It is almost time to submit your annual “Affidavit of Circulation & Qualification” form to the Secretary of State’s Office. The affidavit and the submission process has not changed from last year. Following is some important items to remember:
- The affidavit submission process begins on October 1, 2024 and ends on November 1, 2024. This means the Secretary of State’s Office will not accept any affidavit before October 1 and your affidavit must be received by their office by no later than November 1, 2024. Please do not wait till the last minute to submit your newspaper’s affidavit and allow yourself ample time for the U.S. Mail to get your documents there by the affidavit submission deadline of November 1, 2024.
- A separate affidavit must be submitted for each individual newspaper.
- You must include a copy of your U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation form along with the original copy of the Affidavit of Circulation & Qualification.
- Make sure that you provide an answer to every question on the affidavit.
- Your completed affidavit must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office by the U.S. Mail.
- WVPA requests that you also send a copy of your documentation to our office at 3422 Pennsylvania Avenue, Charleston, WV 25302
The Secretary of State’s office staff has provided the following explanation of the Affidavit of Circulation & Qualification and additional information to assist you in completing this form.
Affidavit of Circulation & Qualification
SECTION 1 –
- Parent companies must complete an individualized affidavit for each newspaper that is applying for qualified newspaper status.
- Name and address of the parent organization can be skipped if not applicable. All other questions on the affidavit must be answered in their entirety to avoid rejection.
- Party affiliation can only be amended during the application period. Party affiliation changes listed on the affidavit will not take effect until July 1, 2025 (when the FY2026 list takes effect).
SECTION 2 –
- The physical office location must be within the county that they are applying for qualified newspaper status in. The publication applying cannot list an address outside of the county or a PO box within the county for this question.
- The requirements for how long the newspaper has to have been published before applying are pulled from the code section below. As long as they satisfy the fifty-week requirement prescribed by their mailing permit, they should be fine. Technically, according to the language below, they only have to be published one year prior to when they would accept their first legal ad, which would be in July of 2025 when the new fiscal year starts.
- Sunday-only newspapers are automatically disqualified according to state code.
SECTION 3 & 4 –
- Newspapers should read each section in its entirety and make sure they understand their legal obligation to comply with the requirements listed. Newspapers that leave these sections blank or check the NO box are disqualified.
USPS STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (PS3526) –
- A copy of the form must be included with the affidavit. This form can be emailed electronically if needed, but the original copy of the affidavit must be notarized and mailed to the following address:
Secretary of State’s Office mailing Address
West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office
1900 Kanawha Blvd E
Charleston, WV 25305
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the following people:
Doug Skaff, WVPA Interim Executive Director
(304) 348-4804
or
Stella Gill
WV Press Association
Office Manager and Special Projects Coordinator
(304) 552-7653
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