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ONIX Reference
Quick reference for common ONIX codes used in OnixFeed.
What is ONIX?
ONIX (ONline Information eXchange) is the international standard for representing and communicating book industry product information. It's maintained by EDItEUR and used worldwide by publishers, distributors, and retailers.
OnixFeed uses ONIX 3.1, the current recommended version. ONIX 3.0 feeds are still supported for legacy partners. ONIX 3.1 adds useful features such as postal addresses for GPSR compliance and prioritised reviews.
For the full standard and every codelist, see EDItEUR ONIX codelists.
Format Codes (Product Form)
OnixFeed works with the ONIX 3.x product form codes (codelist 150). A few common values:
| Code | Format |
|---|---|
| BB | Hardback |
| BC | Paperback / softback |
| ED | Digital download |
| AO | Online audio file |
| AJ | Downloadable audio file |
For the complete list — including notes on when to use each code — see codelist 150 on ns.editeur.org.
Digital product forms
When you need more precision than ED (download) or AO / AJ (audio):
| Code | Format |
|---|---|
| EA | Digital (delivered electronically, method unspecified) |
| EB | Digital download and online |
| EC | Digital online only (streamed, not downloadable) |
| ED | Digital download only |
All digital product form codes are in codelist 150. Do not use DG — that code belongs to ONIX 2.1 and does not exist in ONIX 3.0 or 3.1.
Language Codes
ISO 639-2/B three-letter language codes (codelist 74):
| Code | Language |
|---|---|
| eng | English |
| afr | Afrikaans |
| zul | Zulu |
| xho | Xhosa |
| sot | Sotho (Southern) |
| nso | Northern Sotho / Pedi |
| tsn | Tswana |
| ven | Venda |
| tso | Tsonga |
| nbl | Ndebele (South) |
| ssw | Swati |
| fra | French |
| deu | German |
| spa | Spanish |
| por | Portuguese |
| ita | Italian |
| nld | Dutch |
| swe | Swedish |
| nor | Norwegian |
| dan | Danish |
| fin | Finnish |
| ara | Arabic |
| heb | Hebrew |
| zho | Chinese |
| jpn | Japanese |
| kor | Korean |
| hin | Hindi |
| rus | Russian |
Full list: codelist 74 on ns.editeur.org
Subject Schemes
OnixFeed supports multiple subject classification schemes:
Thema (Scheme 93)
The international subject classification scheme (subject scheme 93 in codelist 27). Use specific codes — not bare single-letter codes such as F or L on their own.
| Code | Subject |
|---|---|
| FB | Fiction: literary and general non-genre |
| FF | Crime and / or mystery fiction |
| FL | Science fiction |
| YFB | Children's / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary |
| LN | Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law |
Browse any Thema code at https://ns.editeur.org/thema/en/{code} — for example FL (Science fiction) or FF (Crime fiction).
Full Thema browse: ns.editeur.org/thema/en/
BISAC (Scheme 10)
US book industry standard (subject scheme 10 in codelist 27). Examples:
| Code | Subject |
|---|---|
| FIC000000 | Fiction / General |
| FIC022000 | Fiction / Mystery & Detective |
| FIC028000 | Fiction / Science Fiction |
| JUV000000 | Juvenile Fiction / General |
| BUS000000 | Business & Economics / General |
| SEL000000 | Self-Help / General |
BISAC code values are maintained by BISG: bisg.org/page/bisacedition
Publisher's Own Category (Scheme 23)
Your custom categories (subject scheme 23 in codelist 27). These are defined in OnixFeed and can be any classification system you need.
Contributor Roles
Common ONIX contributor role codes (codelist 17):
| Code | Role |
|---|---|
| A01 | By (author) |
| A12 | Illustrated by |
| A23 | Foreword by |
| A24 | Introduction by |
| B01 | Edited by |
| B06 | Translated by |
| C01 | Compiled by |
| E03 | Narrator |
| E07 | Read by |
Full list: codelist 17 on ns.editeur.org
Price Types
Common ONIX price type codes (codelist 58):
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 01 | RRP excluding tax |
| 02 | RRP including tax |
| 03 | Fixed retail price excluding tax |
| 04 | Fixed retail price including tax |
| 05 | Supplier's net price excluding tax |
| 06 | Supplier's net price including tax |
| 21 | Pre-publication RRP excluding tax |
| 22 | Pre-publication RRP including tax |
| 31 | Special sale RRP excluding tax |
| 32 | Special sale RRP including tax |
| 41 | Publishers retail price excluding tax |
| 42 | Publishers retail price including tax |
Full list: codelist 58 on ns.editeur.org
Currency Codes
ISO 4217 three-letter currency codes (codelist 96):
| Code | Currency |
|---|---|
| ZAR | South African Rand |
| USD | US Dollar |
| GBP | British Pound Sterling |
| EUR | Euro |
| AUD | Australian Dollar |
| CAD | Canadian Dollar |
| CHF | Swiss Franc |
| JPY | Japanese Yen |
| CNY | Chinese Yuan |
| INR | Indian Rupee |
Full list: codelist 96 on ns.editeur.org
Audience Codes
ONIX audience type codes (codelist 28). EDItEUR recommends Teenage for code 03 — not "young adult", which means different things in different countries.
| Code | Audience |
|---|---|
| 01 | General / adult |
| 02 | Children |
| 03 | Teenage |
| 04 | Primary and secondary education |
| 05 | College/higher education |
| 06 | Professional & scholarly |
| 07 | ELT/ESL |
| 08 | Adult education |
| 09 | Second language teaching |
Full list: codelist 28 on ns.editeur.org
Publishing Status
ONIX publishing status codes (codelist 64):
| Code | Status |
|---|---|
| 00 | Unspecified |
| 01 | Cancelled |
| 02 | Forthcoming |
| 03 | Postponed indefinitely |
| 04 | Active |
| 05 | No longer our product |
| 06 | Out of stock indefinitely |
| 07 | Out of print |
| 08 | Inactive |
| 09 | Unknown |
| 10 | Remaindered |
| 11 | Withdrawn from sale |
| 12 | Recalled |
Full list: codelist 64 on ns.editeur.org
Additional Resources
For complete ONIX code lists and documentation:
- EDItEUR (ONIX maintainers): editeur.org
- ONIX codelists: ns.editeur.org/onix/en/
- Thema subject codes: ns.editeur.org/thema/en/
- BISAC subject codes: bisg.org/page/bisacedition
South African Resources
- PASA (Publishers Association of South Africa): publishsa.co.za
- SABDC (South African Book Development Council)
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