A clear, practical summary of the April 2026 open access changes affecting researchers and host institutions funded by Cancer Research UK
The organisation has published a revised open access policy, updated in April 2026, that clarifies how authors and their institutions should make peer-reviewed research outputs available. The update refines wording across several sections, clarifies allowable embargo arrangements and revises the position on covering publication charges.
While the aim remains to maximise the reach and impact of research, the document now sets out explicit steps to meet obligations, deposit copies in repositories and declare funding.
This short guide unpacks the essentials so that funded researchers and host institutions understand what to do next.
It highlights practical compliance routes, licence requirements and the administrative actions required at submission and publication. Wherever you see technical terms or action points they are followed by an explanatory definition or example to help you implement the policy without delay.
Overview of the policy changes
The update reports several wording changes in sections 1, 2, 3, 4.1 and 4.2, an added clarification about embargo periods across sections 4.1–4.3, and an explicit alteration in section 4.3 about our approach to funding publication costs. In addition, section 6 no longer contains the previous link to guidance on support for transformative agreements. The document also notes other minor clarifications across the policy. These amendments do not alter the policy’s core objective: to encourage immediate and unrestricted access to peer-reviewed, primary research outputs wherever possible.
Requirements for research publications
Definitions you need to know
Key terms are used throughout the policy. For clarity, the author accepted manuscript (AAM) is the version accepted after peer review and author revisions; the version of record (VoR) is the final, published format with typesetting and a DOI; preprint describes the manuscript before formal peer review; and a transformative agreement is a contract between an institution and a publisher to shift subscription spend towards open access publishing. These definitions help determine what to deposit and when.
What must be done
Any peer-reviewed, primary research article supported in whole or in part by us must be made available in Europe PMC. That deposit should be immediate at publication or no later than six months after publication; an embargo longer than six months is explicitly non-compliant. The open access copy must normally be published under a CC BY 4.0 licence, except where a specific, documented exception permits CC BY-ND. Authors must include the prescribed funding statement: “This work was supported by Cancer Research UK [Cref./A ref. OR XXXX\123456]” and add the trial number for trial results. Where patient data were used, include the patient data citation: https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/data-citation, and provide a clear data availability statement citing datasets with persistent DOIs in line with our Data sharing and management policy.
Routes to compliance and changes to funding
There are three main paths to meet the policy. Route 1: publish in a fully open access or hybrid journal that makes the VoR immediately available and typically deposits it into Europe PMC on your behalf. Route 2: publish in a subscription journal and self-deposit the AAM (or VoR if permitted) into Europe PMC so it is accessible within six months. Route 3: publish in a journal covered by a transformative agreement negotiated by your host institution. Each route ensures that a public version of the research is discoverable and reusable under the licence terms.
The organisation has previously contributed to open access fees via institutional block grants, core grants and underspend, but will cease this support: from 1 October 2026, open access charges will no longer be eligible for funding from us. Affected researchers are encouraged to choose journals that permit self-archiving of the AAM or VoR (with an allowed six-month embargo), select low-or-no-fee journals, or use journals covered by transformative agreements with their institutions to avoid direct publishing costs.
Preprints, press notifications and where to get help
Researchers are strongly encouraged to post preprints prior to peer review and to publish them under a CC BY licence on platforms indexed in Europe PMC. After peer review, the final article must meet the policy requirements described above. As a condition of grant, authors must also provide our Press team with copies of all manuscripts and conference abstracts at submission via the online manuscript submission form or by emailing [email protected]; submissions are treated confidentially. For policy questions contact [email protected] and consult related resources: our grant conditions, the Data sharing and management policy, the manuscript submission form, the Jisc Open policy finder and Europe PMC.
