An ‘in press’ article is a paper that a journal has accepted for publication after peer review but that has not yet appeared in a numbered journal issue. It is no longer under review and its content is settled, but it may still lack a volume, issue and page numbers. Many publishers now post accepted articles online with a DOI before the issue comes out, so you can often read and cite one before it appears in an issue.
If your own paper has just been accepted, this guide explains what happens next, what you can still change, how to cite it in APA 7 and Harvard style, and how to list it on your CV.
Where ‘in press’ sits in the publishing process
A paper usually passes through these stages. Journals and submission systems word them differently, so treat this as a map rather than a fixed rule.
| Stage | What it means | Can you cite it? |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted | The journal has received your manuscript | Not as a publication; describe it as ‘submitted’ on a CV |
| Under review | Editors and reviewers are assessing it | As above |
| Accepted | The editor has accepted it after peer review | Yes, as ‘in press’ |
| In press: proofs and early online version | The publisher is copy-editing and typesetting it; it may already be online with a DOI | Yes, with the DOI if there is one |
| Published in an issue | It has a volume, issue and page or article number | Yes, as a normal journal article |
For the steps before acceptance, see our guide to the journal peer review process and our explanation of what ‘under review’ and ‘in review’ mean.
What happens while your paper is in press
Proofs
The publisher copy-edits and typesets your accepted manuscript and sends the corresponding author a proof to check. Deadlines are short: Elsevier says most of its journals set a deadline ‘typically ranging from 48 hours to one week’.
At proof stage you are correcting errors, not revising the paper. Taylor & Francis asks authors to correct factual or typographical errors ‘but do not rewrite the text’, and to check their own name and their co-authors’ names. Check these in particular:
- Author names, their order and affiliations
- Figures, tables and their legends against your accepted version
- Numbers, units, equations and special characters
- References, including any that were still awaiting publication when you submitted
- Every query the copy-editor or typesetter has raised
Treat the proof as your last chance. Elsevier states that ‘it isn’t usually possible to make any corrections to your article after you have submitted your proofs’.
Publication online before the issue
Many journals now post the article online, with a DOI, before it is placed in an issue. Elsevier, for example, describes three versions on ScienceDirect (journal pre-proofs, uncorrected proofs and corrected proofs):
- Journal pre-proof: peer reviewed and accepted, with a cover page and basic formatting added, but still to be copy-edited and typeset.
- Uncorrected proof: copy-edited and formatted, but not yet checked and corrected by the authors.
- Corrected proof: includes the authors’ corrections, but still waiting for its volume, issue and page details.
When the article is assigned to an issue, Elsevier removes the in-press version and carries over the date it first appeared online.
What publishers call it
The same stage goes by different names, which can be confusing when you search a journal’s website:
| Publisher or database | Name for articles online before an issue | What its help pages say |
|---|---|---|
| Elsevier (ScienceDirect) | Articles in Press (journal pre-proof, uncorrected proof, corrected proof) | Cite with the year of online publication and the DOI |
| Wiley | Early View | Articles are ‘fully citable using a DOI’ |
| Springer Nature | Online First | Articles can be cited using their DOI |
| PubMed | Online Ahead of Print | Publishers may submit citations for articles that appear online ‘prior to their publication in final or print format’ |
Sources: Elsevier ScienceDirect Support Center; Wiley Author Services; Springer Nature Support; PubMed Help (all checked 21 October 2026).
How long a paper stays in press varies between journals, so ask the journal if you need an expected date for a CV, an application or a thesis.
How to cite an in press article
Check which style your department or journal uses. Two common ones follow; the references below are templates, not real papers.
APA 7th edition
University library guides to APA 7 give two formats, depending on whether the article is already online.
Accepted but not yet published online: put ‘in press’ where the year goes, and leave out the volume, issue and pages. The University of Queensland’s APA 7 guide adds the DOI if one is available.
Surname, A., & Surname, B. (in press). Title of the article. Journal Title.
In the text: (Surname & Surname, in press) or Surname and Surname (in press). If you cite several works by the same author, these go last, as in (Lewis, 2015, 2016, in press).
Published online but not yet in an issue (an ‘advance online publication’ in APA terms): use the year it appeared online, then the phrase ‘Advance online publication’ and the DOI.
Surname, A., & Surname, B. (2026). Title of the article. Journal Title. Advance online publication. DOI link
Give the DOI as a full link, starting with doi.org, in place of ‘DOI link’. When the issue comes out, update the reference with the volume, issue and page or article number.
Harvard (Cite Them Right)
The University of Wolverhampton’s guide to Cite Them Right Harvard lists the elements for an article without volume or issue details as: author, year, article title in single quotation marks, ‘To be published in’ (if the article states this), journal title in italics, volume and issue if stated, the version in square brackets, then ‘Available at:’ the DOI or URL with the date you accessed it. Its own example labels the version ‘[In press, corrected proof]’.
Surname, A. and Surname, B. (2026) ‘Title of the article’. To be published in Journal Title [In press, corrected proof]. Available at: DOI link (Accessed: 21 October 2026).
Wolverhampton’s guide says to add the accessed date when the version may still change, even if you give a DOI. A reference manager will pick up the DOI for you, but check its output against your style guide by hand.
Listing an in press paper on your CV
An accepted paper is a real result, so list it under publications. A few habits keep the list accurate:
- Call a paper ‘in press’ only once you have the editor’s acceptance. Before that, write ‘submitted to’ or ‘under review at’ and the journal name.
- Give the DOI once the article is online, so a reader can find it.
- Update the entry when the paper appears in an issue.
Our guide to writing an academic CV for a PhD application covers where publications go. If you’re wondering whether you need any at all, see do you need published papers to do a PhD?
Open access for UK-funded research
The accepted stage matters for open access. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) defines the Author’s Accepted Manuscript as ‘the author’s version of a research article that has been peer-reviewed and is accepted for publication’, as distinct from the Version of Record, the final typeset and edited version that is published.
For research articles that must acknowledge UKRI funding and were submitted on or after 1 April 2022, UKRI’s open access policy offers two routes:
- Route 1: publish open access in the journal, with the Version of Record immediately free to read under a CC BY licence (or another licence UKRI permits).
- Route 2: publish in a subscription journal and deposit the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (or the Version of Record, where the publisher allows) in an institutional or subject repository at the time of final publication, under a CC BY licence or another licence UKRI permits. A publisher’s embargo period is not allowed.
If your paper has UKRI funding, keep a copy of the accepted manuscript as soon as the acceptance arrives and ask your university library how it handles deposit.
Frequently asked questions
Is an in press article peer reviewed? Yes. A paper is only in press once the journal has accepted it, which comes after peer review.
Is ‘in press’ the same as ‘forthcoming’? Both describe accepted work waiting to be published. APA 7 uses ‘in press’ and Cite Them Right Harvard uses ‘To be published in’; if your department’s style guide uses ‘forthcoming’, follow it.
Next steps
Once your paper is accepted, start planning the next one: our guide to publishing your first paper covers picking the right journal and getting your figures right, and our advice on how to turn your PhD thesis into a paper helps if your results are still sitting in your thesis. If you’re still looking for a research project, search current PhD opportunities.
