How to Open and Maintain a

Copyright Office Deposit

Account

The U.S. Copyright Office maintains

a system of deposit accounts for the

convenience of frequent users of the

Office's services.¹ An individual or a

firm can establish a deposit account,

make advance deposits into it, and

charge copyright fees against the

account balance instead of sending

separate remittances with applications

and other requests for services.

To hold a deposit account with the

Office, you must (1) request twelve

or more transactions a year with the

Office and (2) maintain a minimum

deposit of $450.

You can establish a deposit account through the Copyright

Office's online registration system or by mail with an initial

minimum deposit of $450 or a larger amount agreed to by

the Copyright Office.

By the Online Registration System

To open a deposit account using the Office's online registration

system, you will need a user ID and a password. If you

do not yet have a user ID or a password, go to the Copyright

Office's website and click on "Register a Copyright" and then

on "Log in to eCO." On the log-in screen, click on the link to

register as a new user. Once you obtain a user ID and a password

and enter the electronic registration system, click on the

"Organization / DA" link in the left-hand column. Follow the

prompts to provide the information required to identify an

organization, establish a deposit account, and authorize users

to access the account. After you complete these steps, contact

the Copyright Office to activate the deposit account.

By Mail

If you open a deposit account by mail, complete the form at

the end of this circular and prepare an initial deposit of $450

or more by check or money order made payable to Register

of Copyrights. Mail the form and payment to

Deposit Accounts

Copyright Accounts Section

P.O. Box 71380

Washington, DC 20024-1380

You will receive an acknowledgement telling you that the

account has been established in the name you gave on the form

and notifying you of the number assigned to the account.

Using a Deposit Account

To charge service fees against a deposit account, provide the exact name and the number of the account on all requests. When you file a copyright claim using online registration, enter this information when you are asked to make payment. When you request other services, look for the space on each form to provide this information.

Maintaining a Deposit Account

To replenish a deposit account, you must submit amounts of no less than $450. Deposit accounts established through the Office's online registration system can be replenished by electronic funds transfer (EFT), credit card, or check. Deposit accounts not attached to an online account can be replenished by check, money order, EFT, or credit card.

NOTE: The Copyright Office will charge a $100 service charge for handling dishonored replenishment checks.

Check or Money Order

To replenish an account by check or money order, send the payment to the address listed above.

Credit Card

To replenish an account by credit card, call (202) 707-6896, fax (202) 252-2098, or email depositaccts@copyright.gov.

Electronic Funds Transfer

To replenish an account by EFT, do not send a prenotification to the Copyright Office. Use the cash concentration or disbursement format for a one-time payment and provide your financial institution with this exact information regarding your Automated Clearing House (ACH) electronic transfer of funds:

Receiving Financial Institution: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Location: 701 E. Byrd Street, Richmond, VA 23219

Receiving American Banking Association (ABA) number: 051036706

Account number: 303049

Account name: Register of Copyrights

In addition, the addenda sequence field must include the following information in this exact order: deposit account number, name of deposit account holder, and personal representative of the deposit account holder. Example: 0001da003333/ACME Publishers, Inc. (John B. Gray)

Account Statements

The Office sends an account's personal representative a monthly statement for any month during which an account is active, showing deposits, charges, and balances. However, deposit account holders should keep their own records to ensure that there are sufficient funds to cover their requests.

No statement will be sent for any month during which no transactions occur. To ensure delivery of electronic statements, make sure to provide current contact information. If you want to update your contact information, send a request to depositaccts@copyright.gov.

Failing to Maintain a Sufficient Balance

When you use a deposit account, it is important to maintain a sufficient balance for the services you request. Using a deposit account with insufficient funds can lead to delays in processing, additional fees, and legal consequences.

If you use an underfunded deposit account to pay the filing fee for registration, the Office's Accounts Section will notify you in writing of the insufficient funds. If the correct filing fee is submitted within forty-five days after notice, and all other materials are in the possession of the Office, the Office will change the effective date of registration to reflect the date on which all required materials were received and proceed to examine your application. If you do not respond within forty-five days, the Office will close your file, and you will have to resubmit your application. For more information about the effective date of registration, see Copyright Registration (Circular 2).

If your deposit account has sufficient fees for one or more, but not all, services you request, the Office will apply the fees to the services in no particular order until the funds have been exhausted. The Office will not communicate with you to determine the order in which requested services should proceed.

If you submit requests for services for which no deposit account funds are available, the Office will charged you a $250 'overdraft' fee to cover the cost of extra processing. It will apply the fee for each occurrence, not for each claim filed or service requested without funds available. For example, if you submit five registration claims, but the account is exhausted with the first claim, the Office will apply the service charge once, not five times.

The Office will close a deposit account the second time a deposit account holder overdraws it within any twelve-month period.

---### NOTE

1. This circular is intended as an overview of deposit accounts. The authoritative source for U.S. copyright law is the Copyright Act, codified in Title 17 of the United States Code. Copyright Office regulations are codified in Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Copyright Office practices and procedures are summarized in the third edition of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, cited as the Compendium. The copyright law, regulations, and the Compendium are available on the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov.

For Further Information

By Internet

The copyright law, the Compendium, electronic registration, application forms, regulations, and related materials are available on the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov.

By Email

To send an email inquiry, click the Contact Us link on the Copyright Office website.

By Telephone

For general information, call the Copyright Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000 or 1-877-476-0778 (toll free). Staff members are on duty from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. To request application forms or circulars by postal mail, call (202) 707-9100 or 1-877-476-0778 and leave a recorded message.

By Regular Mail

Write to

Library of Congress

U.S. Copyright Office

Outreach and Education Section

101 Independence Avenue, SE #6304

Washington, DC 20559-6304

Use this form or a photocopy of this form to establish a deposit account.

Enclosed is my remittance of $ ___ to establish a deposit account

Under the name _________

Address _____________

street

city

state

zip

phone (w/area code)

fax (w/area code)

email

Please give the name of the person to whom you want monthly statements and “no funds” notifications to be sent.

Attention of ___________

Signature ___________

Mail to: Deposit Accounts, Copyright Accounts Section, PO Box 71380, Washington, DC 20024-1380