OSF Registries, run by the nonprofit Center for Open Science (COS), is the most widely used platform for filing a study preregistration. This guide covers the OSF-specific mechanics: how to start and submit a registration, which template to pick, how OSF’s timestamping and immutability actually work, embargo options, and what you can and can’t change after you submit. For the underlying concept of preregistration itself — why it exists, how it differs from a Registered Report, and how it fits into a research workflow — see Preregistration of a Study Protocol. For a comparison of OSF Registries against other registries researchers use (AsPredicted, ClinicalTrials.gov, PROSPERO), see Research Registries: Which One to Use and Why Registration Matters.
What “OSF Preregistration” Means on the OSF Registries Platform
On the Open Science Framework (OSF), a “registration” is a frozen, time-stamped copy of a project — typically your hypotheses, design, and planned analysis — created before you look at or collect the relevant data. “OSF Registries” is the public-facing index of every registration made through OSF; it is also the connected-registry hub that lets some community-operated registries (certain journals, funders, or scholarly societies) accept submissions through the same OSF workflow. A registration is distinct from an ordinary OSF project: once submitted, its content is locked and cannot be silently edited, which is the entire point — it gives reviewers, funders, and readers a verifiable record of what was decided before the fact.
Step by Step: Creating a Registration on OSF
The workflow is the same regardless of which template you choose:
- Start a draft. From your OSF dashboard, select “Registrations,” then “New Registration.” You can register an existing OSF project (carrying over its files and description) or start from scratch.
- Choose a template. OSF presents a list of registration form schemas (see the next section) — pick the one matching your study design and discipline conventions.
- Complete the required sections. Draft registrations autosave as you work, so you can build one out over multiple sessions before submitting. Nothing is locked until you formally register.
- Review and submit. Once every required field is complete, you review your responses and select “Register.”
- Admin approval window. Every admin contributor on the registration gets an email notification and 48 hours to approve or reject it. If nobody rejects it, OSF auto-approves the registration after 48 hours (submissions to a community-operated registry instead go through that registry’s own moderation).
- Choose visibility. At submission you decide whether the registration goes public immediately or sits under embargo (see below) until a date you set.
Which OSF Registration Template Should You Use?
OSF supports multiple registration form schemas rather than a single fixed form, so the right choice depends on your study design and how much structure you want:
- OSF Preregistration — the most commonly used general-purpose template; comprehensive coverage of hypotheses, design, sampling plan, and analysis plan for quantitative studies.
- Open-Ended Registration — a minimal, flexible form for projects that don’t fit a structured template, or for registering materials/data at a stage other than pre-data-collection.
- AsPredicted.org template — the same eight-question format used by AsPredicted, now available directly on OSF for a shorter, quicker prereg.
- Qualitative Preregistration — adapted questions for qualitative and mixed-methods designs, where a rigid quantitative-analysis-plan template doesn’t apply.
- Registered Report Protocol — used when the registration corresponds to a journal’s Stage 1 Registered Report submission; see how Registered Reports relate to plain preregistration.
- Replication Recipe — structured for preregistering a planned replication study specifically.
- Specialty/discipline templates — including EEG/ERP, eye-tracking, secondary-data-analysis, systematic-review, and simulation-study schemas, each asking discipline-specific questions a generic template would miss.
If you’re unsure, the general OSF Preregistration template is the safest default for a standard quantitative study; check whether your target journal or funder specifies a required template before you start, since some journals’ Registered Reports and some funders’ open-science policies point to a specific schema.
Timestamping, Immutability, and the Registration DOI
When you register, OSF archives your responses, any attached files, and associated metadata into a single timestamped snapshot. That snapshot is immutable in the sense that matters for preregistration’s purpose: the original submitted content and its submission date are fixed and cannot be quietly altered after the fact. OSF assigns the registration a persistent identifier (DOI), which is what you cite in a manuscript’s methods section or a grant report to point to the frozen record — see OSF for how this fits into the platform’s broader identifier and preservation role. File storage attached to a registration has a size ceiling (OSF’s general storage limits apply), so very large raw datasets are usually better placed in a dedicated data repository with the registration linking out to it, rather than uploaded directly into the registration itself.
Embargo Options: Keeping a Registration Private Before Publication
A registration doesn’t have to go public the moment it’s approved. At submission you can place it under embargo, choosing an end date up to four years out. While embargoed, the registration exists (and its timestamp is locked) but its content isn’t publicly visible — useful when a funder or IRB requires preregistration before data collection begins, but you don’t want competitors or participants able to see your hypotheses before the study runs. The registration automatically becomes public when the embargo period ends; you can also make it public earlier if circumstances change.
Updating a Registration After Submission (Versioning Mechanics)
A submitted registration cannot simply be edited — that would defeat the purpose of timestamping. What OSF supports instead is a separate registration update workflow: an admin contributor requests an update, provides a justification for the change, and edits only the specific fields being revised. Updates go through the same review process as an initial registration (a 48-hour admin approval window). Critically, files cannot be added or removed as part of an update — the original file set stays fixed. This preserves a clear, auditable history: the original registration remains intact and dated, and any later amendment is recorded as a distinct, justified, separately-timestamped revision rather than a silent overwrite.
Withdrawing an OSF Registration
If a study is discontinued or a registration was made in error, it can be withdrawn rather than deleted outright. To withdraw, open the registration, go to its “Public” tab, optionally enter a justification, type the confirmation phrase, and confirm. Withdrawal removes the registration’s form content and files, but basic metadata — title, contributors, the DOI, and the stated justification — remains visible, so the record that a registration once existed (and was withdrawn, and why) is preserved rather than erased. Withdrawal is irreversible, so treat it as a last resort rather than a way to “start over” on a registration.
Submitting to a Branded or Community-Operated Registry Through OSF
Some journals, scholarly societies, and consortia operate their own branded registry on top of OSF’s infrastructure, with their own review/moderation process layered on the standard OSF registration workflow. If your target venue names a specific community registry, choose that registry (rather than the general OSF Registries index) when starting your draft — the underlying timestamping and immutability mechanics are the same, but approval runs through that registry’s editors instead of auto-approving after 48 hours.
OSF Preregistration vs. the General Preregistration Concept
“OSF preregistration” refers to using this specific platform’s registration workflow; “preregistration” as a research practice is platform-agnostic and can also be filed through AsPredicted, ClinicalTrials.gov, PROSPERO, or a Registered Report’s Stage 1 protocol. OSF is simply the most general-purpose and widely adopted option across disciplines outside clinical trials. If you’re deciding whether to preregister at all, what belongs in a preregistration, and how it relates to a Registered Report’s binding publication guarantee, start with Preregistration of a Study Protocol and the registry comparison in Research Registries. If you’re deciding between OSF and other research-data platforms for storage rather than registration specifically, see OSF vs. Figshare and Zenodo vs. OSF.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between an OSF preregistration and a Registered Report?
A plain OSF registration is a self-filed, timestamped record with no independent review of its content. A Registered Report’s Stage 1 protocol is reviewed and provisionally accepted by a journal before data collection, giving the study a binding publication guarantee regardless of results; OSF’s Registered Report Protocol template is used to file that protocol once accepted. See Preregistration of a Study Protocol for the full distinction.
Can I edit an OSF registration after I submit it?
Not directly. You can request a formal registration update with a stated justification, which edits specific fields and goes through the same 48-hour admin approval process as the original submission, but you cannot add or remove files, and the original timestamped version remains part of the record.
How long can I embargo an OSF registration?
Up to four years from creation. The registration becomes public automatically when the embargo ends, or earlier if you choose to release it sooner.
Which OSF template should I use for a qualitative study?
The Qualitative Preregistration template is built for qualitative and mixed-methods designs; the general OSF Preregistration and AsPredicted templates are written primarily for quantitative hypothesis-testing designs and can be a poor fit for qualitative work.
What happens if I withdraw an OSF registration?
The form content and files are removed, but basic metadata (title, contributors, DOI, and your withdrawal justification) stays publicly visible. Withdrawal is irreversible.
Does an OSF registration get a DOI?
Yes. OSF assigns each registration a persistent DOI, which is what you cite when referencing the preregistration in a manuscript, grant report, or data availability statement.
