In general, topics on the English Wikipedia are required to show their notability through demonstrating reliable, independent, significant, and secondary coverage about the subject. This is called the general notability guideline or “GNG” and is what we generally assess in our notability assessments. However, in addition to the general guideline, Wikipedia has subject-specific guidelines for specific fields. Contained within these guidelines are certain subjects which are considered “inherently notable” or worthy of automatic inclusion on Wikipedia.
Politics and Government
Wikipedia’s notability guideline for politicians presumes that holding certain offices automatically confers notability. In practice, politicians and judges who have held high-level offices – for example, members of national legislatures or state/province-wide legislative bodies, heads of state or government, cabinet-level ministers, or supreme court justices – are considered inherently notable. This includes those elected to such positions but not yet in office.
This inherent notability only automatically applies to national politicians (and subnational, ie., state or provincial, politicians in specific countries). Local officials aren’t automatically considered notable but can still qualify for inclusion on Wikipedia if they’ve received unusually significant coverage under the GNG.
Academia and Science
The academic notability guideline also provides certain instances that provide automatic eligibility for inclusion in Wikipedia. One is that academics with top honors or select distinctions are presumed notable. This includes those who have won highly prestigious scholarly awards such as the Nobel Prize, the MacArthur Genius Grant, the Fields Medal, and other similar awards. It also includes those who have earned membership in elite academic societies such as the National Academy of Sciences, Japan Academy, Royal Society, or other similarly prestigious and selective organizations.
Another avenue that can provide automatic notability for academics is holding a named distinguished professorship or a top administrative post at a major university. The assumption is that such honors/positions come with significant independent coverage of the individual’s work.
Academics are considered inherently notable on Wikipedia if their “research has had a significant impact in their scholarly discipline, broadly construed, as demonstrated by independent reliable sources.” This is generally measured using the h-index although there is no consistent measure of what h factor is sufficient for automatic inclusion since some fields are considered more prone to high numbers of citations than others.
Athletes
In sports, notability is often automatically granted to athletes who have achieved widely recognized milestones. Per Wikipedia’s sports notability guideline, an athlete is probably notable if they have won a significant honor or championship since this almost always guarantees ample coverage. However, athletes are still required to meet the general notability guideline — meeting the sports notability guideline is only intended to prevent speedy deletion to allow time for articles to be developed.
Olympians and world champions in recognized sports are automatically notable – an athlete who has won an Olympic medal is very likely to meet notability requirements, as are winners and participants in major professional events listed in the guideline. Similarly, being inducted into a major Hall of Fame or winning a national or international championship confers presumed notability (as these accomplishments are reported extensively in independent sources).
Arts and Entertainment
There’s another subject-specific criteria for creative professionals. For instance, actors, filmmakers, or other entertainers who have had multiple significant roles in notable films, television shows, or stage productions are generally deemed notable. It’s important to note that this only applies to “significant” roles — this would not apply for being an extra or supporting character in multiple notable works.
Musicians (and groups) are presumed notable if they’ve attained major professional milestones – including winning or being nominated for a major music award (e.g. Grammy, Juno, or similar honors), achieving certified gold/platinum records, or appearing on an acceptable national music chart
Similarly, receiving a prominent award in the arts (such as an Academy Award for film or a Pulitzer Prize in literature) strongly indicates notability under Wikipedia’s guidelines, as these honors come with substantial coverage.
Other Biographies
In addition to the specific cases listed above, individuals are considered notable on Wikipedia (and eligible for an article) if any of the three criteria below apply under the WP:ANYBIO guideline:
- The person has received a well-known and significant award or honor, or has been nominated for such an award several times
- The person has made a widely recognized contribution that is part of the enduring historical record in a specific field
- The person has an entry in a country’s standard national biographical dictionary
In other words, winning a well-known, significant award or honor can supersede the need to prove notability via the usual criteria and create a presumption of encyclopedic relevance, even beyond the subject-specific examples listed above. Similarly, being included in a notable biographical dictionary can confer inherent notability (although this would likely be redundant with having sufficient coverage to meet the GNG).
What About Other Types of Articles?
While notability for other subjects is not “inherent”, certain entities are “presumed” to meet the general notability guideline.
Companies and Organizations
Companies or organizations are included on Wikipedia based on the general notability guideline (GNG). Certain entities are presumed to meet this standard and are unlikely to be subject to speedy deletion but must still demonstrate sufficient sources to meet the GNG if challenged.
Types of entities presumed to meet the GNG (but not inherently notable) include legitimate degree-granting colleges and universities (WP:NUNI) and companies included in major stock indexes such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100, Nikkei 225, etc. Departments of universities are usually not considered independently notable apart from their parent institution except for law schools and medical schools.
Film and Television
Similarly to companies, while films and TV shows are never accorded inherent notability, the following indicate that a film or tv series is likely to meet the general notability guideline.
- Films released by major studios or distributed by significant production companies usually qualify (WP:NFF)
- Films that have been nominated for or won major awards (e.g., Academy Awards, BAFTAs) are usually notable (WP:NFF)
- TV shows aired on national networks or major streaming platforms, or those with significant syndication, are generally notable (WP:NTV)
While the criterion above is a good indicator that an article on films and TV shows will meet the general notability guideline, they should still be independently evaluated against the complete criteria.
Music (Songs and Albums)
Songs and albums that charted nationally on an acceptable national chart often meet the GNG requirements, but they must still demonstrate coverage as explained in the WP:NMUSIC guideline. Even when songs would otherwise meet the GNG, contents are often merged into articles about the artist or album if space permits.
Books
Books can have inherent notability based on a set of criteria outlined in the WP:NBOOK guideline. The criteria includes:
- Winning a major literary award
- The book is, or has been, the subject of instruction at two or more schools, colleges, universities or post-graduate programs in any particular country
- The book is covered in at least two substantial, independent sources (such as reviews, news articles, or documentaries) that are not promotional or affiliated with the author or publisher
Article Creation on Wikipedia
Most subjects on Wikipedia qualify for inclusion under the General Notability Guideline (GNG), which requires significant secondary coverage from independent and reliable sources, rather than meeting an automatic inclusion criteria described in this article. For subjects that don’t meet an automatic criterion, our eligibility assessment helps determine if they qualify under the GNG. If they do, our standard and premium article creation packages provide comprehensive support to ensure strong development and reduce the risk of deletion. For subjects who already meet an automatic inclusion criterion, our starter package offers a more streamlined path to establishing a Wikipedia presence. Learn more by reviewing our Wikipedia editing and article creation services.