A DOI prefix always starts with '10.' and continues with a number (e.g. '10.1234' or '10.20865'). The DOI prefix is used as a namespace so that DOIs are globally unique. DOI names are provided by DataCite and other DOI Registration Agencies (RAs). This is coordinated by the International DOI Foundation (IDF).

• There are 11 DOI Registration Agencies, most of which assign DOI names to scholarly content. Crossref is the largest DOI Registration Agency.

CNRI (Corporation for National Research Initiatives) manage the handle system and provide technical and operational support for the DOI system as a contractor. They assign a pool of prefixes to DataCite which are imported into Fabrica and distributed to DataCite Members.

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Repositories and Prefixes

Each DataCite Repository account has one prefix to register DOIs. If a new prefix is needed, a new Repository account should be created. This model means that different content types stay together and can be moved around more easily if needed in future.


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