Claims

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) will attempt to replace copies of federal publications that are damaged in shipment, not received, or defective. Claims may be filed by the depository coordinator or another staff member authorized by the coordinator.

Claims must be made within 90 days of the date of the shipping list. Only a small number of claims copies are available. Replacement copies are distributed once the claims window has closed. You should consult the FDLP eXchange website for extra copies from the depository community, if your library is missing publications and you cannot claim them.

What Can I Claim?

1. Documents in your selection profile that you did not receive.
   • Verify that the item number of a missing publication is on your item selection profile by checking the Item Lister or DSIMS.
   • New selections do not become effective until October 1.
2. Missing or damaged material found on shipping lists in boxes that your library has received.
   • If your library gets a defective copy of a publication in a shipment, you should make a claim for the publication just as if it never arrived. Keep the defective copy until you receive the claim copy. Once your library has replaced a defective copy with a claims copy, you may discard the defective copy. Do not send the defective copy to GPO and do not offer it on a discard list to the regional.
   • Do not file claims for material on shipping lists not in your depository shipment boxes.
     • Check the Shipping Lists page to verify that GPO did process and distribute the shipping list. A missing shipping list may indicate that the shipment is forthcoming.
       • Add 7-10 business days for the vendor to ship the boxes from Laurel, MD (12-15 days for Alaska and Hawaii).
       • Add extra time if your library uses a receiving facility that routes packages to your library or unit.

How Do I Claim?

• Before filing a claim, check the Claims Copies Exhausted lists for individual publications that GPO does not have available for claiming.
• To submit a claim, log in to askGPO and click on Claims Request Form from the top menu. If you do not see Claims Request Form, click on More.
• Provide complete information about the claim: item number, SuDocs classification number, correct series or publication title, issuing agency, and related information.
• Claims can be submitted from one shipping list at a time. Only five items can be claimed in one submission. If all of the documents on a list need to be claimed, check the "Claim Entire Shipping List" box.
• If you need help with a login for askGPO, contact Federal Depository Support Services at [email protected] or 202-512-1119. The designated library coordinator can request an askGPO account for additional staff members by logging in to askGPO and clicking on “Request Login” from the top menu.

The 5-minute webcast Submitting FDLP Claims explains the claims process and demonstrates how to submit a claim through askGPO.

Map Distribution from USGS

• Do NOT use the claims form to claim maps distributed from the office in Denver, Colorado. These materials are listed on shipping lists with numbers ending in –TS. 
• To file a claim, circle the missing item numbers and complete the claims form at the bottom of the shipping list. Mail or fax your claim to the address below.

Shipped Short Materials

• On rare occasions, GPO receives only a limited number of copies of a publication from an agency for distribution to depository libraries. These publications are referred to as "shipped short". When a publication is shipped short, copies are sent to all regional collections and any remainders are distributed to selective depositories on a random basis.
• To determine if a publication is shipped short, check to see if the shipping list entry has a percent symbol (%) next to the title. Do not claim any publication with a % next to the title on a shipping list.

Duplicate or Misdirected Shipments and Boxes Received in Error

If you receive a box in error or if you receive a duplicate shipment, it is likely that another library has not received their box. See Forwarding or Returning Misdirected Shipment Boxes.

Claims Copies Exhausted

Surplus stock has been exhausted for the following titles. Do NOT submit claims for publications appearing on this list. Shipping list entries with the percent symbol (%) were shipped short; no claim copies are available.

Paper
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Separates
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Electronic
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