REF open access requirements
Ensure your outputs are eligible for REF 2029
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) assesses the quality of research in UK higher education providers, using the outcomes to inform funding decisions.
The REF Open Access policy provides detailed guidance on the open access requirements you need to meet for your outputs to be eligible for REF submission.
This page provides a summary of the policy, highlighting the key points you need to be aware of.
Outputs included in the policy
A wide range of output types can be submitted to REF 2029 but the open access policy only applies to journal articles and conference papers.
Books and chapters are expected to be included in the policy for the post-2029 REF; see early decisions made on REF 2029 Open Access Policy.
Deposit your accepted manuscript
You must upload journal articles and conference papers to Symplectic as soon as possible after acceptance. Read our guidance on depositing your research outputs in Symplectic.
You must deposit the author accepted manuscript – the final version that has been accepted for publication, but which hasn’t yet been formatted or copy-edited by the publisher.
If the published version has a Creative Commons licence, you can instead provide the published file or a link to it.
After deposit
After deposit, the Libraries will make outputs available in White Rose Research Online as soon as possible, in order to ensure the policy requirements are met.
Rights retention
If you have retained the right to make your output open access in line with the rights retention element of University of Leeds Research Outputs Policy, the Libraries will make the accepted manuscript available immediately with a Creative Commons licence, and the output will meet the embargo and licencing requirements for REF.
Opting out of immediate open access via the Research Outputs Policy may impact REF eligibility.
Embargos
If you opt out of the University Research Output Policy, or your chosen publisher has not been given prior notice of the policy, then the publisher may require an embargo. The maximum embargo periods permitted by REF are:
- for outputs published 2021–2025, 12 months for panels A and B or 24 months for panels C and D
- for outputs published 2026–2029, six months for panels A and B or 12 months for panels C and D.
If the publisher requires a longer embargo, the output will not be compliant with the policy, but an exception may apply which would enable REF submission. Understand the REF Open Access Policy exceptions.
Creative Commons licences
For outputs published from the 1 January 2026 onwards, the version in the institutional repository must have a Creative Commons or equivalent licence, unless the publisher does not allow this.
If the requirements are not met
Journal articles and conference papers that do not meet the above requirements cannot be submitted to the REF, unless any of the permitted exceptions apply. Understand the REF Open Access Policy exceptions.
Outputs which are not journal articles or conference papers do not need to meet the requirements to be submitted.