The notice bureau
Legal notice costs, rules, and deadlines
The one newspaper purchase made under court order. Here is the meter, the qualification trap, the workflow, and your state's rules.
A legal notice is priced like a classified, per line or column inch per run, but bought under statute: the paper must qualify under state law, the schedule is fixed by code or court order, and the deliverable is an affidavit of publication. Length times rate times required runs is the bill; the statute is the spec sheet.
Source: Public Notice Resource Center, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. The Public Notice Resource Center maintains the national overview of state requirements.
The qualification trap, stated once
Every state defines which papers count, and publication in a non-qualifying paper is legally nothing: the clock restarts and you pay twice. Verify qualification for your exact county before any money moves. Each state page below cites the defining code section and links the official list.
The workflow, five steps
- 1
Read the requirement
The statute or order names the county, the schedule, and sometimes the paper. It is the spec sheet; bring its exact words.
- 2
Find a qualifying paper
Use the state press association's list or official aggregator. Verify qualification for the specific county before paying.
- 3
Get the quote
Send exact text to the legal desk; they quote lines times rate times runs. Ask a second qualifying paper where one exists.
- 4
Book every required run
Count weeks back from the hearing or sale date, add the paper's copy deadline, and book the full schedule at once.
- 5
Collect proof of publication
The affidavit or certificate from the paper is what the court or clerk actually wants. Order it at placement and diarize its arrival.
Notice cost and deadline desk
Enter the paper’s legal per-line rate for a cost figure. Rates are set by each paper or by statute; this desk never guesses one.
Add your court or sale date and the desk counts the weeks back to your last safe first-run date.
Deadline arithmetic only; the statute or court order for your notice type controls the real schedule. State rules and citations are on the state pages below.
State desks
Rules and rates by state
Twelve states at launch, chosen for population and statutory clarity. Each page cites the code section and links the official notice site.
| State | Statutory basis | Official notice site |
|---|---|---|
| California | Cal. Gov. Code sec. 6000 et seq. | capublicnotice.com (CNPA) |
| Texas | Tex. Gov. Code ch. 2051, subch. C | Texas Press Association |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. ch. 50 | floridapublicnotices.com |
| New York | N.Y. LLC Law sec. 206 (and county designation rules) | newyorkpublicnotices.com |
| Pennsylvania | 45 Pa.C.S. (official advertising) and county legal journals | publicnoticepa.com |
| Illinois | 715 ILCS 5 (Notice by Publication Act) | publicnoticeillinois.com |
| Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code sec. 7.10 through 7.16 | publicnoticesohio.com |
| Georgia | O.C.G.A. sec. 9-13-140 et seq. and the county legal organ system | georgiapublicnotice.com |
| North Carolina | N.C. Gen. Stat. sec. 1-597 and 1-598 | ncnotices.com |
| Michigan | Mich. Comp. Laws sec. 691.1051 | mipublicnotices.com |
| New Jersey | N.J.S.A. 35:1-1 et seq. | njpublicnotices.com |
| Virginia | Va. Code sec. 8.01-324 | publicnoticevirginia.com |
Source: Public Notice Resource Center, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. Remaining states are on the expansion schedule; the corrections column logs each addition.
Related: how commercial deadlines differ, the shared classified meter, and the corrections column where every statutory re-check is logged.