Check your author team
Publishers and journals using this scheme
| Publisher or journal | What it gives | Whose affiliation counts | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wiley | Full waiver or 50% discount by Wiley's country list (close to Research4Life), applied automatically when enough of the authors are eligible | Half of all authors | authors.wiley.com ↗ |
| Hindawi | Hindawi journals now follow Wiley's waiver policy | Half of all authors | authors.wiley.com ↗ |
| American Physical Society | Full APC coverage for authors in more than 115 lower-income countries, in hybrid and gold journals | Submitting author only | aps.org ↗ |
| Optica Publishing Group | Full waiver for low-income countries in its main open access journals; 30% off in Optics Continuum for some middle-income countries | Corresponding author only | opg.optica.org ↗ |
| IET | IET journals are published with Wiley and follow Wiley's waiver policy | Half of all authors | theiet.org ↗ |
| The Royal Society | Automatic waiver for corresponding authors in countries on its Open Access Equity list | Corresponding author only | royalsociety.org ↗ |
| BMJ | Full waiver only when every author is in a country on BMJ's list and the research is unfunded; partial discounts case by case | Every author | authors.bmj.com ↗ |
| Rockefeller University Press | Automatic waiver for primary corresponding authors in eligible lower and middle income countries | Corresponding author only | rupress.org ↗ |
Other schemes: Research4Life, EIFL agreements, World Bank income groups, Country-tiered APC pricing, National agreements (ONOS India), No APC (diamond and Subscribe to Open), Discretionary hardship waivers, Institutional and read & publish deals. APC waiver checker →
Frequently asked questions
What is Publisher country lists?
Some publishers keep their own list of eligible countries, often based on Research4Life or the World Bank but edited by the publisher.
Which publishers use Publisher country lists for APC waivers?
Among the publishers we checked: Wiley, Hindawi, American Physical Society, Optica Publishing Group, IET, The Royal Society, BMJ, Rockefeller University Press. Each one decides its own percentages and co-author rule.
Does being on the list guarantee a waiver?
No. The list decides which countries can qualify; each publisher then applies its own rule on whose affiliation counts, on funding and on journal type. Check the publisher page and confirm with the journal before submitting.