1. How to Apply for Open Access
There are two possible routes to Gold Open Access:
Gold for Gold
You use an Open Access voucher after peer-review and acceptance. The final article of record is made available to all, immediately, via our website without any barriers to access, without paying the article processing fee.
Paid Open Access
You pay an article processing fee after peer-review and acceptance. On receipt of payment the final article of record is made available to all, immediately, via our website without any barriers to access.

2. How to Apply for Open Access
Open Access applications should be submitted as soon as possible after acceptance.
There are three main parts to an Open Access application:
Gold for Gold voucher code
Or payment;
Online application;
Open Access Licence to Publish form.
Note: If your article is published with Chemical Science in a 2015 issue, you do not need to complete these steps as new issues of the journal will be completely Open Access from January 2015.

3. Gold for Gold Applications
The Gold for Gold initiative rewards all institutions that subscribe to RSC Gold with voucher codes to make papers Open Access, free of charge.
Gold for Gold Applications
Contact your institution’s Open Access team or Library to request a Gold for Gold voucher.
Complete the online application form.
Your article must have been accepted for publication before an application can be processed.
Gold for Gold application form:
Please contact if you are unsure whether your institution subscribes to RSC Gold, or if you would like us to contact your library on your behalf.

4. Gold for Gold Contact details DOI number (CXJJXXXXXL)
Full name of Institution
Voucher Code: (Au-XXXXXX)
Gold for Gold application form:
The DOI number should be in the form CXJJXXXXXL, where C is always C, X is a digit, JJ is the journal code and L is a random letter.
The Manuscript ID number is also accepted.
- Please complete all fields as incomplete information may delay your application.
- This form will activate a new record on our system and you will receive an immediate confirmation of your form submission. We will receive an to alert us of your application, and you may expect a response within three days at the most.
Further Notes: add funding agency information if your funding agency mandates Gold Open Access.

5. Paid Open Access
Authors can choose to pay an article processing fee to make their article Open Access.
The fees for Open Access are dependent on the article type. Information regarding the fees can be found on our website.
If you do not have a Gold for Gold voucher and you wish to apply for paid Open Access, please complete the online form.
Open Access Fees -
Paid Open Access application form -
Please note the paid Open Access application form is different to the Gold for Gold application as it requires fields to be completed for invoicing.

6. Paid Open Access
Complete contact details and manuscript number as you would for the Gold for Gold application
15% discount for RSC members and institutions with RSC Gold subscription
Paid Open Access application form -
Remember to select ‘Yes’ if you are an RSC member as this will entitle you to a 15% discount. Please provide your membership number.
If your Institution holds a subscription to RSC Gold you will also be entitled to a 15% discount.
In Further notes: please add funding agency information if your funding agency mandates Gold Open Access. If you would like the invoice to be sent to your finance department please also mention this in the further notes section.
Funding agency

7. Paid Open Access Full name of the person handling the invoice
Full name of the institution as well as the full address. Please avoid abbreviations.
Contact telephone number with area code
Purchase order number
When completing the details for invoicing please ensure you complete all the fields as incomplete information could delay your application.
Once we have received your application we will contact you via to confirm the cost to make your article Open Access and to request any information that may be missing from your application.
Provided we have received all the required information and Licence to Publish form an invoice will be sent to you by .
If you are situated in an EU member state or Canada please provide VAT details.

8. A new Licence to Publish
On completion of the online application form you should also complete and return a scanned copy of the Open Access Licence to Publish form to
An Open Access licence will replace the licence completed at submission.
We offer two Creative Commons licences, which allow compliance with UK funding agency mandates.
A new Licence to Publish
You will receive an prompting you to download and complete a new Licence to Publish form. The licence should be sent when the application is submitted to avoid delay or reminder messages.
The Open Access licence will replace the licence completed at submission. Please complete the first licence when requested at submission in order to avoid any delay in the publication of your article, even if you wish to apply for Open Access.
Electronic licences are not currently available for Open Access

9. Choosing a Licence We offer a choice between CC BY and CC BY-NC.
The choice of licence depends on two main considerations:
Preference of your funding agency, if any.
Whether you wish to restrict use of the work to non-commercial (‘NC’) purposes.
Articles published in PPS, PCCP or NJC have licences specific to the journal.
Choosing a Licence
We offer two Creative Commons licences, CC BY 3.0 Unported and CC BY-NC 3.0 Unported.
The links take you to readable summaries of each licence on the Creative Commons website.
The choice of licence is the responsibility of the author, but please do contact your library or if you have any questions about licences.
RCUK and the Wellcome Trust require a CC-BY licence.
Articles published in Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics and New Journal of Chemistry have licence specific to the journal. This is because the journals are jointly owned by societies other than the Royal Society of Chemistry.

10. Where to find the Licence
All Open Access licence forms can be downloaded here.
CC BY Licence for most journals
CC BY Licence for Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Where to find the licence
The licence can be downloaded from our website.
A link to this page is given on the application form page, and also in the you receive once your application has been received.
The licence form should be downloaded as a PDF. It can then be printed and scanned, or saved with an electronic signature.
CC BY-NC Licence for most journals

11. Completing the Licence
CXJJXXXXXL
Completing the Licence
In the top-left, a black box displays the licence type.
You should ensure that all sections are completed, including the Paper Number in the top right-hand corner. The Paper Number is usually the DOI. We would also accept the Manuscript ID Number allocated at submission.
Note: The Royal Society of Chemistry requests an exclusive licence to publish for all articles, but the copyright remains with the author.
Please name your funding agency in the relevant section.
e.g. Wellcome Trust

12. Sending the Licence
Please photocopy or take a high quality picture of the completed licence form.
You should ensure that all sections of the form are clearly visible, otherwise you may be requested to re-send it.
Send the form as an attachment to quoting the paper number.

13. Successful Applications
The application is successful when:
An online application has been received;
A valid Gold for Gold voucher has been provided
OR payment has been confirmed;
The Licence to Publish form has been successfully completed.

14. Successful Applications
Creative Commons Licence type
Successful Applications
You will receive a notification to say that your application has been successful. Open Access status is usually available within an hour of notification if the article has already been published.
Gold Open Access grants access to the final version of the article on our website without login or payment. Icons to show Open Access status and licence type information are added to the article information on the website.

15. PubMed Central
If your work has been funded by a Europe PubMed Central Funder and has been made Gold Open Access, we will be able to deposit the article of record in both PubMed Central and Europe PubMed Central.
Be sure to include your funding information in the relevant fields on both the Open Access Licence to Publish form and your Gold Open Access application.
Deposition in PubMed Central or Europe PubMed Central requires work to have been funded by a Europe PubMed Central Funder

16. Funding Agencies
Principle funders include Wellcome Trust, ERC and MRC:
A full list of Europe PubMed Central funders can be found at:

17. The Deposition Process
Before we make a PubMed Central deposition, we ensure that:
Gold Open Access has been applied to the article.
The article has been published in a journal issue
Once we have deposited your article into the PubMed Central repository, it may take several weeks for the deposition to be approved and assigned a PMC ID. The article will then be added to Europe PubMed Central within 3 business days.
Once the article has been deposited to PubMed Central, the article details and abstract will be added to PubMed.

18. FAQs
My paper has already been published. Can I apply for Open Access? Yes.
Can I make my book chapter Open Access? No, Open Access is available only for journal articles.
My article is in peer review. Can I apply for Open Access? Please wait until your article has been formally accepted for publication.
I have just submitted a paper and I would like to publish Open Access. Should I complete the normal Licence to Publish form? Yes. Please complete the first licence when requested at submission to avoid delays at publication.
FAQs
The Open Access licence will replace the licence completed at submission

19. Contact
Please contact our Open Access administration team at or your journal editorial office.
We will be happy to answer any queries you may have regarding our options for Open Access.
We are happy to answer specific queries about Open Access at any stage of submission and publication.