FAQs

Beginning March 3, 2025, The Official Catholic Directory will implement an annual $10 administrative fee for all primary entities listed in the directory. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is aware of the factors necessitating this fee and has approved our new model of sustainable business operations.  

The $10 fee is based on the following key assumptions:

--the USCCB’s Group Exemption is valuable

--all entities listed in the OCD benefit from the USCCB’s Group Exemption

--all entities listed in the OCD should update key information annually

--print directory publishing requires innovation for survival. OCD print sales have declined by more than 40% since 2014   

--a $10 fee helps cover the significant amount of detailed work required to produce the OCD

--a $10 fee is reasonable and affordable for every OCD entity

Under the $10 fee framework, both www.ocdedits.com and www.dio.ocdedits.com will remain free to use – all online updating will remain free for OCD entities and dioceses. We will continue to accept and store the data provided by any OCD entity or diocese and produce the directory in support of the Group Ruling. However, going forward the publication of an entity’s full listing in the OCD would depend on payment of the $10 fee.   

The primary entities listed in the Parishes, Missions, and Clergy, Schools, and Institutions Located in the Diocese sections of the OCD will each be billed $10 annually.

--the USCCB

--the Dioceses, Diocesan offices, and any entity listed in each Diocese’s Curia

--sub-entities (aka sub-orgs) listed in the Parishes, Missions, and Clergy, Schools, and Institutions Located in the Diocese sections of the OCD  

--religious orders in the Religious Institute of Men and Religious Institute of Women (note that religious orders will be billed by virtue of their listing in a Diocesan section; the purpose here is to avoid double billing religious orders)

--any entity that buys a print or digital 2024 or 2025 OCD  

--any entity newly approved for OCD inclusion by its diocese and the USCCB

--any individual listed in the OCD (e.g., priests, deacons, DREs etc.)

On or about March 3, 2025 primary entities will receive an email explaining the administrative fee and online payment instructions.

Administration fees can be paid online here: OCD25 Admin Fee

An option to receive an invoice and pay the administration fee by check will be available upon request. Please use our Contact Us page to request an invoice.

We understand some dioceses may prefer to pay the fee on behalf of their primary entities. We are prepared to offer a significant discount for any such diocese. Please Contact Us no later than March 14, 2025 for more details.

The entity’s name will remain in its existing location in the OCD. However, the entity’s published listing will no longer include its address, key personnel, or contact information unless the $10 fee is paid. See sample 'restricted listings' here.

We are grateful for our role in updating and publishing the OCD and remain committed to partnering with the USCCB and the dioceses to maintain the Group Exemption. In our view, a $10 fee shared by all those who benefit from the Group Exemption is an equitable and affordable solution to the obvious challenges of modern book publishing.

The Official Catholic Directory (OCD) is an annual publication containing over 1,800 pages of detailed information about the 56K+ entities that comprise the Catholic Church in the USA and the nearly 96K clergy and laity that serve those entities.

Published in cooperation with The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the directory serves as a source for verifying the tax-exempt status of Catholic entities under the IRS/USCCB ‘Group Ruling.' For over 200 years the directory has been the 'Go To Source' for information on the Catholic Church in America.

For more information on the IRS/USCCB 'Group Ruling' and its connection to the OCD, please visit the USCCB's Group Ruling FAQs.

The directory is available in a printed book format or as a 'Digital Flipbook,' accessible online through an annual subscription.

The OCD flipbook is a digital version of the traditional print OCD and is available as an annual subscription, accessible online 24/7 via 'single-simultaneous user' login credentials.

A standing order is a way to request recurring shipments. Customers 'on standing order' have each new edition automatically fulfilled (print or DFB) and they are then invoiced or charged. Some customers favor this option as a way to receive the discounted price and to ensure they never miss an edition.

Simply visit our homepage and click the 'SHOP NOW' button to view ordering options. Then choose a product/format to view pricing and to place your order.

--All claims must be submitted within 30 days of Invoice Date

--Claims must be submitted in writing through our Contact Us page.

--Claims must include your Customer ID / Account Number.

--Standing Orders CANNOT be cancelled AFTER books have shipped.

Standing Orders: Lower price is guaranteed for as long as you remain on automatic yearly renewal. You are free to cancel standing order status at any time. However, we cannot accept cancellations AFTER you have received the current year’s edition. Absent extenuating circumstances, such cancellations will be applied to the next year’s edition and the customer is expected to pay for the edition just received.

We have a limited inventory of older editions within the past ten years. Editions published more than ten years ago are not available. To confirm availability and price of an older edition published within the past 10 years, please use our Contact Us page and indicate the specific edition you're interested in.

To pay by credit card, please request an online payment link via our Contact Us page.

To pay by check, mail the invoice with your check to: NRP Direct | 1690 S. Lumpkin St.| Athens, GA 30606. Please be sure to write your invoice number on the check.

To request an invoice or to pay by electronic or wire transfer, please use our Contact Us page.

The application process begins with your (arch)diocesan chancery office. Your chancery will have the appropriate forms and will be able to guide you through the process. You may only be listed in the OCD if your application has passed through the application process for the diocese in which your ministry is located.

The chancery will be able to tell you when your application has been approved for inclusion by the diocesan attorney and the USCCB's general counsel's office. At that point, the chancery will pass the information to the OCD staff to be included in the directory.

The OCD Online Update System is available to dioceses and entities in the Church for the purpose of updating and approving entity listings. The system is comprised of two distinct sites: 1) ocdedits.com/login (for entities to update listings), and 2) dio.ocdedits.com/login (for diocesan admins to review, update, and approved or remove entities).

Both sites open in the fall for updating entity listings and personnel for the following year’s publication. The ocdedits.com/login site remains open for about one month then closes for a roughly one-month diocesan review period. At the end of the diocesan review period, the dio.ocdedits.com/login site also closes for the OCD editorial review process. Both sites then remain closed until the next update cycle begins the following fall.

Note about address changes. You may want to speak to your chancery office to see if the (arch)diocese requires any further documentation or if the address change places your organization into a different diocese.

When the updating period is over, the sites lock, and a banner is posted on the sites indicating they cannot be accessed.

Diocesan administrators have access to the site immediately after the updating period and may opt to make changes on behalf of organizations during the time they have access to the site.

Note: If the sites are open for editing and you still cannot access, please Contact Us.

Email announcements for the opening of the site are sent to the OCD Contact at each entity as well as to the chancery offices. Please be sure to add our domain (nrpdirect.com) to your “safe senders” list to ensure our email notifications can be delivered to your inbox if you are the contact person for the organization.

The contact person’s name, telephone number and email address are listed on the OCD Contact Info page of the record. Please be sure to verify this data when the site is open in the fall so that the correct person is notified to update for future editions.

This will vary by the size of the listing and the number of changes required, but we estimate it will take on average about 5-10 minutes to update a listing.

These options provide avenues for OCD to connect carefully selected third parties who offer products and services of value to potential buyers in the Church. These efforts also help fund the compilation of the OCD in furtherance of our obligation to the Group Ruling.

Please download our advertising Media Kits for pricing.

Please request a Data Card for a breakdown of our mailing list prices. If you are interested in licensing a custom OCD dataset, please Contact Us for pricing.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (“USCCB”) is the central organization holding a group exemption letter for Catholic religious, charitable, and educational organizations in the United States. The group ruling’s IRS Group Exemption Number, or GEN, is 0928. The USCCB group ruling establishes that Catholic organizations in the U.S. that are listed in the current edition of The Official Catholic Directory are recognized as exempt from federal income tax as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

For more information on the 'Group Ruling' and its connection with the OCD, please visit the USCCB's Group Ruling FAQs.

To verify your recent listing and page number, you may purchase the page information for $100. Please use this payment link to make your purchase.

After your payment has been confirmed, our Editorial Team will contact you with the listing and page information.

Unfortunately, we have a limited number of back editions in the office. There are several institutions that have extensive/complete collections of the directory where you may be able to get research assistance. These are:

• --Georgetown University library in Washington DC 202-687-7607 and Saint Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie in Yonkers, NY 914-367-8255. Both organizations have complete collections of the directory.
  --Catholic University of America Tel: 202-319-5070
  --Archdiocese of Chicago Archives and Records Center, 711 W. Monroe, Chicago IL 60661. Tel: 312-534-4400.