# West Virginia — What a newspaper may legally charge to publish a legal notice — by US state

For West Virginia, maximum chargeable rate is (1) Four cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of less than one thousand, except as provided in subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section; (2) Eight and one-half cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of one thousand to five thousand; (3) Nine cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than five thousand but less than ten thousand; (4) Ten cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than ten thousand and less than thirty thousand; or (5) Eleven cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of thirty thousand or more; how the cap is measured is cents per word, banded by newspaper circulation; how it changes over time is Provided, That on July 1, 2003 and on July 1, 2004 and on July 1, 2005 the allowable rate per word in each of the classifications of qualified newspapers with reference to circulation as set forth in this subsection shall, for each classification, increase 1¢ per word over the prior year's rate; statute is W. Va. Code § 59-3-3(a), recorded from its source on 2026-08-19.

- **State:** West Virginia _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Maximum chargeable rate:** (1) Four cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of less than one thousand, except as provided in subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section; (2) Eight and one-half cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of one thousand to five thousand; (3) Nine cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than five thousand but less than ten thousand; (4) Ten cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than ten thousand and less than thirty thousand; or (5) Eleven cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of thirty thousand or more _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **How the cap is measured:** cents per word, banded by newspaper circulation _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **How it changes over time:** Provided, That on July 1, 2003 and on July 1, 2004 and on July 1, 2005 the allowable rate per word in each of the classifications of qualified newspapers with reference to circulation as set forth in this subsection shall, for each classification, increase 1¢ per word over the prior year's rate _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Statute:** W. Va. Code § 59-3-3(a) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> (a) The rates which a publisher or proprietor of a qualified newspaper in West Virginia may charge and receive for a single or first publication of any legal advertisement set solid depends on the bona fide circulation of the newspaper, as follows: (1) Four cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of less than one thousand, except as provided in subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section; (2) Eight and one-half cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of one thousand to five thousand; (3) Nine cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than five thousand but less than ten thousand; (4) Ten cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than ten thousand and less than thirty thousand; or (5) Eleven cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of thirty thousand or more: Provided, That on July 1, 2003 and on July 1, 2004 and on July 1, 2005 the allowable rate per word in each of the classifications of qualified newspapers with reference to circulation as set forth in this subsection shall, for each classification, increase 1¢ per word over the prior year's rate.

## Source

- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/59-3-3/

Last verified: 2026-08-19. Review by: 2027-08-19.
Part of [What a newspaper may legally charge to publish a legal notice — by US state](https://referencesource.org/legal-notice-publication-rates-by-state/).