Skip to Main Content

Green Open Access Publishing

Mae'r dudalen hon hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg

What are the REF rules?

To be eligible for submission to REF 2029, journal articles and conference papers with an ISSN must comply with the following Green Open Access requirements: 

  • Deposit the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) in an institutional repository. 

  • Deposit must occur within 3 months of acceptance. 

  • Respect embargo periods: 6 months for STEM (Panels A & B), 12 months for SSH (Panels C & D). 

  • Apply a Creative Commons licence if permitted (CC BY preferred). 

  • Include metadata: title, journal name, ISSN, date of acceptance, author names, funder info. 

Make sure you deposit the correct version - promptly

  • Deposit the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM): 
    This is the version after peer review, but before publisher formatting. 

  • Do not deposit the published PDF unless the journal is fully open access 

  • You can deposit a preprint (submitted version) in a repository. Preprints are eligible for REF if they represent original research. Still deposit the AAM when available for full compliance. 

  • Deposit your AAM into RIS  

  • Do this within 3 months of acceptance (not publication date)

Check Embargo Periods so you are REF compliant

Check your journal’s embargo policy:  

  • STEM subjects (Panels A & B): max 6 months 

  • Social Sciences & Humanities (Panels C & D): max 12 months

Follow the Green OA checklist from the tab above on the left.

Common Mistakes to Avoid 

  • Depositing the published version (unless Gold OA) 

  • Missing the 3-month deposit deadline 

  • Forgetting to include the date of acceptance 

  • Not checking embargo or licence rules