Waiver Policy
Anesthesiology (AOJ) is committed to ensuring that the ability to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) never determines whether scientifically sound research gets published, consistent with the journal's Open Access Policy.
Who Qualifies for a Waiver
Full (100%) fee waivers are available to:
- Authors whose corresponding institution is based in a country classified as low-income by the World Bank
- Authors demonstrating genuine financial hardship, regardless of country of origin
- Students and early-career researchers, assessed on a case-by-case basis
Partial Waivers
Where full financial hardship cannot be demonstrated but genuine cost barriers exist, partial waivers may be granted at the discretion of the editorial office, considering the specific circumstances presented in the request.
How to Request a Waiver
Waiver requests should be submitted by email to the editorial office at the time of manuscript submission, along with a brief explanation of the basis for the request. Authors do not need to wait for manuscript acceptance to request a waiver.
Waiver Decisions Are Made Before Peer Review
This is a deliberate safeguard: waiver eligibility is assessed and decided before a manuscript enters peer review, so that a waiver decision can never influence, or appear to influence, the editorial outcome, consistent with the journal's Editorial Process and its commitment to editorial independence.
No Retroactive Waivers
Waivers cannot be granted retroactively after a manuscript has already been accepted and invoiced, since waiver status must be established prior to peer review for the reasons above. Authors anticipating a need for a waiver should request one at submission, not after acceptance.
Confidentiality
Waiver requests and the financial information they may contain are treated as confidential and are not shared with reviewers or disclosed in connection with the published article.
