Open Access APC Waivers and Discounts

ACM offers Article Processing Charge (APC) waivers and discounts for corresponding authors in several specific categories, as follows:

• Authors based in low income countries, as identified in the World Bank List of Economies: 100% waiver
• Authors based in lower middle income countries, as identified in the World Bank List of Economies: 50% discount off applicable APCs
• Authors from countries covered by ACM’s agreements with EIFL and Research4Life: 100% waiver

Authors not covered by these automatic waivers and discounts may apply for a discretionary waiver from ACM, based on financial need.

To request a discretionary APC waiver, please write to [email protected] and include the following information:

• Article Title
• Author Names and Institutional Affiliations for all listed co-authors, including all authors' departmental affiliations
• Publication Title (i.e.- Journal Title, Conference Title, Magazine Title, etc.)
• Submission Date
• Acceptance Date (i.e. - if already accepted)
• The name of the Research Funder underwriting the research
• A detailed explanation of the reason for the waiver request

Please note that only applications that demonstrate a genuine financial need will be considered. Papers with multiple co-authors from computer science or engineering departments in developed countries where there is a reasonable expectation that the authors' institutions should be ACM Open participants are unlikely to receive discretionary waivers. Discretionary waivers will not be granted for Hybrid Open Access publications in 2025, as these publications may still publish without an APC requirement. As from January 1, 2026 all ACM Publications will be considered Gold Open Access and will require participation in ACM Open, a waiver, or the payment of an APC.

This policy statement is consistent with the Research4Life Best Practices for APC Waivers.