How to get an ISBN in Germany
In Germany, ISBNs come from German ISBN Agency (MVB). Here is what to know before you get yours.
The facts
- Agency
- German ISBN Agency (MVB)
- Cost
- Paid; the fees are on the agency's site.
- Good to know
- Fees are on the agency's site.
- Ebook
- ISBN optional. Optional on KDP, Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play, which give ebooks their own IDs. Your own ISBN names you as the publisher and is the same in every store.
- Paperback
- Needs an ISBN. Every print book needs one: your own, or KDP's free ISBN, which is only for publishing through KDP, on Amazon and through Expanded Distribution, and shows "Independently published" as the imprint.
- Hardcover
- Needs an ISBN. A hardcover needs its own ISBN, separate from the paperback's: your own, or KDP's free one, for Amazon only.
Other countries
Publishing from somewhere else? ISBN agencies in every country lists them all.
Plan your ISBNs in PenStranding: it counts the numbers your books need, keeps them in one ledger and prints the barcode. You register them with the agency yourself.
Join the waitlistSources
Checked on 12 October 2026 against German ISBN Agency (MVB), International ISBN Agency directory. Stores, agencies and laws change their rules: their own pages have the final word.