Glossary · Publishing
What is a BISAC code?
Definition
BISAC code: A BISAC code is a standard book subject category, such as FIC000000 for Fiction / General, used by US stores and distributors to shelve books.
BISAC stands for Book Industry Standards and Communications. The BISAC Subject Headings list, maintained by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) in the US, is the standard set of subject categories that North American retailers, distributors and libraries use to classify books. Each heading has a nine-character code and a descriptive path, for example FIC000000 for "FICTION / General" — the three-letter prefix is the broad subject and the digits narrow it down.
When you publish through IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Apple Books, Kobo and many others, you are asked to choose one or more BISAC codes. They influence which shelf a bookstore puts you on and which browse categories you appear in online. Amazon KDP uses its own category system for browsing, so the categories you choose there do not map one-to-one to BISAC; check KDP's current category options.
Choose the most specific heading that honestly describes the book. "FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological" will reach readers better than "FICTION / General", where a self-published book is competing with everything. Do not pick an unrelated category just because it seems less crowded — readers who browse there will not be looking for your book, and stores can reclassify or remove it.
BISG updates the list periodically, adding and retiring headings, so use the current version when you set up a new title.