There is currently no consensus on where to place this template in an article.

The simplest way to add this template to an article is to copy and paste {{ISBN|date=March 2024}} at the bottom of the article.

Usage change

Use this as a warning that some or all books cited do not have their ISBNs included in the article. Don't use this template to identify books that were never assigned ISBNs by their publishers at all (most books published before 1974 do not have ISBNs, though editions of earlier books published after that date should have).

Note that this template is not required for inserting an ISBN into an article; the Mediawiki software recognizes ISBNs automatically.

Articles using this template are added to Category:Articles with incomplete citations.

Entering ISBNs change

This template is not for providing links for ISBNs.

Instead simply type ISBN before the number with no spaces or colons. Hyphens are not required, but are preferred if their proper placement is known.


If the type of ISBN must be specified, the ISBN-10 and ISBN-13 templates may be used.

In tables (or other applications) where the letters ISBN would be redundant the ISBNT template may be used instead.

  • {{ISBNT|1-4133-0454-0}}   produces 1-4133-0454-0
  • {{ISBNT|978-1-4133-0454-1}}   produces 978-1-4133-0454-1

Related pages change

  • {{Biblio}} - like this, but for lists of books missing authors, publishers, publication dates and/or ISBNs
  • Wikipedia:ISBN