What sources do you need before creating a Wikipedia page?

Before Wikipedia will keep an article, editors must be able to point to a body of sourcing that clears the General Notability Guideline: significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. Meeting that standard is the threshold above which an article is likely to survive community review and Articles for Deletion.

How many sources are enough?

• Practical minimum, three to five substantial pieces. Each piece must cover the subject directly and in depth, not merely mention it inside a story about something else.
• Complex or controversial subjects need more, often ten or more substantial pieces, because the article will attract closer scrutiny and the sources must support the full range of content the article will contain.
• Quality beats quantity. A single in-depth profile in a major national outlet carries more weight than five trade-publication briefs.

What makes a source count?

Independent

Written by journalists or authors who have no financial, employment, or editorial relationship with the subject. Sources produced by the subject itself, or written primarily from the subject’s own materials, are not independent.

Secondary

The author has analysed, synthesised, or reported on the subject based on their own research or observation, rather than simply reprinting a press release or quoting an official statement verbatim.

Reliable

Published by an outlet with editorial oversight and a reputation for fact-checking, major newspapers, peer-reviewed journals, established magazines, and reputable online news publications. Self-published blogs, personal social-media posts, and unedited forums do not qualify.

In-depth

The coverage is substantive enough to support encyclopaedic content, not a passing mention in a list, a brief company-announcement item, or a stock-market filing note.

What does not count?

• Press releases and wire-service syndications of company announcements
• Sponsored content, native advertising, and paid placements
• The company’s own website, blog, or marketing materials
• Social media posts and self-published content
• Sources that merely quote the subject without independently reporting on it

For organisations and companies, Wikipedia applies an even stricter bar (WP:NCORP), explicitly to prevent gaming by marketing and PR professionals. We catalogue the existing sourcing record against this standard during the readiness assessment.