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Qualification
| Filing | Currently
Qualified Newspapers
Background
State, county and municipal governing bodies are required to publish legal
advertisements in properly qualified newspapers. Also, state law requires publication of legal ads in many
cases where citizens will be affected by the result of an action. In order
to assure those legal advertisements are published in a newspaper which can be
expected to reach a reasonable audience, West Virginia law establishes the
criteria for eligibility to publish these ads as a qualified newspaper. The criteria include
circulation and frequency of publication.
West Virginia Code
West
Virginia Code Chapter 59, Article 3 establishes both the
requirements for qualified newspapers and the classifications of
legal advertisements.
Click here for
the full text: Newspapers
and Legal Advertisements
Requirements for Qualification
A newspaper which is qualified to publish legal advertisements required under
West Virginia Code §59-3-1 must:
- Be published in the State of West Virginia (unless
otherwise specifically provided in law)
- Bear a title or name and consist of not less than four
pages without a cover
- Be a newspaper to which the general public resorts for passing events of a
political, religious, commercial and social nature, and for
current happenings, announcements, miscellaneous reading
matters, advertisements and other notices.
- Be issued
regularly, that is, as frequently as once a week, for
at least 50 weeks during the calendar year as prescribed by
its mailing permit
- Have been
published regularly for at least one year immediately prior
to the date on which a legal advertisement is delivered for
publication
- Be generally
circulated at a definite price in the "publication
area," the area or areas for which a legal
advertisement is required by law or a court to be
made. "General circulation" means the
"actual circulation throughout the publication area is
large enough to give basis for a reasonable belief that
publication of a legal advertisement therein will give
effective notice to the residents of the publication
area." [W. Va. Code §59-3-1]
Filing an Affidavit
Procedure and Filing Deadlines
A
newspaper which meets the other requirements of a qualified
newspaper must file an affidavit of circulation no later than
November 1, 2005, to be fully qualified to publish legal
advertisements for the year beginning July 1, 2006 and ending
June 30, 2007.
Form
Download
the Qualified
Newspaper Affidavit Form
NW-1 in Adobe Acrobat Reader format, complete
it on screen, and print the form ready for signing. If you
have not used the Reader before, see Acrobat Reader Help.
Sign the form and
have it notarized, attach the printed affidavit of
circulation, and mail to the Secretary of State.
Need Help?
For assistance, call (304) 558-6000 or write elections@wvsos.com
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