
• Contact us to request a form to be posted to you

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 I use a writing name, which name should I register with?

You should apply for PLR using your real name.

You are required to provide two pieces of supporting documentation which must match the name on our records.

If you are applying on a paper application form, you may list your writing names under the book details section. If you are applying via our online service, you should provide your writing name when you register your books via the ‘add new books’ menu option (once your account has been activated).

We will link your registered names and writing names together on our records.

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Can I apply on someone else's behalf?

It is not possible for someone else to apply on your behalf (eg agent, publisher, partner), unless they are acting under a ‘Power of Attorney’, in which case we would need to see a copy of the legal documentation.

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Can I apply for books loaned outside the UK and Ireland?

The UK PLR office administers PLR payments only for the UK and Irish PLR schemes.   However, UK and Irish authors are eligible for payments from the PLR systems operating in a number of other European countries including Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Austria. These payments are administered by ALCS.

Further details on PLR Schemes around the world can be found on the PLR International website.

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Can I receive payments retrospectively?

For both UK and Irish PLR, payments are made annually on the basis of book loans data collected from public libraries over a twelve month period.

In the UK this twelve month period is 1 July to 30 June.  To qualify for payment for loans during this period authors must register their books by the closing date of 30 June.

In the Republic of Ireland loans data is collected over the period 1 January to 31 December.  Books must be registered by the following 30 June to qualify for payment for loans during this period.

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How do I get an ISBN/book published?

ISBNs are available from the ISBN Agency. We are unable to assist with publishing books, however one of our links may help:

The Scottish Book Trust - Getting Published

Vanity Publishing - Advice & Warning

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Can I apply if I live outside of the UK/ Ireland?

To register for the UK PLR scheme, at the time of application you must have your only home or principal home in the UK or in any of the other countries within the European Economic Area (ie EC Member States plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein).  For PLR purposes, the UK does not include the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.  If you have more than one home, your principal home is the one where you spent most time during the 24 months before your application.

To register for the Irish PLR scheme, you may be a resident or citizen of any of the countries within the EEA.  If you are not an EEA resident and are applying for Irish PLR as a citizen, you must provide a photocopy of your passport to confirm your citizenship within the EEA.

Further details on PLR schemes around the world can be found on our PLR International website.

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