Frequently asked questions about BioMed Central's article-processing charges

Does BioMed Central offer discounts on Article-Processing Charges?
BioMed Central offers various discounts on APCs, which are outlined below. The discounts are exclusive of each other and cannot be accumulated.

Discount reference	Discount amount	Notes	Qualifying journals
Supporter Member discount	15% on full APC	Submitting author must be from Supporter Member institution.	All journals published by BioMed Central
Current Controlled Trials registration discount	20% off full APC	Applicable to authors of study protocols for trials registered with Current Controlled Trials	All BMC series medical journals that consider study protocols and Trials
Published protocol discount	20% off full APC	Applicable to authors of published protocols when submitting the results of their study for publication in a qualifying journal	All BMC series medical journals that consider study protocols and Trials
Case report discount	20% off full APC	Applies to case reports relating to patients who are enrolled in studies described in published protocols or results articles in the BMC series medical journals and Trials.	Journal of Medical Case Reports

Please note that if the submitting author"s organization is a BioMed Central Prepay Member, the cost of the article processing charge is covered by the Membership. Please check if your institution is a BioMed Central Member.

How do BioMed Central's charges compare with other publishers?
BioMed Central's article processing charges are extremely competitive. In general, BioMed Central's charges are amongst the lowest of any publisher offering open access publication - see our APC comparison table.

Are any taxes included in this charge?
No. Authors resident in any of the countries of the European Union have to add Value-Added Tax (VAT, currently 20%). Institutions paying the fee on behalf of the author can in most cases have the VAT refunded, or, by providing BioMed Central with their VAT registration number*, avoid paying VAT altogether. (*except UK)

To which articles will this charge apply?
To all articles that have been accepted for open access publication in one of BioMed Central's online journals*. This charge will not apply to content that requires a subscription for access. There is an up to date list of those journals that currently have article-processing charges.

*With the exception of articles submitted for publication in supplements. Publication charges for articles in supplements are set by special arrangement with the organisers of the supplement. For further information please contact us.

Why a flat charge rather than one based on page numbers?
The size of an article is a poor indicator of the actual amount of work involved in obtaining peer reviews and in preparing the article for publication. A more useful discriminator might be the state an article is in when submitted, and its complexity, but the lack of objective tools to measure these has lead us to conclude that a flat fee is the fairest approach at this stage.

Who is responsible for making the payment?
Whoever submits the manuscript is responsible for making or arranging the payment (for instance, via his or her institution).

Which funding agencies explicitly allow direct use of their grants to cover article-processing charges?
Many funding agencies allow the use of grants for this purpose, and an increasing number such as the Wellcome Trust, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the US National Institutes for Health strongly encourage Open Access publication.The following is a list of funding agencies we know of that have confirmed that they allow the payment of article processing charges:

Academy of Finland (Finland)
BIOTEC (Thailand)
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (US)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Canada)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France)
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (Spain)
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy)
Danmarks Grundforskningsfond (Denmark)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany)
European Commission (Europe)
FAPESP (Brazil)
Fondazione Telethon (Italy)
Fonds zur Forderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Austria)
Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Belgium)
Health Research Board (Ireland)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Indian Council of Medical Research (India)
INSERM (France)
International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (International)
Israel Science Foundation (Israel)
Max Planck Society (Germany)
Medical Research Council (UK)
National Health Service (UK)
National Institutes of Health (US) Are you an NIH grantee? More details
National Science Foundation (US)
Natural Environment Research Council (UK)
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands)
Rockefeller Foundation (US)
South African Medical Research Council (South Africa)
Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (Sweden)
Swedish Research Council (Sweden)
Swiss National Science Foundation (Switzerland)
Wellcome Trust (UK) More details

For more detailed information, see BioMed Central's summary table of biomedical funder policies on open access.

How do I pay?
You will need to arrange payment of the APC unless a waiver has been granted, or your institution has covered the cost through a membership scheme.

The submitting author must confirm, at the time of submission, that they will organize payment should the article be accepted for publication.

Following peer review, once a manuscript has received editorial acceptance in principle, the article processing charge becomes payable, and formatting checks on the manuscript will commence. Once formatting checks are completed, and payment of the article processing charge has been received, the article will be published.

Payment can be made by any of the following methods:

• Credit card Payment can be made online using a secure payment form as soon as the manuscript has been accepted in principle.
• Invoice Payment is due within at most 30 days of the manuscript receiving editorial acceptance in principle.

Prompt payment is advised, as the article will not be published until payment is received. Payment other than by credit card carries an administrative surcharge of £50/€55/$75 depending on your payment currency. If you pay via online credit card, a receipt will be sent by email once payment has been processed. Receipts upon payment of an invoice are available on request.

Can charges be waived if the author cannot pay?
Individual waiver requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted in cases of lack of funds. To apply for a waiver please request one during the submission process. A decision on the waiver will normally be made within two working days. Submission of the article to the journal can then be completed.

Will I have to pay if my institution is a BioMed Central member?
Generally, if the submitting author's organization is a BioMed Central member, the cost of the article processing charge is covered by the membership, and no further charge is payable. In the case of authors whose institutions are supporter members of BioMed Central, however, a discounted article processing charge is payable by the author. Please click here to check if you institution is a BioMed Central member.

Do changes to APC rates, exchange rates and/or institutional membership status affect the amount payable for a submitted article, if it goes on to be published?
No. The APC payable for your article is detemined at the time you agree to pay, as part of the submission process. This means:

• If the APC goes up between submission and publication, you still pay the lower APC.
• If the exchange rates change between submission and publication, you still pay the amount in your applicable currency that you agreed to pay when you submitted.
• If your institution ceases to be a member between submission and publication of your article, you still get the benefit of the membership. Conversely, if your institution becomes a member after you submit an article, that article will not in general be covered by the membership.

Do authors from low-income countries have to pay APCs?
Authors from more than 90 low-income countries receive automatic waivers on submission and so do not have to pay article processing charges. This policy is supported by BioMed Central's Open Access Waiver Fund.