REF open access support

To be eligible for submission to REF 2029, some research outputs must meet the REF open access policy.

This page explains what to upload, how to stay compliant and where to get help.

Which outputs must be open access

To be eligible for REF 2029, you must make journal articles and conference papers open access if they:

• are published in a journal or proceedings with an ISSN
• were published on or after 1 January 2021

Research England has published a revised Open Access Policy, with the main changes taking effect from 1 January 2026. 

From 1 January 2026, there will be shorter allowed embargo periods:

• REF Panels A and B (Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics): Embargo periods of no more than 6 months (previously 12 months)

  REF Panels C and D (Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities): Embargo periods of no more than 12 months (previously 24 months)

Outputs should be shared as openly as possible; the funding bodies’ strong preference is for licensing as CC-BY or other license formats meeting this standard of openness.

Complying with the policy

Complying with the Policy is easy - all you need to do is:

1. at submission, inform co-authors of the institutional Self-Archiving Policy
2. upload author accepted manuscript. Do this as soon as your journal article or conference proceeding is accepted for publication. Please provide the date of acceptance
3. follow the advice of the Open Access team. The team will advise you on the best route to open access to meet REF and funder requirements. They will also confirm if any funding or journal agreement is in place to meet open access costs

You should upload your accepted manuscript, even if time has elapsed. We may be able to find a way to make your paper compliant.

What happens after you upload your accepted manuscript

We will deposit your paper in the University's repository, Apollo, once you upload it. If it is possible to do so, your manuscript will be available in Apollo with an open licence. This will happen once the paper is published. There may be cases where it is not possible to deposit or deposit with an open licence. If this is the case, a member of the Open Access team will discuss this with you.

Already published Open Access or in a preprint server?

You still need to upload your accepted manuscript to Symplectic Elements at acceptance.

This helps the University log, report and audit REF open access compliance. We can also provide timely support and advice.

Why make a deposit in Apollo at acceptance?

Depositing in Apollo has many benefits, including:

• you’ll get publishing advice from the Open Access team at the time of signing a publishing agreement
• ensures there is a permanent record of your research
• makes your research more easily discoverable and accessible by other researchers, policy makers, practitioners and the public
• even if things don’t work out as planned with the publisher, a deposit under the University’s Self-Archiving Policy meets most major funders’ requirements, including deposit, embargo and licensing

REF support

We are available to provide REF briefings to departments. The briefings can be single sessions or as part of existing meetings such as departmental meetings.

REF reports are available in the reporting hub in Symplectic Elements (“Elements”). The reports summarise the information that Elements holds on research outputs. They also provide a compliance indicator and flag required actions. There is a guide on the reports on the Research Information SharePoint.

There is more information about REF on the University of Cambridge REF2029 Sharepoint Site.

Please contact us if you have any questions about REF or the REF reports, or to arrange a REF briefing.