Article Processing Charges (APC) & Fee Schedule
FJMRI operates under a fair, transparent Gold Open Access model. Manuscript submission, desk screening, and double-blind peer review are 100% free. An Article Processing Charge is payable strictly after formal editorial acceptance.
100% Zero Submission Fees Guarantee
GuaranteedAuthors never pay to submit manuscripts or undergo desk screening and double-blind peer review. If a manuscript is declined or rejected during evaluation, the author owes zero fees. Invoices are issued strictly only after formal acceptance by the editorial board.
Transparent Pricing
Article Processing Charge (APC) Schedule
Equitable, differentiated pricing tailored for domestic and international scholarly researchers with no hidden surcharges.
Flat inclusive charge. Zero submission fee, zero page surcharges, zero color figure fees. Inclusive of GST and author certificates.
- Gold Open Access: Permanent, immediate open access worldwide under CC BY 4.0 license.
- Persistent DOI: Guaranteed lifetime Zenodo DOI allocation and repository deposition.
- Author Certificates: Individual verifiable digital publication certificates for all co-authors.
- Professional Typesetting: Full-text PDF formatting, Dublin Core & XML metadata tagging.
- Rapid Online Release: Final article published online within 1–2 business days post-payment.
Standard publication charge for authors outside India. No extra currency fees or hidden surcharges. Free submission.
- Gold Open Access: Global open dissemination with unrestricted public access under CC BY 4.0.
- Persistent DOI: Minted unique DOI registered via Zenodo / DataCite open repositories.
- Digital Certificates: Verifiable digital author certificates provided to all contributing co-authors.
- Permanent Hosting & Preservation: High-availability cloud hosting and PKP PN preservation archiving.
- Fast-track Publication: Final article published in current issue within 24–48 hours of payment.
Process Clarity
Transparent 4-Step Payment Workflow
Our fee model protects authors: you only pay once your paper is formally peer-reviewed and accepted.
Free Initial Submission
Submit your manuscript online. Zero upfront payment, no credit card requirement, and zero initial handling fees.
Double-Blind Peer Review
Evaluation is conducted independently by doctoral peer reviewers without knowledge of financial or waiver status.
Formal Acceptance & Invoice
Only upon official editorial acceptance, an itemized invoice is generated with clear bank details and secure payment links.
DOI Minting & Live Release
Upon invoice settlement, your article is typeset, assigned an official Zenodo DOI, and published within 1–2 business days.
Cost Transparency
What Does the APC Actually Fund?
As an open-access journal without reader paywalls or subscriptions, 100% of the APC directly finances technological and editorial infrastructure.
Originality and similarity verification, initial desk triage, reference validation, ethics checks, and double-blind peer review coordination.
Camera-ready single-column pagination, figure and formula optimization, bibliographic metadata tagging, and Dublin Core / Highwire Press markup.
Registration and open repository archiving via Zenodo / CERN for permanent, citable digital object identifiers for every published article.
High-availability cloud hosting, repository persistence via Zenodo/CERN, SSL security, and global Google Scholar discovery metadata.
Academic Equity & Support
Fee Waivers & Developing Country Discounts
We aim to support global scientific equity while sustaining quality open-access operations. Fee discounts and waivers are considered on a case-by-case basis through mutual understanding.
Developing & Low-Income Countries
We adhere to open-access equity benchmarks, guided by World Bank and Research4Life developing country indicators. Authors from qualifying regions may request a fee concession. Each application is reviewed based on the author's country tier, verified institutional funding, and available journal waiver capacity.
Author Situation & Hardship Review
Unfunded postgraduate scholars, doctoral students, and researchers with genuine financial constraints who lack institutional grant support may apply for hardship assistance. Concessions are evaluated individually based on verified circumstances and mutual discussion.
Authors must specify their request at the time of initial manuscript submission using the Message to Editor / Comments field, stating their country, institutional affiliation, and the reason for assistance. Waiver applications are evaluated exclusively by publishing administration and are strictly firewalled from peer reviewers and editors to ensure unbiased evaluation.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions on Article Charges
Clear answers to questions regarding invoices, taxes, payment timing, and institutional support.
Do I pay anything if my paper is rejected?
No. You owe absolutely zero fees. Evaluation, similarity screening, and double-blind peer review are completely free. If an article is declined at any stage, no invoice is ever issued.
When exactly is the APC payment due?
Payment is requested only after your article has completed peer review and received a formal Editorial Acceptance Letter. The payment window is typically 5 to 7 business days following acceptance.
Can my institution or university pay the fee?
Yes. We provide formal itemized invoices featuring official journal credentials, GST/tax registrations, and bank wire/SWIFT instructions tailored for institutional accounts departments.
Are there additional charges for page counts or color figures?
No extra charges. Our APC is fully inclusive. There are no fees for extra pages (up to 30 pages standard), high-resolution color figures, supplementary data tables, or additional co-authors.
What is the refund and cancellation policy?
Because the APC covers immediate typesetting and DOI minting costs incurred upon payment, refunds cannot be granted once an article is published online. Full refund criteria are detailed in our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
Does paying the APC guarantee publication?
Payment is only accepted after scientific peer review acceptance. APC payment does not influence editorial standards. If severe plagiarism or ethical misconduct is proven post-acceptance, the paper is retracted per COPE guidelines.
Article Processing Charge (APC) & Fee Transparency Policy
Looking for our complete institutional governance rules? Review full details on payment timelines, refund terms, commercial independence, and fee waiver guidelines in our official policy.