Meeting REF Requirements
The policy in brief
The output types that are in scope of the REF 2029 open access (OA) policy are journal articles and conference contributions with an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) and which are published between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2028.
An open access requirement for long-form outputs (monographs, book chapters and scholarly editions) will be in place for the REF-after-REF 2029, with implementation from 1 January 2029.
For up to date information on how the University is supporting the management and reporting of REF outcomes, please visit the REF 2029 SharePoint site (UoN login required).
To ensure eligibility for the next Research Excellence Framework (REF 2029):
In-scope outputs published 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2025 must be:
- Deposited in the Research Information System (RIS) (or appropriate subject repository) within 3 months of acceptance.
- Made open access within the maximum permitted embargo period:
- 12 months for REF panels A and B
- 24 months for REF panels C and D
In-scope outputs published 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2028 must be:
- Deposited in the Research Information System (RIS) (or appropriate subject repository) within 3 months of publication.
- Shared as openly as possible. A CC BY licence is strongly preferred but other creative commons licences (or equivalent) are permitted.
- Made open access within the maximum permitted embargo period:
- 6 months for REF panels A and B
- 12 months for REF panels C and D
The Author's Accepted Manuscript (AAM) must be deposited unless the journal allows deposit of the Version of Record (e.g. articles published on a 'gold' open access basis).
Before you submit your article
Check the OA policy of the journal or conference proceeding you are intending to publish in for compliance with the REF requirements.
When you have had your article accepted
Deposit the AAM in RIS as soon as possible - within 3 months of acceptance, if the output is published before 1 January 2026 (outputs published from 1 January 2026 onwards may be deposited within 3 months of publication).
You can do this by two methods:
- Use the Mediated Deposit Service
- Deposit the item yourself in RIS using the RIS Outputs and Research Repository User Guide.
When your article has been published
Contact University of Nottingham Libraries at openaccess@nottingham.ac.uk to update the RIS record with publication details.
We recommend that authors regularly review any 'In Progress' publications in RIS to clear outstanding actions and complete deposit of outputs for University of Nottingham Libraries to review and make discoverable. This is especially important in light of the REF requirement to complete the process of deposit within 3 months of acceptance (outputs published up to 1 January 2026) or within 3 months of publication (outputs published from 1 January 2026).
If your journal or conference proceeding does not meet the REF requirements, then please check the information below on REF exceptions.
Are you covered by a REF exception?
The REF 2029 open access policy identifies certain scenarios where it may be appropriate to claim an exemption from the open access requirements. Even if REF open access requirements have not been met, an output associated with a valid exception will be eligible for REF submission.
Please note that certain exceptions will only be valid if an output has met all remaining policy requirements.
Permitted exceptions (outputs published 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2025):
Exceptions available for outputs published in this period are covered in Section 6 of the REF 2029 Open Access Policy. They are grouped into the following categories: Deposit; Access; Technical; Further; and Additional.
Permitted exceptions (outputs published 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2028):
Exceptions available for outputs published in this period are covered in Section 8 of the REF 2029 Open Access Policy. They are grouped into the following categories: Deposit; Access; Technical; and Further.
Process for requesting an exception
If a Nottingham researcher identifies that an exception might be appropriate for their output, they should approach their REF Co-ordinator at an early stage, unless the exception relates to venue of publication (see form below for details). The REF Co-ordinator is responsible for reviewing the evidence supporting the proposed exception, and then making a decision either to uphold or reject.
If the exception is upheld, the researcher must complete a copy of the University's REF Open Access Exception Reporting Form (UoN login required). For most categories of exception, the researcher must confirm in the form that the REF Co-ordinator (or, in their absence, the researcher's Head of School/Department) has agreed to the exception.
In order to meet REF audit requirements, the form requires a descriptive explanation of why it is deemed appropriate to associate a particular exception with the output concerned.
If a copy of the output has already been deposited in RIS, the researcher will be asked to include the RIS Output ID number in the form. If deposit has not yet happened, the researcher should request this via the Libraries' Mediated Deposit Service.
Requesting an exception is not an indication that an output will form part of the University's REF submission.