- Scopus titles are selected by the independent Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB), not by Elsevier sales staff, agents or consultants.
- You need peer review, a regular schedule with a registered ISSN, English titles and abstracts, and a public publication ethics statement before the CSAB will review the journal.
- Evaluation generally takes around six months. A rejection carries an embargo of six months to several years, so apply only when you are ready.
What Scopus is and what Scopus indexing means
Scopus indexing is one of the most common goals for journal editors, and one of the most misunderstood. Scopus is Elsevier's curated abstract and citation database. It covers journals, book series and conference proceedings across science, technology, medicine, social sciences and the arts and humanities. For each indexed article it records the metadata, abstract and references, so citations between documents can be counted. Scopus data also produces journal metrics such as CiteScore.
Scopus is selective. A journal is not "submitted for indexing" the way a sitemap is submitted to Google. It is suggested for evaluation, judged against published criteria and, if accepted, re-checked over time. Many non-English journals are covered, provided they supply English titles and abstracts.
Several journal metrics are built on Scopus data, and they are often confused:
- CiteScore is Elsevier's own metric, published in Scopus with percentile ranks within each subject category.
- SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) is calculated by SCImago from Scopus data. The Q1–Q4 quartiles many universities refer to usually come from SCImago's rankings.
- SNIP is a citation metric that adjusts for differences between fields, calculated by CWTS at Leiden University from Scopus data.
None of these metrics exist for a journal until it is accepted, and a journal cannot have a "Scopus quartile" without being covered by Scopus.
Who decides: the Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB)
Titles are reviewed by the Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB), which Elsevier describes as an independent board of international experts (scientists, researchers and librarians), organised by subject. They review suggested titles year-round, using both quantitative and qualitative measures. Elsevier follows the CSAB's advice when deciding whether to cover a title.
This matters because it rules out shortcuts. No consultant, agent or Elsevier sales contact can approve a journal. If someone claims to have "contacts in Scopus", that alone tells you they are not legitimate.
Scopus minimum (technical) criteria
Before the CSAB looks at quality, a journal must meet all of the technical criteria listed on Elsevier's Scopus content policy and selection page:
- Peer-reviewed content, with a publicly available description of the peer review process.
- Published on a regular basis, with an ISSN registered with the ISSN International Centre.
- A publication history that reviewers can assess.
- Content relevant to and readable by an international audience: English-language titles and abstracts.
- A publicly available publication ethics and publication malpractice statement. Scopus does not prescribe the wording but points to guidance from COPE, WAME, ICMJE and CONSORT.
Three recent points worth knowing:
- No fixed two-year rule any more. Elsevier's guidance for editors says that since August 2024 the former condition that new journals wait two years before suggestion has been removed. The CSAB still needs enough history and articles to judge, and a rejection triggers an embargo, so publishers are advised to choose the moment carefully.
- Generative AI policies are encouraged. Scopus encourages journals to publish a policy on the use of generative AI by authors, reviewers and editors, without prescribing specific wording.
- References in Roman script. Earlier versions of the Scopus minimum criteria listed references in Roman script. The current list focuses on English titles and abstracts, but providing references in Roman script (transliterated where necessary) is still important for citation linking. Web of Science checks it explicitly.
Scopus selection criteria: 14 criteria in 5 categories
Journals that pass the technical check are reviewed by the CSAB against these criteria. The wording below follows Elsevier's published table.
| Category | Criteria | What reviewers look for in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Journal policy | Convincing editorial policy; type of peer review; diversity in geographical distribution of editors; diversity in geographical distribution of authors | A focused scope, a clear review model, and editors and authors from more than one country or institution |
| Content | Academic contribution to the field; clarity of abstracts; quality of and conformity to the stated aims and scope; readability of articles | Original work that fits the scope, abstracts in good English and articles that are well edited |
| Journal standing | Citedness of journal articles in Scopus; editor standing | Articles already cited by Scopus-indexed journals, and editors with a recognised publication record |
| Publishing regularity | No delays or interruptions in the publication schedule | Issues published on the dates you promise, with no backlog |
| Online availability | Full journal content available online; English-language journal homepage; quality of journal homepage | A complete online archive, an English interface, and clear, current, professional pages |
The Scopus title evaluation process
- Check it is not already covered
Search Scopus Sources or the source title list. A journal may also have been discontinued in the past, which affects when it can be suggested again.
- Self-evaluate honestly
Go through the technical and selection criteria above and fix the gaps first. Elsevier's own training material for editors recommends a self-evaluation before suggesting a title.
- Prepare the information
Expect to provide journal and publisher details, ISSN, the URLs of your policies and peer review description, editorial board information and access to your content. Have everything live on the website before you start.
- Submit the Scopus Title Suggestion Form
The publisher or editor submits it. You receive a confirmation email with a tracking ID for the Title Evaluation Tracker.
- Technical check, then CSAB review
Titles that pass the technical criteria are reviewed by a CSAB subject expert.
- Decision and feedback
The publisher or editor receives the outcome with reviewer comments.
- If accepted
The permission holder (usually the publisher) is asked to sign a permission form covering how content will be supplied, and then the content feed is set up.
If you would like an independent check of your journal against these criteria before you submit, our journal indexing preparation service produces a gap analysis and a prioritised plan.
Timelines, rejection and the resubmission embargo
| Stage | Typical timing (per Elsevier guidance) |
|---|---|
| Evaluation of a suggested title | Generally within about six months. If there is no decision after six months, contact the Scopus title suggestion team, quoting the title and ISSN. |
| After acceptance: permission form | The permission request usually arrives within about a month. |
| First articles visible in Scopus | Usually within about three months of signing the permission form. |
| Ongoing indexing of new articles | Typically a few weeks to two months after they appear online. |
| Embargo after rejection | From six months to several years, set according to how long reviewers expect the fixes to take. |
| Appeal | Normally within six weeks of the rejection letter, and only for significant factual errors in the review. |
These are guidelines, not promises. Workloads vary by subject. When the embargo ends, you can suggest the title again with a cover letter that explains how each reviewer comment was addressed. Resubmitting early or repeatedly does not help and may delay the review.
A rejection means lost time, not just disappointment
An embargo of a year or more is a long time for a growing journal. That is why it is better to apply when the journal is genuinely ready, rather than as early as possible.
Re-evaluation and discontinued Scopus titles
Acceptance is not permanent. Scopus runs a continuous re-evaluation programme. Titles can be flagged for re-evaluation because of:
- Publication concerns raised by the research community, such as problems with publication ethics or research integrity.
- Outlier performance detected by Elsevier's data model (its coverage guide calls the tool Radar), for example a sudden, unexplained jump in the number of articles, a sudden change in where authors come from, or unusual citation patterns such as high self-citation.
- Underperformance against subject benchmarks. Elsevier's coverage guide has described yearly comparisons with peer journals on self-citation, total citations and CiteScore.
- Continuous curation based on feedback from the CSAB.
Flagged titles are reviewed against the same criteria as new suggestions, and new content may be held while that happens. The outcome is either continued coverage or discontinuation. Content already indexed normally stays in Scopus, except in rare cases of proven, severe misconduct. Discontinued titles are published in Scopus's discontinued sources list and face an embargo before they can be suggested again (Elsevier's 2023 coverage guide stated five years).
Elsevier also says it now scrutinises significant changes to indexed journals, such as a new title, ISSN, owner or editorial oversight. A journal that changes hands may be treated as a new journal, so taking over an indexed title is not a way to "acquire" Scopus coverage.
What to fix first before applying to Scopus
Based on the criteria above, these are the improvements that usually make the biggest difference, in rough order:
- English titles and abstracts
Professionally edited, informative abstracts for every article, plus keywords. Poor English abstracts are one of the quickest ways to fail the content criteria.
- References in Roman script
Transliterate references in other scripts and add an English translation of the title in square brackets.
- Publication ethics statement
A COPE-aligned ethics and malpractice statement covering authors, reviewers, editors and the publisher, plus policies on plagiarism, corrections, retractions and AI. Start from our journal policy templates.
- Peer review you can evidence
A clear description on the site, and real review records in OJS for every article.
- International diversity
Active editors and authors from several countries. Elsevier's own advice is not to call a journal "International Journal of…" unless its editors, reviewers and authors really are international.
- A regular schedule
Publish every issue on time, with no gaps and no sudden jumps in volume.
- Citations earned honestly
Publish work that gets cited in other Scopus journals. Never ask authors to cite the journal, and watch self-citation.
- A focused scope
A journal that publishes "everything" struggles on contribution and conformity to scope.
OJS readiness checklist for Scopus
Your OJS site is the first thing a CSAB reviewer sees. Make sure it supports the application:
- English homepage: English available as a user interface language, with the About, policies and editorial board in English.
- Complete archive: every back issue online, with one PDF (or HTML) galley per article.
- Metadata: English title, abstract and keywords for every article; all authors with affiliations and ORCID iDs; references entered where your workflow allows.
- DOIs: registered through Crossref and displayed on each article. See DOI and Crossref setup in OJS.
- Policies: peer review, ethics and malpractice, open access or access terms, licensing, AI and archiving, all linked from the main menu.
- Editorial board: full names, roles, institutions and countries, kept up to date.
- Schedule and ISSN: publication frequency stated and met; ISSN matching the ISSN Portal record.
- Technical health: HTTPS, fast pages, no broken links and no injected spam. A hacked or unreliable site undermines an application.
Before Scopus, many open access journals start with DOAJ, which checks similar foundations. See our DOAJ indexing guide and the wider journal indexing guide for how the databases compare.
Hijacked journals and fake "Scopus indexing" guarantees
Scopus indexing is valuable to authors, which makes it a target for fraud. Editors and authors should know the main patterns:
- Hijacked journals: clone websites that copy a real Scopus-indexed journal's title and ISSN and collect submissions. Verify the website through the Scopus record and the publisher, not through search results.
- Guaranteed indexing: "Scopus indexing in three months, guaranteed" is impossible, because the CSAB decides independently.
- "Scopus-indexed" claims by discontinued titles: check coverage years and the discontinued list.
- Agents selling publication slots in "Scopus journals". This is a sign of a paper mill, and journals linked to it risk discontinuation.
Evaluation by legitimate indexing databases is free, and no one can sell you a place in Scopus. The only reliable route is to build a journal that meets the criteria. OJS Academy has 10+ years of experience and has supported 80+ academic journals; through our Scopus and indexing preparation service we help editors close the gaps honestly, and we never promise acceptance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Scopus take to evaluate a journal?
Elsevier's guidance for editors says suggested titles are generally evaluated within about six months, and that you can contact the title suggestion team if there is no decision after that. If accepted, the publisher signs a permission form, and the first articles usually appear within a few months after that.
Can a new journal apply to Scopus?
Technically yes. Elsevier removed its old two-year condition for newly launched journals in August 2024. However, the CSAB still needs enough publication history and enough articles to judge the journal, and a rejection brings an embargo. In practice, most journals do better waiting until they have several regular issues and some citations.
Do we need DOAJ before applying to Scopus?
No. DOAJ listing is not a Scopus requirement. For open access journals, DOAJ is still a useful earlier milestone because it checks many of the same policies. See our DOAJ indexing guide.
What happens if Scopus rejects our journal?
You receive reviewer comments and a resubmission date. The embargo can range from six months to several years, depending on how long reviewers think the fixes will take. When you resubmit, include a cover letter explaining how you addressed each comment. Appeals are only for significant factual errors in the review.
Does a journal have to publish in English to be in Scopus?
No. Scopus covers many journals that publish in other languages. It does require English titles and abstracts, and an English-language journal homepage is one of the selection criteria.
Can anyone guarantee Scopus indexing?
No. Elsevier follows the independent advice of the CSAB, and nobody outside that process can influence it. Anyone promising guaranteed Scopus indexing is not being honest. Our indexing preparation service helps you meet the criteria, without guarantees.
How do I check whether a journal is indexed in Scopus?
Search the title or ISSN in Scopus Sources (scopus.com/sources) or Elsevier's source title list, and check that coverage includes recent years and that the title is not discontinued. More checks are in our journal indexing guide.
