Applying for OA fees (article processing charges)
Top 5 FAQs
Who will pay my open access fee?
If you are funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK/UKRI), Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, or British Heart Foundation the Open access fees or Article Processing Charges (APC) can be paid for via block grants managed by the Open Access team in the library. Please see Applying for funding for more details. If you are not funded by the funders mentioned above, you may be eligible for help with open access fees through publisher agreements and discounts.
How do I make an APC application?
Please watch Depositing in Spiral video for more details of how to apply.
When should I apply for open access publication funding?
You should apply for open access funding when your journal article or conference paper has been accepted for publication.
How long will it take for my APC application to be approved?
You will receive automated notification of acknowledgement of your application once submitted. Applications are usually processed within 2-3 working days.
If your publisher has issued you with an invoice, please note that we cannot make any payments prior to a decision being made on your application. Please contact the Open Access team for advice.
What billing address should I give to a publisher?
Please wait until you have received a decision regarding your open access funding application before requesting an invoice from your publisher. The correct address is:
Accounts Payable
Imperial College London
Level 3 Sherfield Building
London, SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom
Frequently asked questions
Does the Library pay for colour, page and /or image charges?
No, none of the open access funds cover these types of charges. You will need to use an active research award or department account to cover any other publication costs. Where possible, ask your publisher to invoice the open access fee separate from these other charges.
How do I make an APC application?
Please watch Depositing in Spiral video for more details of how to apply.
How long will it take for my APC application to be approved?
You will receive automated notification of acknowledgement of your application once submitted. Applications are usually processed within 2-3 working days.
If your publisher has issued you with an invoice, please note that we cannot make any payments prior to a decision being made on your application. Please contact the Open Access team for advice.
I am a PhD student. Can I apply for APC funding?
Yes, you may be eligible for help with open access fees through publisher agreements and discounts.
If your research is funded by RCUK/UKRI, Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK or British Heart Foundation you should comply with their open access policies, and we can charge any open access costs to those funds.
Is the College VAT exempt?
Yes. However, this does not mean VAT does not apply. VAT is charged on most open access fees.
To make sure you are taxed correctly in all instances provide the publisher with the College VAT number, which is GB649926678.
What billing address should I give to a publisher?
Please wait until you have received a decision regarding your open access funding application before requesting an invoice from your publisher. The correct address is:
Accounts Payable
Imperial College London
Level 3 Sherfield Building
London, SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom
When should I apply for open access publication funding?
You should apply for open access funding when your journal article or conference paper has been accepted for publication.
Who will pay my open access fee?
If you are funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK/UKRI), Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, or British Heart Foundation the Open access fees or Article Processing Charges (APC) can be paid for via block grants managed by the Open Access team in the library. Please see Applying for funding for more details. If you are not funded by the funders mentioned above, you may be eligible for help with open access fees through publisher agreements and discounts.
Why do I have to upload an accepted manuscript when I’m applying for an open access fee to be paid?
The REF open access policy requires that the accepted manuscript be deposited in a repository within three months of acceptance, regardless of whether the paper is due to be published open access.
Will the Library pay for an invoice charge from the open access funds?
If your publisher has told you there will be a charge to generate an invoice, please include this information in the APC Comments field. Such costs are covered by the funds the Library holds.
Do you provide any advice, support or funding to academics who would like to publish books open access?
Library Services does not provide advice to authors on the location of where to publish research, we recommend authors ask fellow academics in their department for advice. For authors with a particular interest in publishing open access, the Directory of Open Access Books can be searched by subject, language, and publisher.
If you are funded by one of the research councils that make up UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UKRI Open Access Policy from 1 January 2024 includes a new open access requirement for monographs, book chapters and edited collections to be made open access within 12 months of publication via a publisher’s website, platform or repository, with a Creative Commons License. For more information, see UKRI – monographs, book chapters, and edited collections.
If you hold a grant from the Wellcome Trust and author or co-author original scholarly monographs and book chapters you must make it available from NCBI Bookshelf and Europe PMC as soon as possible. Where an open access publishing fee has been charged, works must be available without embargo and licensed in ways which support their re-use. CC BY is also strongly preferred by the Wellcome Trust.