The Lancet Psychiatry: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 2215-0366 · ISSN 2215-0374 · Elsevier BV · Psychology

Half of the articles The Lancet Psychiatry accepted in 2025 were accepted within 51 days of submission (n = 139); the middle half took 11–73 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
51 days median
middle half 11–73 · n = 139
Acceptance → online
41 days median
middle half 23–60 · n = 92
Change since 2023
Faster than 2023: the median fell from 70 to 51 days (90% CI -34 to -4 days).
Open access · fees
OA status not determined · ≈$7,280

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

Plan submissions to a deadline — free

How long does The Lancet Psychiatry take to accept a paper?

days045901351802020: middle half 12–89 days532020n=1182021: middle half 25–100 days562021n=1012022: middle half 50–118 days772022n=912023: middle half 29–97 days702023n=1022024: middle half 20–85 days552024n=1062025: middle half 11–73 days512025n=139
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
202513911517327.3%76%
202410620558520.8%89%
202310229709716.7%91%
202291507711814.3%91%
2021101255610022.8%84%
202011812538925.4%86%

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 40% (55 articles)030–59 days: 19% (26 articles)3060–89 days: 28% (39 articles)6090–119 days: 7% (10 articles)90120–149 days: 3% (4 articles)120150–179 days: 3% (4 articles)150180–209 days: 0% (0 articles)180210–239 days: 1% (1 articles)210240–269 days: 0% (0 articles)240270–299 days: 0% (0 articles)270300–329 days: 0% (0 articles)300330–359 days: 0% (0 articles)330360+ days: 0% (0 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–295539.6%
30–592618.7%
60–893928.1%
90–119107.2%
120–14942.9%
150–17942.9%
180–20900.0%
210–23910.7%
240–26900.0%
270–29900.0%
300–32900.0%
330–35900.0%
360+00.0%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 41 days (middle half 23–60 days, n = 92).

From submission to online publication, the median was 89 days (middle half 36–134 days, n = 92).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Subscription or hybrid (not determined). Listed APC: about $7,280 (as reported by OpenAlex).

No institutional payments for this journal are recorded in OpenAPC.

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJNo
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025Yes
Retractions0 retracted articles among 643 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission27.3% of 2025 articles
Publication volume153 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+24% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Psychology journalsMedicine journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of The Lancet Psychiatry, 51 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Asian Journal of Psychiatry69 (2025, n = 202)≈$3,820NoYes
Indian Journal of Psychiatry151 (2025, n = 150)No fee (DOAJ)YesNo
BMJ Mental Health106 (2025, n = 130)≈$4,827$4,546 (11 payments)YesYes
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology227 (2025, n = 228)≈$4,390NoYes
BMC Psychiatry158 (2025, n = 1,271)$3,390$2,722 (26 payments)YesYes
South African Journal of Psychiatry157 (2025, n = 51)≈$850YesNo
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica119 (2025, n = 71)≈$4,880NoYes
Annals of General Psychiatry159 (2025, n = 80)$3,090YesNo
General Hospital Psychiatry113 (2025, n = 132)≈$3,720NoYes
Early Intervention in Psychiatry199 (2025, n = 118)≈$4,060NoYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does The Lancet Psychiatry take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles The Lancet Psychiatry accepted in 2025 were accepted within 51 days of submission (n = 139); the middle half took 11–73 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are The Lancet Psychiatry articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 41 days of acceptance (n = 92).

Does The Lancet Psychiatry charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: about $7,280 (as reported by OpenAlex).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 2215-0366; NLM ID 101638123; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 139 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.