bioRxiv Submission Requirements for First-Time Authors

bioRxiv submission requirements boil down to five things: a single PDF (or Word file plus separate figures), a completed metadata form with funder and licence selections, a statement covering ethics and competing interests where relevant, English-language text, and content that falls within bioRxiv’s scientific scope. Manuscripts that meet these conditions typically clear screening and post within 72 hours.

bioRxiv is a preprint server for the life sciences, operated by the non-profit openRxiv, that posts unpublished, unrefereed manuscripts after a basic scope-and-integrity screen rather than formal peer review. For a first-time author, the practical challenge is knowing exactly which files, statements and disclosures the submission system expects before it will clear a manuscript through screening. This guide walks through each requirement in order, from file preparation to the post-screening proofing step, using bioRxiv’s own Submission Guide and FAQ as the source of record.

• What are bioRxiv’s core submission requirements?
• What file formats does bioRxiv accept?
• What ethics statements does bioRxiv require?
• How do you disclose competing interests?
• How long does screening and posting take?
• What happens after screening — proofing and posting?
• Common first-time author questions
• What this means for authors and institutions

What are bioRxiv’s core submission requirements?

To be eligible for posting, a manuscript must concern a relevant life-science field, be unpublished at the time of submission, and have the consent of every author for its deposit. Authors must first register a free account in the bioRxiv Author Area at submit.biorxiv.org; there is no charge for registration or deposition.

Beyond eligibility, every submission needs a manuscript file in an accepted format, a single assigned subject category (only one per preprint, from roughly 25 categories), a distribution licence selection, and — where applicable — funder acknowledgement using a Research Organization Registry (ROR) identifier. Case reports, narrative reviews, opinion pieces, protocols without full data, and clinical trial or most epidemiology papers are out of scope for bioRxiv and are redirected to its sister server, medRxiv.

What file formats does bioRxiv accept?

bioRxiv gives authors two routes to a postable manuscript. The simplest route is to upload a single PDF containing the full text, figures and tables, with supplemental data in separate files. The alternative route is to upload a Word or WordPerfect file for the main text plus separate figure files; bioRxiv’s automated conversion engine then builds a single PDF from these components.

For figures submitted separately, acceptable formats are GIF, TIFF, EPS and JPEG, alongside common word-processing formats for tables. LaTeX and other TeX-based files must be converted to PDF before submission, though the original TeX source may still be attached as supplemental material. Supplemental files themselves are posted “as is” in whatever format the author provides.

There is no mandated formatting style or journal template. Many first-time authors format their preprint to match the journal they eventually intend to target, but bioRxiv itself does not require this.

What ethics statements does bioRxiv require?

bioRxiv does not mandate a specific “Ethics Statement” section in the submission form, but it holds authors to relevant ethical standards and reserves the right to remove articles describing work not performed in accordance with them, or containing plagiarised material. Authors reporting on human or animal subjects are expected to have followed applicable institutional and national approval requirements, and standard practice is to state this — including the approving body — in the methods section.

bioRxiv also declines manuscripts containing images or information that could identify an individual, since the server cannot itself verify participant consent; blurring, cropping or pixelating faces is explicitly stated as insufficient. Authors must also disclose generative AI use in preparing a manuscript: bioRxiv’s policy states that authors remain accountable for the accuracy, integrity and originality of AI-assisted content, and that AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

How do you disclose competing interests?

As with ethics statements, bioRxiv does not enforce a rigid template for competing-interest disclosure, but transparency is expected of the corresponding author on behalf of all listed authors. The convention used across the majority of bioRxiv preprints is a dedicated “Competing Interest Statement” placed at the end of the manuscript, disclosing any financial or non-financial relationship that could be perceived as influencing the work. Where none exists, authors typically state plainly that no competing interest is declared.

• Disclose funding sources and grant numbers during submission — bioRxiv lets authors select a funder’s ROR ID or add free text if the funder is not yet in the registry.
• State institutional, consultancy, or commercial relationships relevant to the reported work.
• Declare authorship of related patents or pending applications tied to the findings.
• Confirm generative-AI use, per the disclosure requirement above, if applicable.

How long does bioRxiv screening and posting take?

Every submission passes through a two-step screening process before it becomes public. First, in-house openRxiv staff check that all required metadata has been provided, that the submission is a genuine research article rather than a review or opinion piece, and that there is no obviously non-scientific or plagiarised content. Second, a volunteer bioRxiv affiliate — an active principal investigator — confirms the work sits within the biological sciences and screens for material posing a public-health or biosecurity risk, including dual-use research of concern.

bioRxiv’s own FAQ states that preprints usually appear on the site within 72 hours of submission, while its separate screening-procedures notice describes the affiliate review stage as typically completing within 24–48 hours. The figures are not contradictory: 24–48 hours covers the affiliate check specifically, while 72 hours is the FAQ’s overall guidance for the full pipeline, including in-house checks and queueing. Both windows can extend over weekends, holidays, or with extra scrutiny.

What happens after screening — proofing and posting?

Authors who submit via the Word-plus-figures route receive a converted PDF that must be checked before it goes live. The bioRxiv Manuscript Processing System’s Author Area includes a dedicated function to “proof a converted manuscript” — the point at which authors confirm the automated conversion preserved figure placement, table formatting and reference order correctly, since bioRxiv does not typeset or copy-edit submissions.

Once posted, the PDF is the version of record immediately; full-text HTML and machine-readable XML (used for text mining) typically follow within a further 24–48 hours. A DOI (those assigned since 11 December 2019 carry the submission date stamp) is issued at posting and stays fixed across all future revisions.

Common first-time author questions

Can anyone submit to bioRxiv?

Yes. Any author may deposit a manuscript in draft or final form provided it concerns a relevant life-science field, is unpublished at submission, and all co-authors have consented. Authors must first register a free account at bioRxiv’s submission system before uploading a manuscript.

When should you submit to bioRxiv?

A manuscript can be submitted at any point up to formal journal publication. Once a paper has been published by a journal, it can no longer be posted as a bioRxiv preprint, though revised preprint versions remain fully permitted right up to that point.

How much does it cost to submit to bioRxiv?

There is no fee for registration, submission, or deposition at bioRxiv. This applies to first submissions and to all subsequent revised versions of the same manuscript.

Can you revise a paper after it is posted on bioRxiv?

Yes. Authors may submit a revised version at any time before journal acceptance via “Submit a Revision” in the Author Area. Revisions keep the same DOI, and the original version stays accessible through the preprint’s Info/History tab.

What this means for authors and institutions

For first-time authors, bioRxiv’s requirements are lighter on formatting than a typical journal but firmer on integrity and disclosure than many expect from a preprint server. Screening is not peer review, but it is a genuine gate: manuscripts lacking a clear competing-interest position, containing identifiable patient images, or falling outside bioRxiv’s scope will be delayed, redirected to medRxiv, or declined.

For research offices advising early-career researchers, the highest-value guidance is procedural: confirm the file route before submission day, draft competing-interest and ethics language in advance, and build the expected 72-hour screening window into any funder- or grant-renewal-driven timeline. As preprint posting becomes a normal part of the research record — including for NIH-funded work reportable in grant applications — getting these mechanics right the first time avoids a resubmission cycle costing several days.