12 waiver rules that decide what you pay
Each rule below comes from the publisher’s own page and changes what an author pays. They are scattered across dozens of policy pages; here they are in one place, each with its source and the date we read it.
Updated 14 October 2026; each rule carries the date we read it
Elsevier: a team that mixes Research4Life Group A and Group B authors gets 50%, not a full waiver. Bristol University Press counts the first author’s country, not the corresponding author’s. Optica waives the APC for corresponding authors in Ukraine through 2026.
Elsevier: a team that mixes Research4Life Group A and Group B authors gets 50%, not a full waiver.
Elsevier requires every author on the paper to sit in the same Research4Life group. One Group B co-author on a Group A team drops the article from a full waiver to a 50% discount.
Recorded from Elsevier’s policy page on 1 August 2026. Full policy
Bristol University Press counts the first author’s country, not the corresponding author’s.
First authors based in countries in the UN’s Low Human Development category pay no APC; those in High or Medium Human Development countries pay 50% (£850 instead of £1,700). Very High Human Development countries do not qualify.
Read on 14 October 2026 from an archived copy of the official page dated 5 January 2026 (the live page blocks automated reading). Full policy · publisher’s page
Copernicus applies its Research4Life waiver only if every corresponding author qualifies.
If one corresponding author is affiliated outside Research4Life, the most restrictive group applies. Requests for any non-standard waiver must be made when the manuscript is registered; later requests are not considered.
Read on the APC page of a Copernicus journal on 14 October 2026. Full policy · publisher’s page
Optica waives the APC for corresponding authors in Ukraine through 2026.
The waiver is applied automatically in Optica’s fully open access journals, provided the corresponding author’s mailing address in Optica’s database is accurate. Optics Continuum has its own list with a 30% discount tier.
Read on Optica’s publication charges page on 14 October 2026. Full policy · publisher’s page
Only IOP Publishing and the American Physical Society say their waivers also cover hybrid journals.
APS waives charges for corresponding authors in more than 115 lower-income countries in its hybrid and gold journals. Most other publishers limit waivers to fully open access titles or do not say; in a hybrid journal the subscription route has no author charge.
APS page read on 14 October 2026; IOP’s policy page on 1 August 2026. Full policy · publisher’s page
Taylor & Francis and Springer Nature require a waiver request at submission; afterwards it is too late.
Neither applies a country waiver on its own. The request has to be made when the manuscript is submitted.
Recorded from both publishers’ policy pages on 1 August 2026. Full policy
Karger considers waiver requests only after acceptance, and not for its hybrid route.
Authors from low-income and lower-middle-income countries may receive a waiver or discount if no other funding exists. Waivers are not offered for Author’s Choice, Karger’s hybrid option.
Read on Karger’s open access costs page on 14 October 2026. Full policy · publisher’s page
Only Wiley and Taylor & Francis publish complete country lists with percentages.
Wiley lists 76 countries at 100% and 29 at 50% (list re-read 11 October 2026; Iran was removed and Vietnam added). Most other publishers name a framework such as Research4Life or World Bank income classes without a list of their own.
Wiley list re-read on 11 October 2026; Taylor & Francis list read on 1 August 2026. Full policy
The Microbiology Society takes partial-waiver requests only at submission.
Corresponding authors in HINARI Group A and in 33 EIFL countries get 100% and Group B gets 50%, applied automatically at checkout. Anyone else must ask for a case-by-case partial waiver when submitting.
Read on 14 October 2026 from an archived copy of the official page dated 17 June 2026 (the live page blocks automated reading). Full policy · publisher’s page
The Royal Society of Chemistry charges authors in India, Indonesia and the Philippines a reduced APC.
Corresponding authors in Research4Life Group A or B countries get a full waiver in RSC gold open access journals, applied on acceptance; authors in India, Indonesia and the Philippines pay a reduced rate (£1,100 or £1,425) instead.
Read on 14 October 2026 from an archived copy of the official page dated 28 August 2026 (the live page blocks automated reading). Full policy · publisher’s page
CSIRO Publishing’s waiver covers only 22 named journals.
Research4Life Group A countries get a full waiver and Group B 50%, by the corresponding author’s primary affiliation, but only in the journals the page lists.
Read on CSIRO Publishing’s lower-income countries page on 14 October 2026. publisher’s page
eLife charges $3,750 for submissions from 1 July 2026 and waives it on request.
The fee is charged when a preprint is sent for peer review. eLife grants a waiver to labs under financial pressure, whether because of the local economy, career stage or lack of funding; there is no country list.
Read on eLife’s author guide on 14 October 2026. Full policy · publisher’s page