From 2025, any updates to the DOAJ Criteria in the Guide to Applying will be scheduled to quarterly updates. The change log at the end of the webpage tracks the version history of the criteria and also highlights the most recent changes to the criteria.
Our previous update in March 2025 added revised information for displaying journal ranking metrics and a new recommendation for journals to display article submitted/accepted/published dates. In addition to this, we added a clarification to our appeals process and updated the link to the zero tolerance policy.
In the recent update (version 2.5) released in July 2025, we have revised our criteria for clinical case report journals – to remove the requirement to publish case series and add requirements on participant privacy policies and reviewer guidelines – and added new information for Subscribe to Open (S2O) journals, copied here:
a) Clinical case report journals
- For DOAJ to include case report journal they must have:
- A policy on consent to publication of case details and participant images, and articles must state whether or not this consent was given
- A policy on potentially identifiable participant information and anonymisation
- Reviewer guidelines specific for case reports
- We recommend that all case reports and case series are identified as such in the title, and that case reports journals encourage or mandate using CARE reporting guidelines
b) Subscribe to Open (S2O) journals
- For journals that have transitioned from closed access to open access under the S2O model, all DOAJ basic criteria, including open license and copyright terms must be clearly stated. Before applying to DOAJ, an S2O journal must demonstrate that the current year’s S2O target has been met and that it has published a new issue or at least five OA research articles under the S2O model. Additionally the following must be indicated on the journal’s website:
- The year of transition to open access under the S2O model
- A clear indication that all content published during the current S2O year is open access
- The availability status of previously published content (open access, free to read, or paywalled)
- The reuse rights for previously published content ( “all rights reserved” or under an open license)
- The copyright status of the previously published content
- When an S2O offer reaches its subscription target, the journal must make all content from that publication year fully open access within the same calendar year.
We are working on our policy for the use of AI tools and LLMs (Large Language Models), which will be released later in the year.
