Many research funders and institutions worldwide have introduced policies requiring authors to make their research openly accessible, whether through immediate open access publication, or through archiving a version of their manuscript in a repository.
Follow our open access (OA) checklist to help you meet the requirements of your funder(s) and institutions, and identify potential sources of article processing charge (APC) funding if you are publishing OA.
Check whether your funder allows or requires you to budget for OA publication charges within your research grant application. Learn more about OA funding options.
Check the OA policies of your research funder and institution – are you required to publish via the immediate (gold) OA route, under a specific licence, or to archive a version of your manuscript (green OA)? Learn more about identifying OA policies and about common OA requirements.
Check the OA policies of your chosen journal – will the journal’s OA options, licences, and self-archiving policies allow you to meet your funder and institution’s OA policy requirements?
Check journal article processing charges (APCs) and identify sources of funding – what OA funding is available from your institution and/or funder, and when do you need to apply?
Check whether your chosen journal meets your OA funding conditions – are your funds restricted to fully OA journals, or journals offering a CC BY licence? Learn more about common OA funding restrictions.
If publishing in a Transformative or hybrid journal, have you selected the open access publication route if required to do so by your funder? Learn more about funders that require authors to publish via the OA route.
If your funder or institution has specific licensing requirements, have you selected a licence that meets these conditions? Learn more about meeting licence requirements and OA licensing in Springer Nature journals.
Confirm what needs to be done to meet any self-archiving requirements of your funder and/or institution – which version of the article needs to be archived and where? Will the journal be depositing the manuscript on your behalf? Learn more about meeting self-archiving and manuscript deposition requirements.
Self-archiving requirements Springer Nature journal policies
Research funders and institutions may have additional open access requirements that are not covered by this checklist. We advise all authors to check open access policies on their funder and institutional websites for full details of applicable requirements.
