How to request an article publishing charge discount or waiver

Taylor & Francis is committed to bringing research by scholars in emerging nations to the attention of the global academic community. We also want to make the option to publish in open access journals available to as many researchers as possible.

We offer waivers and discounts on the article publishing charges (APCs), sometimes known as article publication fees, which are required to publish in many full open access journals (Taylor & Francis Open or Routledge Open). Read on to see if you qualify for a discount or waiver, and how to request one.

Who can request an APC discount or waiver?
How do I request an APC discount or waiver?
Requesting a discretionary waiver
Open access agreements

Who can request an APC discount or waiver?

Waivers or discounts to reduce article processing charges for open access articles are available to:

• corresponding authors with primary affiliations based in countries defined by the World Bank as Low-Income Economies, who can apply for a 100% APC waiver when they publish in a full open access journal; or
• corresponding authors with primary affiliations based in countries defined by the World Bank as Lower-Middle-Income Economies, who can apply for a 50% discount on the normal APC when they publish in a full open access journal.

Please note that changes made to these lists by the World Bank each July can take a short period of time to be reflected in our submission systems. You may find discrepancies until the beginning of August while the update work takes place.

We also consider discretionary APC waiver requests for authors who don’t meet these criteria.

We are unable to accept payment from people and organisations in some countries where international banking restrictions apply.

Discounts and waivers for authors in EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) network countries

Corresponding authors with primary affiliations based in one of the 37 EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) network countries may be eligible for a 100% or 50% discount on the normal APC. Read more about our agreement with EIFL to find out if you’re eligible, and how to access the discount.

How do I request an APC discount or waiver?

1. Check that your country is one of those defined by the World Bank as being low-income or lower-middle-income.

2. Check that the journal you’re submitting to is one of the full open access journals included in this scheme.

3. Submit through the journal’s online submission system, making sure that you follow the journal’s individual instructions for authors found on Taylor & Francis Online.

4. In the submission system, the ‘Manuscript Services’ screen will show the standard APC for the open access journal you are submitting to, which is determined by your location and article type. Please indicate here who will pay the APC.

5. Enter the billing details or contact details where prompted then click ‘Generate Quote’.

6. If you are eligible for a discount as part of our waiver policy, please check the box to apply the discount. If you have been given a discount code, enter it in the space provided, and click ‘Apply’.

7. After you click ‘Next’ you will be given the chance to review your submission details.

If the total APC appears incorrect, please return to the previous page and check that you have either ticked the box or applied your discount code.

If the APC still appears incorrect, or you think you are eligible for a discount that hasn’t been applied, please contact the OA waivers team and do not accept your quote. 

If you are not eligible for a discount under our waiver policy, you may request a discretionary waiver.

The email address for the OA waivers team will be provided at this point if you need it – please do not contact them before you have generated a quote as they will not be able to process a waiver request until this step has been completed.

Please do not continue with your submission until you have received a decision from us confirming if you are eligible for a discount. We cannot consider any requests made after submission of your article.

8. If the quote is correct, please click ‘Accept & Submit’. You will be asked to confirm that you wish to proceed. Clicking ‘Yes’ will submit your work for consideration in the journal.

Please note, the quoted APC will only be payable if your article is accepted for publication following peer review.

9. Your paper will go through peer review as normal. Journal editors or reviewers won’t see requests for a discount or waiver and it won’t influence the outcome of your submission.

10. If accepted, your article will be published open access, meaning anyone, anywhere can read your research.

Requesting a discretionary waiver

We will consider all requests for discretionary APC waivers by researchers who aren’t eligible for the policies above. Waivers are only available for submissions to full open access journals, and do not apply for submissions made to an Open Select (hybrid) journal.

After generating your APC quote (see above), you should contact the OA waivers team stating your request for a discretionary waiver. Include supporting evidence for why a waiver would be necessary in your circumstances.

Your request should also include details of:

• The affiliation and country of residence of all authors
• Details of where the research was conducted
• Confirmation of all research grant funding received

To guarantee peer-review integrity, the waiver process is not managed by journal academic editors.

Please note that if we have reason to believe an author has provided false information as part of their waiver request, we reserve the right to rescind any discount offered, and the full APC will apply.

Open access agreements

Authors can also benefit from reduced or fully prepaid APCs through our open access agreements. We partner with institutions and funders across the world to help researchers publish gold open access in their chosen journals.

Explore the full list of open access agreements and find out if you could be eligible.

Read our quick guide to open access publishing definitions for more information on key OA terminology.

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