A Government of Canada catalogue number is a unique number that identifies publications produced by the federal government, including each:

• new monograph or serial
• issue in a monographic series
• new edition or revision
• distinct language edition
• additional publication format

Publications that require a catalogue number

Most government departments and agencies must apply for catalogue numbers for their publications, as per the Directive on the Management of Communications and Federal Identity.

What a catalogue number looks like

Each part of the catalogue number has a specific meaning. Here is a sample catalogue number: PS84-59/2017E-PDF

• The first alphabetic characters identify the issuing department or agency. In this example, it’s Public Safety (PS)
• The first numbers identify the branch and type of publication produced. In this case, 84 stands for monographs from Correctional Services Canada
• The next group of numbers indicates the publication sequence, in this case the 59th item added to the catalogue from Correctional Services Canada
• The year indicates the date of publication, 2017
• Finally, the last letters indicate the language of publication (English) and the format (PDF)