Editorial Manager accessibility statement

Elsevier’s submission and peer review platform comprises the Editorial Manager system as well as various services integrated with it. These applications collectively cover the author submission, peer review, and editorial decision workflows that precede publication. As part of its wider accessibility policy, Elsevier is committed to making its submission and peer review workflow platforms accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.

Accessibility measures

Elsevier is currently modernizing the Editorial Manager submission system and identifying opportunities to build more accessible user journeys, in particular for the author submission and reviewer workflows. These new submission and peer review modules are being built using a flexible design system intended to provide a consistent, accessible user experience across products.

We are also introducing ongoing, incremental enhancements to bring Editorial Manager closer to compliance with WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines, and help us align with ADA Title II guidelines. Retrofitting Editorial Manager to meet current accessibility standards is challenging, but we are committed to improving its accessibility in specific areas, including:

• Selectively adding alt text to help visually impaired users access content through screen readers.
• Improving keyboard-only operability.
• Providing clearer focus indicators for visually impaired users.
• Adding accessible labels for interface components.

Current compliance with accessibility standards

Our technical teams include engineers and user-experience designers who evaluate the accessibility of Elsevier’s submission platforms on a regular basis, informing our growing backlog of accessibility enhancements. Please refer to Editorial Manager’s Accessibility Conformance Report for more insight into the criteria on which the application’s accessibility is evaluated. This assessment was conducted by the Elsevier Digital Accessibility Team in September 2025, and indicates that Editorial Manager is currently in partial conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Exceptions to specific criteria are detailed in the document.

Support

• To report an accessibility issue, please contact our Digital Accessibility Team
• For further assistance regarding submission, peer review, or editorial activities, please review answers in the Journal Article Publishing Support Center or Chat with an agent.