Is my journal compliant?

The SHERPA/FACT Funders & Authors Compliance Tool can help researchers determine whether their chosen journal will allow them to comply with their particular funder's open access mandate.

We strongly advise that researchers simply upload their manuscripts, as the Open Access team is highly skilled in this area, and can easily resolve any issues.

What happens if my journal is not compliant?

REF Open Access Policy

There are a number of exceptions to the various requirements that will be allowed by the REF Open Access policy. These exceptions cover circumstances where deposit was not possible, or where open access to deposited material could not be achieved within the policy requirements. If a researcher publishes in a journal where compliance with the REF Open Access policy is not possible due to the publisher conditions, we note this as an exception, and the output is eligible for submission to the REF.

Research Councils 

If a researcher publishes in a journal where compliance with the UK Research Councils' policy, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation or Wellcome Trust policy is not possible due to the publisher's conditions, we note this as a failure with the policy.