Licence for Publication forms

From 30 April 2024 the option to ‘Initiate Production’ and begin the copy editing and proofing process will be available on the Central Editorial Service EM site only. Please transfer any submissions intended for publication, directly to Central Editorial Service.

Authors are asked to complete Licence for Publication forms in Editorial Manager when a Copy Editor is assigned to the submission. Notifications are sent automatically.

Green and Gold open access

The default Licence for publication type for all submissions in Editorial Manager is Green Open Access.

If authors and/or funders need the full article to be free to view immediately after publication you can select a Gold Open Access licence type. If you select this option, either the authors or their funders must pay an Article Publication Charge (APC). See our Gold open access policy.

Green Open Access for Cochrane Reviews provides free access to the full article 12 months after publication or on publication (protocols for Cochrane Reviews).

View copies of available Licence for publication forms.


Ask authors to confirm Licence for Publication type (reviews and updates only)

When authors submit a revised version of their draft, they are asked to confirm the following:

Author revision checklist

Open Access

All Cochrane reviews are free to view 12 months after publication and all protocols are free to view immediately upon publication (via green open access). Authors also have the option to publish with a Creative Commons Licence, which enables immediate open access and other benefits, upon payment of an Article Publication Charge (APC) or via a fee waiver for eligible author teams (via gold open access). See our Gold open access policy. Please indicate here if you would like your article to be Gold open access.

The revision checklist is included with the revised submission.


Confirm author eligibility for Article Publication Charge (APC) waiver (reviews and updates only)

If authors select Yes to this question on the checklist, please confirm whether authors are eligible for an APC waiver. See Gold open access Cochrane Reviews and Protocols: editorial management.

If authors need to pay APC:

  • Send Email and choose email template Author - APC for Gold Open Access. This email asks the authors for further information on the Licence type (CC BY-NC; CC BY-NC-ND; CC BY). David Hives at Wiley is automatically copied in to the email and will follow up with the authors to arrange APC payment.
  • Add submission flag Open Access Requested.

If authors do not need to pay APC:

  • Send Email and choose email template Author - APC waiver for gold open access. This email asks the authors for further information on the Licence type (CC BY-NC; CC BY-NC-ND). David Hives at Wiley is automatically copied in to the email for information.
  • Add submission flags Open Access Requested and HINARI A or B first author.

Select Licence for Publication type (reviews and updates only)

When you hear back from authors regarding their choice of Licence, add a Submission Flag > Open Access Requested. On Details > Licence for Publication select the correct Licence type on the dropdown menu. You will confirm this before publication.


If the authors have not requested open access, you do not need to add a submission flag. Confirm that the default Licence type - green open access - is selected on the Details.


View Licence for Publication status 


When were Licence for Publication forms sent to authors?

Licence for Publication (LfP) forms notifications are sent to authors when a Copy Editor is assigned. To see when forms were sent, open the submission History > Production Task History. Look for the date when the task Collect LFP Forms was assigned.

If there is no URL 'Link for access by handling editor' in the LfP forms status box please contact support@cochrane.org as this may indicate an error creating the forms.


Open the submission Details. The Licence for Publication forms status field will show you which authors have not yet completed their forms.

When all authors have completed their forms, the status will update to All forms completed.

All Licence for Publication forms will also be available in a zipped file on the File inventory when all forms have been submitted.



Send reminders to authors

Automated reminders to authors are in development. To send manual reminders, follow the instructions below. 

Open the submission Details. An editorial access URL will display in the Licence for Publication forms status field. If there is no URL then please contact support@cochrane.org .

The editor who made the Accept decision will be named next to the Link for access. The URL can be used by anyone with a Staff role in a Review Group.


Copy and paste this URL into a new browser window to open the Licence for Publication form system.

Click on the envelope icon to the right of the author's name to send a reminder email.

The Reminded timestamp shows when the last notification was sent. 

The Submitted timestamp shows when the form was submitted. 



Complete a Licence for Publication form on behalf of an author

In certain circumstances it is acceptable to submit an LfP form on an author's behalf. See Submitting forms on behalf of an author.

Open the Licence for Publication form system following the instructions above. Click on the name of the relevant author to open the form.

Scroll down to the bottom of the form to the Acceptance of Licence for Publication section.

  • Tick to accept the Licence for Publication on behalf of the author.

Add the author's name.

Add a note to give the reason the author was unable to submit the form.

Submit.