Lancet open access journals APC Waiver and Discount Policy: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

At a glanceExempt from payment when the main funder, or for unfunded work the majority of authors' institutions, is in a Research4Life country. Majority of institutions Applied automatically from the affiliation Part of Elsevier

Check Lancet open access journals's waiver for your author team

Co-authors (where they work)

Only the country is needed: without a journal you get every publisher's result for your author team. Free. No sign-up. Uses the publishers' published rules, last verified 27 October 2026.

Which countries qualify at Lancet open access journals

Countries are matched by the author's institutional affiliation, not nationality.

100% waiver 82 countries Research4Life Group A list

Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Belau, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cook Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Palestinian Territory, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

100% waiver 42 countries Research4Life Group B list

Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kosovo, Libya, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam

Co-authors from other countries

The country of the main funder decides; for unfunded work, the country of the majority of the authors' institutions, and when there is no majority, the corresponding author's country.

Main funder location first; if unfunded 'the country of origin of the majority of authors' institutions'; if no majority, corresponding author's country

How to get the waiver

Ask the journal's editorial office at submission.

Programmes: Research4Life Group A/B exemption; low UNDP HDI exemption.

Official sources: thelancet.com ↗

Lancet open access journals journals on ScholarsColab

Each journal page shows its indexing, impact factor, review time, reviewer comments and this waiver.

ElsevierWileyHindawiSAGEOxford University PressCambridge University PressPLOSCopernicus PublicationsMIT PressRoyal Society of ChemistryCell PressThieme

Schemes used: Research4Life. All publishers and schemes →

Frequently asked questions

Does Lancet open access journals offer APC waivers?

Exempt from payment when the main funder, or for unfunded work the majority of authors' institutions, is in a Research4Life country. Applied automatically from the affiliation.

Who gets a full APC waiver at Lancet open access journals?

Authors affiliated in 124 countries qualify for a 100% waiver. The country of the main funder decides; for unfunded work, the country of the majority of the authors' institutions, and when there is no majority, the corresponding author's country.

Does the Lancet open access journals waiver apply if my co-authors are from other countries?

The country of the main funder decides; for unfunded work, the country of the majority of the authors' institutions, and when there is no majority, the corresponding author's country.

How do I apply for an APC waiver at Lancet open access journals?

Ask the journal's editorial office at submission.

Before you submit

Source, method and date. Each publisher's rule was read from its official waiver page (linked on every row) and the country lists from Research4Life, EIFL, the World Bank income classification and the publishers' own lists. Last verified: 27 October 2026. Policies change, Research4Life updates its lists every January and the World Bank every July, and some waivers are temporary or decided case by case. The checker reads the published rules; it cannot promise a waiver. Confirm on the publisher's page before you submit. ScholarsColab is not affiliated with any publisher listed here; logos are trademarks of their owners, shown only to name the publishers whose rules we read.

Confidence of this entry: High.