Elsevier Open Publishing Program

Program in 2026 includes 1120 hybrid journals, see list:

https://vls.icm.edu.pl/zasady/2026/Elsevier/czasopisma_elsevier2026_oa.xlsx

The program includes the following article types: Case Reports, Data, Full Length Articles, Micro Articles, Software, Reviews, Replication Study, Short Communications, Short Surveys, Videos, Practice Guidelines i Protocols, see description of types.

The only fee covered by the program is the Article Processing Charge (APC). Authors publishing under the program are exempt from the APC, which is presented by Elsevier in the Rights and Access form as a 100% discount. Catalog APC prices (without discount) are available on the publisher’s website, but this price list only provides information for the basic Full Length Article type, and does not take into account additional discounts to APCs that may be applied by editors. Binding APC price information for an article before and after the discount from the program is visible to the author as soon as the article is accepted for publication in the Rights and Access form.

Some journals charge additional fees, such as Page Charges, Manuscript Acceptance Fee (Submission Fee), or for additional services that may be requested by the author (prints, printed color drawings, etc.). These fees are not indicated on the Rights and Access form, where only the APC fee is indicated. Additional charges are billed between the journal and the author on a separate invoice. The Page Charges fee applies regardless of the open-access or subscription model of publication and, according to the March 2021 information, is applied by more than a dozen journals: list, but the author should check the current policy on the website of the respective journal.

Under the program, in 2026, an article may be published once it has been accepted for publication, provided that the program’s pool has not been exhausted. At the time of submitting the manuscript to the journal, the corresponding author may receive information from the publisher about a possible discount under the program, but this is only information about meeting the criteria for the program, not a guarantee of the availability of the fund. The corresponding author whose article has been reviewed and accepted for publication will receive a link to the Rights and Access form from Elsevier. The form requires the name of the institution, which should correspond to the affiliation or one of the affiliations assigned to the corresponding author on the title page of the article. If the article is eligible for the program and the program pool has not been exhausted at the time of completing the form, the form will display the option to waive the APC fee.

See the publisher’s website for supporting materials:

Author journey: publishing open access with Elsevier under a Read and Publish agreement

If the open access publication option is selected, the author must also choose the CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND licence type, and for some journals, CC BY-NC. This is the author’s choice, but it should be noted that the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY license is recommended in Plan S.

The corresponding author is not required to use the program and may choose traditional, usually free (without APC) publication of the article (the “subscription” option, which only applied to hybrid journals). Failure to use the open access option by the author does not result in any restrictions on access to the program in the future.

Once the author has selected the open access option in the system, the article is sent for review, after which the author receives a further email informing them of the review outcome.

Any questions regarding the program can be directed to support@elsevier.com and to the Virtual Library of Science: wbn@icm.edu.pl.

Contact at SGGW:
Open Science Department Main Library
PhD Agnieszka Adamiec, MSc Dominika Semeniuk, tel. 22 59 35 720; e-mail – otwartanauka@sggw.edu.pl