ArXiv's Updated Rate Limit Policy

arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a massive transformation in how researchers communicate their results.

Before the advent of AI, there was an easily discernible, practical limit to the rate at which independent submissions could be produced, and arXiv’s volunteer moderators would limit submitters who were well above that threshold. With AI tools becoming more advanced and accessible to authors, the “practical limit” of how many papers can be submitted is now up for debate. As of October 1st, 2026, arXiv is instituting an updated rate limiting policy across all submitters and categories as a stopgap while we determine what may be the new best practice for authors employing more and more advanced AI tools, and to give us time to improve our moderation tools and procedures accordingly.

Open access repositories across the board are seeing a sharp increase in the number of submissions per author, per month. In September of 2016, arXiv received 9,869 submissions. In September of 2024, arXiv received 20,569 submissions. This September, arXiv received 40,363 submissions, which in turn generated almost 9,000 support tickets for arXiv staff and moderators. In only the past two years, submissions have doubled.

Advanced AI tools are helping drive these increases by making certain aspects of research faster and easier. arXiv policy permits authors to employ AI as a tool in support of their research as long as it is disclosed and the research meets arXiv’s standards of scholarly interest and advances the field of research. However, many of the submissions that arXiv is now receiving do not satisfy these requirements. Our moderators are observing an increase in thin papers of narrow scope, as well as ‘salami’ papers, where a single work is broken up and submitted as a set of smaller papers. There is also a marked increase in dense, AI-written papers. AI tools are making it easy for authors to flood arXiv and other repositories with these low-value papers.

The heart of arXiv’s process for detecting and rejecting low-quality papers is our many volunteer moderators. We are so grateful that they donate their time and expertise every day. However, a relatively small proportion of authors are submitting a large number of low-quality papers and consuming a disproportionate fraction of the moderators’ time. This is unfair to authors who continue to submit quality papers — their papers can be delayed for days or weeks as a result. Thomas Dietterich, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Oregon State University and Chair of the arXiv Editorial Advisory Council

arXiv now limits submitters to up to two submissions per calendar month, with a limit of three total active submissions at any given time. This policy update is being put into effect to equitably distribute our volunteer moderators’ time across arXiv authors, and protect the arXiv corpus from a sharp increase in inappropriate submissions.

Rate-limiting is an established arXiv policy, with limiting originally primarily left to moderator discretion. arXiv has always asked that authors follow our codes of conduct and our submission guidelines. Articles submitted to arXiv must be of original, novel, and significant self-contained research that is relevant to arXiv categories. All submissions to arXiv must meet prescribed scholarly standards and be of scholarly interest to the scientific community. This policy update strives to fairly distribute the incredibly valuable work of our volunteer moderators who check that submissions meet these standards, and we hope it will also encourage authors to curate and submit only their best work to arXiv.

Frequently Asked Questions

• If my paper is rejected, does it count towards my monthly total?
  • Yes – this rate limit is for submissions, not announced papers, because it is submissions that consume moderator time. If you submit two papers in a month, whether they are accepted or rejected, you will have to wait until the next month to submit to arXiv again. We want to encourage authors to be mindful with their work, taking care that they are submitting something substantial of scholarly interest that meets arXiv’s guidelines and standards.
• What if my submissions are in different subject areas?
  • This rate limit applies to all submissions, across all categories.
• What if both of my submissions from one month are still “on hold” in the next month?
  • If your allotted submissions from a previous month are on hold in the next month, they do not count against your submission limit for next month. However, they do count as a part of your total “active submission” limit of 3 total submissions.
• What if I have a backlog of work that I need to submit, or I need to submit a paper for a conference?
  • Since 2024, arXiv has had a limit of 3 active submissions at any time, and this limit remains in place. We ask authors who have a backlog of work to submit, or who need to submit a paper at a specific time for a conference, to plan their submissions carefully so that the monthly submission rate limits and active submission rate limits will not negatively impact them.
• If I submit a paper on behalf of myself and my co-authors, does that affect their submission rate?
  • No. All arXiv rate limit policies apply only to submitters. If you submit a paper with several co-authors, that only counts towards your submission rate, not theirs. It is important for co-authors to coordinate their submissions accordingly.
• What if I submit a paper, and then delete it before it is announced?
  • While we ask that authors only submit work that is complete, polished, and ready to be shared with their peers, we understand that authors may realize after submitting that they missed something important that needs to be corrected or updated. Submitters who delete their submitted paper before it is announced, whatever the reason, will not have that paper count toward their monthly submission or active submission rate limits.

Thank you to our scientific community for supporting us in this policy update. We rely on you to help us keep arXiv open, fast, and free, and to help us make sure submissions to arXiv are scientifically rigorous, of interest to the community, and in keeping with current academic standards.

As with all policies, we will continue to monitor the effect of this update on authors, readers, and the arXiv corpus, and modify as needed. Our goal in policy updates is to not only protect arXiv’s corpus, but to improve the arXiv experience for everyone who makes arXiv possible – authors, readers, staff, and all our volunteer moderators.