The following guidelines were last updated on 10 February 2025.
AMS has set aside limited funds to partially or fully cover the costs of publication for those authors in genuine need. With the goal of assisting as many authors as possible within budgetary limits, strict guidelines as described below must be followed by those requesting waivers. Authors seeking a waiver of page charges must apply at the time of initial submission by sending an email to [email protected] requesting either a partial or full waiver.
Partial Waiver
Partial waivers are for those authors for whom the total projected costs are too great a burden, given legitimate funding constraints or other circumstances that they outline in an email request.
The immediate open access option Open Choice is available for authors who receive a page charge waiver, but this fee cannot be waived.
Authors will receive a decision on their waiver application within 5 business days from the point at which the initial submission requirements check is completed. After the waiver decision has been issued, the paper can enter peer review.
Full Waiver
Full waivers are for those authors who, as a result of legitimate circumstances, cannot cover any of the charges for their paper. These authors will be asked to fill out an application, and their requests will be reviewed by a committee of the AMS Council. This waiver committee will meet on a quarterly basis to decide how the limited resources available will be disbursed. Authors applying for full waivers may need to wait for up to three months for decisions on their waiver applications, and submissions will not enter peer review until full-waiver decisions have been issued.
The immediate open access option Open Choice is available for authors who receive a page charge waiver, but this fee cannot be waived.
Please note that if the corresponding author or any of their coauthors have received a full waiver of page charges within the past 12 months for a paper in any AMS journal that was not formally rejected or withdrawn, they are not eligible to apply for another one. If the full-waiver application is denied by the AMS Waiver Committee, that specific manuscript will be ineligible for full-waiver consideration for 12 months.
Exceptions for Specific AMS Journals
BAMS Authors: The cost for providing the cover of BAMS cannot be waived.
WCAS Authors: While there are no author charges for papers accepted for publication in Weather, Climate, and Society (WCAS), the optional Open Choice fee (for immediate open access) does apply to WCAS authors. No waivers can be granted for Open Choice fees.
Late Waiver Requests
Waivers must be requested at the time of submission. Occasionally, a partial or full waiver is requested for the first time after a paper has begun peer review owing to a significant and unavoidable change in circumstances. In these cases, a signed letter from the department head or funding agency administrator is required that clearly explains why funds that had been available at the time of submission are not available to pay the charges for an accepted manuscript. It is no longer sufficient for the corresponding author to state that their funding has run out or expired; a documented and verifiable explanation is now required for consideration of any late waiver request. AMS can provide early billing of the estimated charges upon request if your funding is scheduled to expire while your manuscript is still in peer review. Please contact [email protected] with late waiver or early billing questions.