Author Posting & Sharing

Article Versions

For the purposes of this policy, the following publication stages and article versions are recognized:

Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM)

The author accepted manuscript (AAM) is the version of a manuscript accepted for publication following peer review but prior to copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, and final author approval.

Just Accepted

A Just Accepted article is the AAM made available online by INFORMS shortly after editorial acceptance. It includes preliminary publication and citation information but is not yet copyedited, typeset, or finalized as the version of record.

Article in Advance

An Article in Advance is the fully copyedited, typeset, proofed, and author-approved version of record published online in advance of assignment to a journal issue.

Final Published Version of Record

The final published version of record is the Article in Advance after assignment to a specific journal issue, including final bibliographic information such as volume, issue, and page numbers.

Author Rights to Share & Post Articles

Authors may immediately post and share their AAMs without embargo on platforms used primarily for noncommercial scholarly communication and research dissemination, including:

personal websites;
institutional repositories;
scholarly collaboration and networking platforms;
subject repositories; and
other scholarly communication platforms.

Posted AAMs must include the DOI (digital object identifier) linking readers to the most current version of the article on the INFORMS journals platform.

Authors are encouraged to update previously posted AAMs, where practical, to include citations and DOI links to the current published version of the article.

Authors may share and distribute the Just Accepted version of their article for scholarly and research purposes in the same manner permitted for AAMs.

Authors sharing Just Accepted articles should include the article DOI so that readers can access the most current version available on the INFORMS journals platform.

Except where published under an applicable INFORMS Open Option open access license, authors may not publicly post or systematically distribute the publisher-produced Article in Advance or final published version of record.

This restriction includes, but is not limited to:

uploading publisher-produced PDFs to public websites or repositories,
systematic redistribution of publisher-produced versions,
commercial hosting or redistribution, and
reproduction or distribution intended primarily to substitute for access through the INFORMS journals platform.

Authors may continue to share and distribute their AAMs in accordance with this policy after publication of the version of record.

Articles published under an INFORMS Open Option open access license may be shared, distributed, and reused in accordance with the terms of the applicable Creative Commons license selected by the author.

Authors and readers should consult the article’s published license terms for permitted reuse rights and restrictions.

See INFORMS Open Option for additional information regarding open access publication options, licenses, and reuse rights.

Public Access & Funder Repository Requirements

Authors are responsible for complying with applicable funder, institutional, or governmental public access requirements associated with their research funding.

INFORMS permits authors to post and deposit author accepted manuscripts (AAMs) in accordance with this policy to support compliance with funder and institutional repository requirements.

Submitting to PubMed Central

Because INFORMS journals do not publish exclusively within the biomedical or healthcare literature, INFORMS does not currently provide automatic deposit of articles into PubMed Central (PMC) under the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy.

Authors funded by the NIH should follow NIH Method C procedures to deposit their author accepted manuscript (AAM) into the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system.

For additional information regarding NIH public access compliance and submission procedures, please visit the NIH Public Access Policy website.

DOI & Citation Requirements

INFORMS assigns a DOI to each article during the publication process. The DOI remains constant throughout the article’s publication lifecycle, including:

Just Accepted publication,
Article in Advance publication, and
final publication within a journal issue.

Authors posting or sharing article versions under this policy should include the article citation (where available) and the DOI linking readers to the current version of record on the INFORMS journals platform.

Because the DOI remains unchanged across publication stages, citations and links to earlier versions of the article will continue to resolve to the most current version available online.

Commercial Redistribution & Systematic Distribution

This policy is intended to support scholarly communication, research dissemination, teaching, and institutional preservation.

Nothing in this policy permits:

commercial resale or licensing of publisher-produced article files,
systematic redistribution intended to replace or circumvent authorized access to INFORMS publications,
automated or bulk redistribution of publisher-produced content, or
reproduction or hosting primarily intended to commercially exploit publisher-produced versions of articles.

Questions regarding repository deposit, public access compliance, reuse rights, or proposed uses not clearly covered by this policy should be directed to [email protected].

Frequently Asked Questions

May I post my accepted manuscript immediately after acceptance?

Yes. Authors may immediately post and share their author accepted manuscript (AAM) without embargo in accordance with this policy.

May I post the Just Accepted PDF provided by INFORMS?

Yes. Authors may share the Just Accepted version of their article for scholarly and research purposes in accordance with this policy. Readers should be directed through the article DOI to the most current published version available on the INFORMS journals platform.

May I post the Article in Advance or final published PDF?

No. Unless the article has been published under an applicable INFORMS Open Option open access license, authors may not publicly post the publisher-produced Article in Advance or final published version of record.

May I use my article in teaching, presentations, or future scholarly works?

Yes. Authors may reuse all or part of their work in future scholarly, educational, or professional works they author or edit, including dissertations, theses, lectures, presentations, reviews, and collected scholarly works, subject to applicable copyright and license terms.

Additional permissions may be required for certain forms of commercial redistribution, formal republication, or publisher-produced instructional materials. See Rights, Reuse & Permissions for additional information.

May I share copies of my article directly with colleagues?

INFORMS supports the responsible scholarly exchange of research among individual researchers and colleagues for personal, educational, and noncommercial research purposes.

Authors may share individual copies of their articles directly with colleagues for scholarly, educational, or research use.

Systematic distribution, public posting of publisher-produced versions, or redistribution intended to substitute for authorized access to INFORMS publications is not permitted except as allowed under an applicable open access license.

Why does INFORMS ask authors to include the DOI when posting article versions?

The DOI provides a persistent link to the most current and authoritative version of the article on the INFORMS journals platform. Including the DOI helps ensure that readers can locate the latest publication stage and associated corrections, updates, and bibliographic information.

What happens to earlier publication stages after newer versions are published?

As articles progress through publication stages, earlier versions such as Just Accepted and Articles in Advance are removed from public display on the journal website and replaced by the most current publication stage. The article’s DOI and publication history remain associated with the article throughout its lifecycle.