Corresponding Author Definition

When submitting your paper, you will be asked to assign a Corresponding Author. The Corresponding Author is the person who handles the manuscript and correspondence during the publication process, including approving the article proofs. We ask that the corresponding author confirm that they have the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript including supplementary material. The Corresponding Author is responsible for obtaining such agreements and for informing the co-authors of the manuscript’s status throughout the submission, review, and publication process. In addition, the Corresponding Author also acts as the point of contact for any enquiries (including those relating to the integrity of the work) after the paper is published.

The Corresponding Author’s specific responsibilities include:

• Manuscript correction and proofreading. Handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts up to the acceptance of the manuscripts;
• Agreeing to and signing the Author Publishing Agreement on behalf of relevant coauthors and/or arranging for any third-party copyright owners’ signature;
• Arranging for payment of an APC (article processing charge) where one is required or requesting a discretionary waiver if necessary. The affiliation(s) of the corresponding author may be used to determine eligibility for discounted or waived APCs under transformative agreements and author equity initiatives;
• Acting on behalf of all co-authors in responding to queries from all sources post-publication, including questions relating to publishing ethics, reuse of content, or the availability of data, materials, resources etc.

FAQs

Can the corresponding author change once assigned?
Please ensure the corresponding author is correct at submission. Any change in authorship (including order and designations such as corresponding author) requires the written agreement of all manuscript authors, and may be subject to review in line with the relevant COPE guidelines (click here for more information). After an article has published online, any authorship changes will be accompanied by a relevant notice (correction, retraction, expression of concern).

Do all journals use corresponding authors?
Not all disciplines have a tradition of using corresponding authors, particularly disciplines where there are only one or two authors. However, the affiliation of a corresponding author is generally used to determine eligibility for open access article fee funding under transformative agreements by both publishers and institutions, so we require a corresponding author to be declared for all articles.

Do I have to check with my institution before declaring who corresponding author is?
The corresponding author should be the person who is most appropriate to fulfil the responsibilities outlined above. We are aware, however, that this might not always be the most advantageous choice in terms of benefiting from transformative agreement funding. For this reason, and for best practice around authorship generally, we recommend article authorship, affiliation information and designation of the corresponding author is discussed and agreed as early as possible in the research process to minimise the risk of misunderstandings and disputes.

How does the designated corresponding author affect Open Access Agreement eligibility?

Eligibility to publish under a transformative open access agreement is based on the corresponding author’s institution – which is provided at manuscript submission – as well as the article type, and is subject to the institution’s confirmation of eligibility.

Note that the date of manuscript acceptance must be during the term date of the transformative agreement in order for the manuscript to be eligible to publish under the agreement.

Any article affiliations should represent the institution(s) at which the research presented was conducted and/or supported and/or approved. For non-research content, any affiliations should represent the institution(s) with which each author is currently affiliated. 

Further help

If you have any questions relating to open access agreements with your institution (Transformation Agreements), please visit our information page or contact oaqueries@cambridge.org. To find out if you're eligible for an Open Access waiver or discount, please use our checker tool.

If you have questions about authorship or corrections policies, please read our publishing ethics policy or contact publishingethics@cambridge.org