Wikipedia:How the presumption of notability works

This is an essay on notability and the deletion policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

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This essay in a nutshell: The presumption of notability is an assumption that a topic is notable enough to have its own Wikipedia article. We assume that a topic is notable if it has received significant coverage in secondary and independent reliable sources. An editor can show that the presumption does not apply to a topic or that the topic should not otherwise have a Wikipedia article. Before beginning the deletion process, the burden is on the editor who wants to delete the article to conduct a search and explain why the presumption does not apply. During a deletion discussion, any editor who wants to keep an article must show that the topic has significant coverage in reliable sources.

The general notability guideline creates a presumption of notability. The presumption (or assumption) is that topics that have significant coverage in independent, reliable sources should have a Wikipedia article written about it. An editor may show that the presumption may not apply to a topic through the deletion process. Other editors then have the burden to show that an article topic is notable.