Eligibility/Entry Requirements

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Eligibility Requirements:

• The card must have been marketed or sold in the U.S. between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026.
  • This DOES NOT mean the card has to have been released in 2026. It just has to have been marketed or sold in 2026.
• Cards must have a total production quantity of at least 200 units by the time of submission. This may be across multiple production runs, including print-on-demand production. For Invitations & Announcements, it must come from a run of 50 or more.
• No samples or prototypes may be submitted for judging.
• No cards that have been entered in previous years may be re-entered, except for cards submitted for Rising Star, Writer of the Year and Artist of the Year.
• If you are submitting for a category that is $6 and Below, the card must retail for a cost at or below $6
• You may enter as many cards as you’d like into a single category.
• You may NOT enter the same card in multiple categories.
  • The exceptions to this rule are Rising Star, Writer of the Year, and Artist of the Year categories because these recognize companies instead of a single card.
• Non-traditional card formats are welcome across all Louie categories. If your card is oversized, miniature, unusually shaped, or otherwise outside a standard greeting-card format, enter it in the category that best fits its message or occasion.

Category Requirements:

• For a category to be judged, there must be a minimum of seven total entries from at least three different companies.
  • If the minimum is not met, entries will be combined with alternate price point of same category where possible*. At the discretion of the committee and based on the number of cards in a category, your card may be moved or combined with another category.
• Rising Star Requirements:
  • The company must be in business for three years or less.
  • The company must have sold their first official card on or after January 1, 2024, to be eligible.
  • Entrants must submit five cards so that judges can evaluate the collection as a whole.
• Small Company Requirements:
  • The company must have five or fewer full-time employees.