Registration Details

The WGAW Registry assists writers and other creators in establishing the completion dates of material written for the fields of radio, film, television, video, and interactive media.

Registration provides a dated record of the writer's claim to authorship of a particular literary material. If necessary a WGA employee may produce the material as evidence if legal or official Guild action is initiated.

The Registry does not make comparisons of registration deposits, bestow any statutory protections, or give legal advice. Submitted material is not read by the Registry or other WGAW staff.

When the material is registered, the date and time are recorded. A numbered certificate is returned which can serve as the official documentation of registration. Because the certificate is your proof of registration, it should be saved.

REGISTERABLE MATERIAL

Any file may be registered to assist you in documenting the creation of your work. Some examples of registerable material include scripts, treatments, synopses, outlines, and written ideas specifically intended for radio, television and film, video cassettes/discs, or interactive media. The WGAW Registry also accepts stageplays, novels, books, short stories, poems, commercials, lyrics, drawings, music and various media work such as Web series, code, and other digital content.

REGISTERABLE FILE FORMATS

Preferred file formats are ASCII, XML, PDF (Adobe Acrobat), Word, Final Draft , and Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000; however, all file formats will be accepted. You will be prompted to select the file on your hard drive that you wish to register. Please note that only one file for each online registration request will be accepted. Currently the file size limit is 10 MB. Zip files are prohibited.

In addition, other screenplay software and standard computer file formats are acceptable. For example, graphics files in .tiff, .jpg, or other popular formats may be used to register work.

Make certain you are uploading the correct file and version of your material. All registrations are final upon submission and cannot be changed, substituted, or voided.

TITLES

Titles are not registered with the WGAW Registry, as they are not protected by registration. The title or filename is mainly used to identify material within specific registrant records. The Registry does not make comparisons of titles or record title changes for registered material. Title changes do not require re-registration of material.

When submitting material to agencies or companies, you may use any title that you prefer.

CHANGES TO MATERIAL

You may change your work as much as you prefer; however, when the storyline has been affected or changed extensively, it becomes new material and should be registered or documented again in some manner.

It is solely at your discretion to submit multiple drafts or completed drafts of the same work for registration. The Registry does not make comparisons of drafts or material content.

All submissions, including subsequent drafts of existing registrations, are considered completely separate registrations and should be submitted accordingly with the required fees.

VIRUSES

The online registration system will not accept files containing viruses. Registrants attempting to register online with a file containing a virus will be notified to clean the file and try the online transaction again. Any credit card charges from virus-laden transactions are reversed within three business days.

REGISTRATION FEES

Registration fees are $20 (U.S.) for the general public, $10 (U.S.) for WGA members in good standing. The online system accepts Visa/MasterCard/Discover as a form of payment. You will be billed in your local currency if outside the U.S.

The Registry does not accept bank transfers of any kind, nor release bank account information under any circumstance.

DURATION AND EXPIRATION

Registration is valid for a term of five (5) years. Upon expiration, registration may be renewed for an additional five-year period at the current registration rate. Renewals will be accepted up to three (3) months prior to the expiration of the original registration. A grace period is extended allowing renewals as late as three (3) months following the expiration date.

At the time of registration, or renewal, you authorize the WGA to destroy the material without further notice to you on the expiration of the first term of registration or any renewal period.

IDENTIFYING REGISTERED WORK

Registrants may choose to identify registered material with the following language: "WGAW Registered" or "WGAW #_____" How and where you identify your material as being registered is completely at your discretion. You do not need permission to show your work as being registered.

ACCESS TO REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Only the writers listed on the registration receipt may request confirmation of registration, the registration number, date of deposit, or any other information.

The Registry will honor such written requests from writers regarding the registration of their own work(s) only if accompanied by photo identification. All verification or confirmation requests from a writer should contain as much specific information as possible, such as registration number, title of material, effective date, and social security number of writer, and may be submitted by facsimile, mail, or in person. The fax number for the Registry is (323) 782-4803.

In the event an author is deceased, proof of death and consent of the representative of the heirs and/or estate must be presented in order to obtain specific information regarding the material. The representative must provide court documents authenticating his or her claim as legal heir.

ACCESS TO COPIES OF DEPOSITED MATERIAL

Because the deposited material cannot be returned to the writer without defeating the purpose of registration, registered material may not be withdrawn. It is therefore important to always retain a separate copy of the material being registered.

If a writer finds it necessary to obtain a copy of deposited material, duplicates may be purchased for the price of registration upon written request by one or more of the listed authors, identified by photo ID. In the event an author is deceased, proof of death and consent of the representative of the heirs and/or estate must be presented in order to obtain a copy of the material.

Duplicates of online registrations will not be in paper form. Your online registration will be returned to you in an electronic format (CD) and sent via certified mail.

In no event, except under these provisions, shall any deposited material, copies of deposited material, or information regarding deposited material be provided unless an official guild action, court order, or other legal process has been served.

PRIVACY

The WGAW Registry has thoroughly evaluated the needs and security issues surrounding electronic submissions. The protection of your personal information is of the highest priority to the WGAW Registry.

Your personal information is requested for specific purposes and will be kept confidential. Unless you designate otherwise, it is only used in connection to your transaction(s) with the Registry and for information about the Registry, and it will not be disclosed to outside organizations for any purpose.

Only the writers listed on the registration record may request confirmation of registration, the registration number, date of deposit, or any other information. If necessary, a Registry employee may produce registration information or material in response to legal process or official Guild action.

The WGAW Registry will honor written requests from writers regarding the registration of their own work(s) only if accompanied by photo identification. All verification or confirmation requests from a writer should contain as much specific information as possible, such as registration number, title of material, effective date, and social security number of writer, and may be submitted by facsimile, mail, or in person. The fax number for the WGAW Registry is (323) 782-4803.

ADDING AUTHORS TO ONLINE SUBMISSIONS

If you add authors to your transaction, please do not type over the "Registrant/Author" or "Author 1" information. Instead, simply fill in the necessary information to the "Author 2" section. It is important to include all authors' information as part of the registration. Authors CANNOT be added to a registration record once it is completed.

SPECIAL CHARACTERS

Certain keyboard characters (such as colons, semicolons, hyphens, slashes, periods, etc) that appear in the filename may impede your ability to upload your file properly. Please be sure your filename has no special characters before registering online.

We are no longer able to facilitate in-person registration services. Paper submissions received after January 1, 2020 will be destroyed and your payment returned.

No exceptions will be made.