Manual screening workflow
Predatory journal checker
This is not an automatic blacklist or a certification tool. It is a practical workflow for deciding whether a journal deserves trust before you submit, review, recommend, or pay.
Maintained by the Beallslists.com editorial review team · Last reviewed: June 19, 2026
The 12 checks
- Search the journal title, publisher, acronym, and domain in this archive.
- Confirm the exact title and ISSN in an independent ISSN record.
- Check whether the journal title imitates another title or uses a recently changed domain.
- Verify the publisher’s ownership, address, and contact information.
- Check whether editors are real, relevant, and publicly connected to the journal.
- Read the peer-review policy. Look for process details, not slogans.
- Confirm APCs, waiver rules, withdrawal fees, refunds, copyright, and licenses before submission.
- Verify indexing directly in official databases.
- Check whether claimed metrics are recognized or invented.
- Read a few recent articles for scope, language quality, citations, and editorial consistency.
- Look for correction, retraction, plagiarism, conflict-of-interest, and complaints policies.
- Ask a librarian, mentor, research office, or funder when the evidence is mixed.
How to score your findings
Use a simple traffic-light system. Green means the claim is independently verified. Yellow means unclear or incomplete. Red means contradicted by official records, hidden, or implausible. A journal with several red items should be avoided until the publisher provides convincing evidence.
Checker FAQ
Can a journal be safe if it is not in DOAJ or Scopus?
Possibly. Not every legitimate journal is indexed everywhere. The issue is whether the journal accurately describes its status and provides transparent editorial practice.
Is a fast review always bad?
No, but guaranteed acceptance or review that is unrealistically fast for the article type and field is a warning sign.
Example screening note
A useful screening note might read: “The journal claims Scopus coverage, but the exact ISSN is not found in the official source list. The editorial board has names but no institutional profile links. APC information is visible, but withdrawal fees are not explained. Recommendation: do not submit until indexing and editorial-board evidence are clarified.” This type of note is balanced, specific, and easier to defend than a simple label.
For students and early-career researchers
If a journal contacts you first, treat that as a reason to check carefully. Reputable journals may invite papers, but they rarely promise acceptance before peer review. Ask your supervisor or librarian before sending unpublished work to an unfamiliar submission system.
Useful external references
These links are included because they are practical, public starting points for researchers. They should be used alongside local institutional policies and the current evidence for a specific journal or publisher.