Nature Communications Manuscript Submission Requirements
Validate your manuscript against Nature Communications requirements before submission to this multidisciplinary open-access journal.
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Nature Communications submission requirements
Nature Communications is a multidisciplinary open-access journal published by Springer Nature, covering all areas of the natural sciences. Unlike the flagship Nature journal, Nature Communications accepts a broader range of research and has higher acceptance rates (~25%), but maintains rigorous quality and formatting standards. Nature Communications requires data availability statements, author contributions via CRediT taxonomy, competing interests declarations, and completion of a Nature Research reporting summary for applicable studies. Article processing charges (APCs) apply as a fully open-access journal.
Nature Communications is one of the world's most-published multidisciplinary scientific journals, receiving more than 45,000 submissions annually. As a fully open-access journal in the Nature portfolio, it bridges the selectivity gap between Nature flagship journals and broader open-access publications — maintaining rigorous peer review while accepting a wider range of scientifically sound research across biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, and more.
How Nature Communications Differs from Nature
Researchers targeting the Nature portfolio need to understand where Nature Communications fits:
- Scope: Nature accepts only breakthrough research of the widest interest; Nature Communications accepts high-quality research in any area of the natural sciences
- Acceptance rate: ~25% at Nature Communications vs under 8% at Nature
- Length: Nature Communications has no strict main text word limit (unlike Nature's 3,000-word ceiling), though conciseness is strongly encouraged
- Abstract: ≤200 words at Nature Communications vs ≤150 words at Nature flagship
- Open access: Nature Communications is fully OA with APC; Nature flagship is hybrid
Data Availability Requirements
Nature Communications enforces the same rigorous data sharing policy as the broader Nature portfolio. A data availability statement is mandatory for all articles and must specify exactly where data can be accessed, including repository names, accession numbers, and DOIs where applicable. Sequencing data must be deposited before submission — not "upon acceptance" — with accession numbers listed in the manuscript.
For code-intensive research (computational biology, machine learning, data science), a code availability statement is also required. Code should be deposited in a persistent public repository with a citable DOI. The statement must specify the repository URL and any conditions on access.
Author Contributions and Declarations
Nature Communications requires CRediT taxonomy author contributions for all submissions. Every author must be assigned at least one of the 14 CRediT roles, and every listed role must correspond to at least one author. The competing interests declaration must cover all authors — not just the corresponding author — and must be an explicit statement rather than an implicit omission.
Funding acknowledgements must include full funder names (no abbreviations) and grant numbers. If multiple grants funded the work, all must be listed. Institutional funding without a specific grant number should be listed with the institution name and a note that no specific grant number applies.
Open Access and APC
As a fully open-access journal, Nature Communications requires payment of an article processing charge after acceptance. The current APC is among the highest in academic publishing. Authors should check whether their institution has a Springer Nature Read & Publish agreement that covers or reduces the APC before submission. Funder OA mandates (UKRI, Wellcome, ERC) are compatible with Nature Communications's CC BY 4.0 license. The license choice must be declared at submission.
Also see: Nature journal checker | Springer journal checker | PLOS ONE checker
Nature Communications checks
Abstract ≤200 words
Nature Communications abstracts must be ≤200 words, structured as a single paragraph.
Data availability statement
Mandatory for all submissions, with repository links and accession numbers.
Author contributions (CRediT)
CRediT taxonomy statements required for all listed authors.
Competing interests
All authors must declare competing interests or explicitly state none.
Reporting summary
Life sciences and social sciences studies require the Nature Research reporting summary.
Open access compliance
APC and Creative Commons CC BY license declarations required.
Checks relevant to this topic
Part of our 80+ automated checks
Abstract ≤200 words
Abstract within Nature Communications word limit.
Data availability statement
Mandatory data availability with repository and accession details.
Author contributions (CRediT)
CRediT taxonomy for all authors.
Competing interests declaration
All authors have declared interests or stated none.
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Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
I use it to review my students' papers. It instantly highlights typos, missing references, and unclear sections, helping me focus my feedback on the quality of the research instead of surface errors.
Ilyass
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, ÉTS Montréal
I relied on it throughout my thesis to strengthen my writing. It suggested clearer phrasing, improved flow between sections, and ensured my references were complete before the final deadline.
Manon
Master's Student in Speech Therapy
I write research in both Portuguese and English, and it adapts perfectly to either language. It provided precise feedback in Portuguese, helping me maintain academic tone and consistency across my drafts.
Afonso
PhD Candidate, UFPE
It gave excellent advice on how to rephrase and present ideas more clearly and concisely. The suggestions helped me refine my arguments and make my research more impactful.
Félix
Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
Frequently asked questions
Nature is the flagship journal covering landmark breakthroughs across all science. Nature Communications is a broader multidisciplinary journal that covers solid science without requiring the degree of novelty needed for Nature. Nature Communications accepts approximately 25% of submissions vs under 8% at Nature flagship. Both require similar formatting standards.
Yes: Nature Communications is fully open access. Authors pay an article processing charge (APC) upon acceptance, and the paper is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Many institutions have Read & Publish agreements with Springer Nature that cover Nature Communications APCs.
Nature Communications requires a data availability statement specifying where data supporting the findings can be accessed. Sequencing data must be deposited in NCBI/ENA databases with accession numbers listed in the manuscript. All accession numbers must be available before submission.
Yes: Nature Communications requires the Nature Research reporting summary for life sciences and social sciences studies. This questionnaire covers experimental design, statistics, and data availability. It is submitted alongside the manuscript and published as supplementary information.
Common desk rejection reasons at Nature Communications include: missing data availability statement, incomplete or absent author contributions using CRediT, missing reporting summary for applicable studies, incomplete competing interests declarations, and manuscripts that lack sufficient scope or novelty for a multidisciplinary audience.