To request permission to reuse Elsevier-published content, use the Elsevier permission request form through the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink portal, which you reach by clicking “Get rights and content” on the article’s ScienceDirect page. Most requests generate a license on the spot, and many academic reuses come back at no charge. Before you start, though, check whether your reuse qualifies for one of Elsevier’s exemptions. If it does, you can skip the form entirely.
Check Whether You Actually Need Permission
Several common reuses do not require a formal request. Working through these first can save days of waiting and, in some cases, a fee.
Open Access Articles
If the article carries an orange “Open Access” label on ScienceDirect, click the license link under the title to see which Creative Commons license applies. Content under CC BY, CC BY 3.0, or CC BY 4.0 can be reused without a request, as long as you credit the source according to the license terms. CC BY-NC-ND content still requires permission for commercial reuse, such as inclusion in a textbook sold by a for-profit publisher.1Elsevier. Do I Need Permission to Reuse Open Access Material in My Chapter
Reusing Your Own Elsevier Article
If you are the author of the Elsevier article and signed a Copyright Transfer Agreement, you keep a set of retained rights. You can include the article, in full or in part, in a thesis or dissertation without written permission, provided the dissertation is not published commercially.2Elsevier. Can I Use Material From My Elsevier Journal Article Within My Thesis/Dissertation You can also reuse your own figures, tables, and excerpts in new works, whether published by Elsevier or another publisher, without a request or fee. Retained rights also cover classroom teaching, conference presentations, promoting your own work, and non-commercial Massive Open Online Courses after any applicable embargo.3Elsevier. Copyright
STM Permissions Guidelines
Elsevier is a signatory to the STM Permissions Guidelines. If your new work is being published by another STM signatory, you can reuse up to three figures, tables, or images from a single signatory publisher in a journal article free of charge. Book limits run to three per chapter and up to thirty from a single signatory for the entire book, with caps of three from any single article or chapter, five from a single book or journal issue, and six from an annual journal volume.4STM Association. 2024 Permission Guidelines If your publisher is not an STM signatory, or you need more than these limits allow, file a formal request.
Redrawn Figures
Redrawing does not automatically avoid the need for permission. If your version is substantially similar to the original, you still need a license. A color change or relabeled axis is not enough. If your version is significantly different, you can credit the source with a phrase like “Adapted from” or “Data from” and move on. Elsevier recommends requesting permission whenever any similarity exists.5Elsevier. Do I Need Permission to Redraw a Figure? How Should I Credit the Figure
What To Have Ready Before You Open the Form
Gather this information before starting RightsLink. Having it in front of you keeps the form moving:
- Source article identifiers: the Digital Object Identifier (a string beginning with “10.” followed by a prefix and suffix separated by a slash), the full article or chapter title, the authors’ names, the journal or book title, and the volume, issue, and page numbers.
- Specific content you want to reuse: the exact figure number, table number, or page range. “Figure 3 from page 412” is far more useful than “a chart from the results section.”
- Details about your new work: title, publisher name, expected publication date, format (print, electronic, or both), and intended distribution (worldwide or limited to a region).
- Your requestor type: original author, publisher, STM signatory publisher, or commercial entity. This affects both the license terms and any fee.
Filling Out the Elsevier Permission Request Form on ScienceDirect
Most requests move through RightsLink from the article’s ScienceDirect page.6Elsevier. Permissions The steps:
- Find the article on ScienceDirect. If the content is open access, check the license link first; you may not need to continue.
- Click “Get rights and content.” The button sits under the author details, next to the DOI. It opens the RightsLink portal, which pulls in the article’s metadata automatically.
- Select your reuse type from the dropdown. Options include reuse in a book or textbook, journal article, thesis, presentation, or course materials. Pick “Print and Electronic” for format and “Worldwide” for distribution unless your situation is narrower. For books, choose “Life of current edition” for duration.6Elsevier. Permissions
- Click “Quick Price” to see whether a fee applies. Many academic reuses come back at zero cost; commercial uses more often carry a charge.7Elsevier. How Can I Get Permission to Reproduce or Re-Use Elsevier Content
- Create an account or log in. RightsLink will ask for credit card or invoicing details as part of registration. That setup step does not mean you will be charged; the Quick Price result is what determines the actual cost.7Elsevier. How Can I Get Permission to Reproduce or Re-Use Elsevier Content
- Review the terms and conditions, then confirm. Most straightforward requests generate an instant license you can download right away.
If RightsLink flags your request for manual review (an unusual reuse type or content with a co-publisher, for example), you will get an email with the terms and any fee. You can accept or decline at that point.
Content Not on ScienceDirect
For Elsevier material that does not appear on ScienceDirect, such as older editions or certain imprints, Elsevier provides a separate online permission request form. The link lives on Elsevier’s permissions policy page. Requests through this route go to Elsevier’s Global Rights Department, which quotes a standard turnaround of 15 working days. If you have a tighter deadline, note it in the comments field on the form.7Elsevier. How Can I Get Permission to Reproduce or Re-Use Elsevier Content
ClinicalKey book content follows the ScienceDirect pattern: go to the chapter, click “Get rights and content,” and proceed through RightsLink.6Elsevier. Permissions
What You Will Pay
Fees depend on your reuse type, your requestor category, and the scope of the license. Quick Price gives you the exact figure before you commit. Academic and non-commercial reuses often qualify for a zero-cost license. Commercial uses, like a for-profit textbook or a pharmaceutical marketing piece, more often carry a fee. Elsevier does not publish a fixed fee schedule, so Quick Price for your specific selections is the only reliable way to know the cost in advance.
Crediting the Source After the License Issues
The license agreement specifies a credit line that must appear alongside the reused content in your published work. Elsevier’s standard format for journal content lists the article authors, article title, journal name, volume number, issue number, the page where the borrowed item appears, and the year of publication. For book content, include chapter authors, chapter title, book editors, book title, page number, city of publication, publisher, and year.8Elsevier. Author Guidelines for Use of Borrowed Material Your specific license may call for additional wording. Follow whatever the license document says, because publishers and manuscript editors do check.
Save a copy of the license agreement with your project files. Journal and book publishers routinely ask for proof of permission during the final manuscript review, and losing the license means starting over.
Why Skipping the Form Is a Bad Trade
Reproducing copyrighted material without a license exposes you to a federal copyright infringement claim under Title 17 of the United States Code. The copyright holder does not need to prove financial loss. They can elect statutory damages instead, which run from $750 to $30,000 per work infringed for non-willful violations. Willful infringement raises the ceiling to $150,000 per work. An infringer who proves they had no reason to believe the use was infringing may see the floor drop to $200.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 US Code 504 – Remedies for Infringement: Damages and Profits A prevailing copyright holder can also seek an injunction that pulls the infringing publication from distribution, and courts have discretion to award attorney fees to the prevailing party. A few minutes on RightsLink is a far cheaper path than defending any of that.