Article Transfer Service

Helping you find the right home for your research
Submitting your manuscript for publication is a critical point in the research cycle, and finding the right home for your work can be challenging. It may be that your first choice of journal turns out not to be the right one, requiring you to look elsewhere to publish.

At Elsevier, we recognize this process isn’t always smooth, and we are committed to helping good research find the right home. A key way we do this is through our Article Transfer Service.

85% of authors using the Article Transfer Service were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience.*
article transfer schema
The system is designed to help manuscripts find the right journal faster by supporting seamless transfer of rejected articles to more suitable journals.

Why accept an article transfer?
You’ve submitted your manuscript and unfortunately received a rejection, either before or after peer review. But, the editor has suggested a more suitable journal. What does this offer mean for you and your manuscript?

Save time – if possible, editors will make use of the insights from previous reviewers
Revise your submission if necessary – you’ll have the chance to change the cover letter and take any reviews into account before finalizing your submission to the new journal
Stay in control – the decision to transfer is yours
Easy process – agreeing to the transfer takes just one click
75% of authors state the main benefit of the Article Transfer Service as “Saving time/effort of a new submission process”**
The process, step by step
Click the agree to transfer link you receive by email to start the process;
From the potential alternative journals suggested by the editor, select the journal of your choice, and your submission will be transferred automatically;
Finalize your transfer submission (including any formatting changes, revised files, additional files such as a “response to reviewers”, as required) and approve the PDF.
Types of transfer
A. Transfer Pre-review and Transfer Post-review
This is the most common type of transfer and is offered if the original editor for your article believes an alternative journal is more appropriate. If you accept the offer to transfer, your article and any available referee comments will be sent to the receiving journal. The editors of the receiving journal will make their own assessment based on the materials they receive. There is no guarantee of acceptance and your manuscript may be further peer reviewed.

B. Transfer Recommended Accept
A transfer recommended accept is a provisional acceptance (sometimes with some minor conditions of revision) of your paper. This is offered when, after peer review in the original journal to which you submitted, the editor decides that your article is not suitable for publication in their journal but is acceptable for publication in another journal. If you accept the offer to transfer, your article and any available referee comments will be sent to the receiving journal. Provided you address any comments from the original editor(s)/referees, and follow the instructions given in the email offer, publication in the alternative journal is expected without further peer review.

Choosing a different journal
If you would prefer to submit to a different journal, you may simply decline the transfer offer and submit directly to your chosen journal.