Superintendent of Documents Classification Numbers Corrections Policies

  • Last Updated: February 29, 2024
  • Published: February 29, 2024

Effective March 1, 2024, GPO’s Library Services & Content Management (LSCM) will implement the following policies on changing the Superintendent of Documents classification (SuDoc) numbers in GPO records in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications and OCLC. LSCM’s Chief of Library Technical Services (LTS) and LTS Supervisory Librarians will make exceptions to these policies at their discretion. LTS will add the policies to the Superintendent of Documents Classification Guidelines.

  • LTS will change the SuDoc numbers in records for Federal Depository Library Program publications up to 10 years after the distribution year.
    • When the distribution year is unknown, LTS will use the cataloging year. 
  • LTS will not change the SuDoc numbers in records that are exclusively for Cataloging and Indexing Program materials.

 Federal depository libraries (FDLs) may change the SuDoc numbers in records in their systems or OCLC at their discretion. FDLs can continue to add an X at the end of the SuDoc numbers that they create or change.

 To submit requests for SuDoc number changes, contact us via askGPO, and use the category, “Classification and Item Numbers.”