We are pleased to announce the re-launch of the Crossref Service Providers Program. From today, we are accepting applications from organisations providing tools for metadata registration to Crossref members. Participation in this program is free and the application involves an accreditation process to determine eligibility and the appropriate participation tier.
As a membership organisation, Crossref supports its members to provide rich and complete metadata which facilitates integrity judgements, increases discoverability, linking among scholarly objects and activities, and improves transparency. Service providers are key collaborators in this work because they enable our members to adopt better metadata practices.
Three years ago, we asked our members what they needed from Crossref’s metadata. We received confirmation that we were going in the right direction, as well as some new ideas to explore. This helped set the course for our metadata development work since then, and continues to guide where we’re headed next.
For many years, PubPub has made it possible for communities to assign DOIs to a range of outputs and component Pubs. Knowledge Futures and Crossref are building together to test the limits of what’s possible for high-volume, high-granularity DOI management. That means fast prototypes, real building, and learning through the process.
Last September, we announced we’d be deprecating co-access and encouraging its ~100 users to use our multiple resolution service. We announced that no new DOIs will be placed in co-access from 1st of July 2026 and that the ensuing 6 months should be spent cleaning up records already in co-access and moving them over to multiple resolution.Â
We’re here with a reminder: co-access is being deprecated…and with an update: To help with the transition to multiple resolution, we offer a tool that simplifies the process and documentation about how to set up multiple resolution.Â
We are pleased to announce the re-launch of the Crossref Service Providers Program. From today, we are accepting applications from organisations providing tools for metadata registration to Crossref members. Participation in this program is free and the application involves an accreditation process to determine eligibility and the appropriate participation tier.
As a membership organisation, Crossref supports its members to provide rich and complete metadata which facilitates integrity judgements, increases discoverability, linking among scholarly objects and activities, and improves transparency. Service providers are key collaborators in this work because they enable our members to adopt better metadata practices.
We ran an earlier version of this program which was paused in 2022 for review. We are now pleased to reintroduce the program as a new structure for our collaboration with service providers. If you are an organisation that provides tools that enable record registration for Crossref members, we invite you to apply for the program via this application form.
Scope and goals of the program
Crossref service providers have historically included organisations such as hosting platforms, manuscript submission systems, grant management systems, XML and metadata providers, and other general publishing services organisations that work with Crossref members to create, register, and/or display metadata on their behalf. As we re-launch the program, the initial focus will be purely on service providers that enable content registration for Crossref members. In the future, and based on community feedback, the program may expand to include additional types of service providers.
The primary goal of the program is to enable registration and maintenance of high-quality and rich metadata by Crossref members, contributing to a more complete research nexus. We aim to achieve this through a closer collaboration between Crossref and service providers. Participants of the Service Providers Program will make reasonable efforts to accommodate any changes made to the Crossref schema, promote best metadata practices as per Crossref Participation Reports, and share information about the services that they are able to integrate and provide to their clients.
Participants of the Service Providers Program will commit to:
Staying up to date with Crossref services and policies, including participation in ongoing meetings and communications.
Providing feedback to Crossref on our services.
Giving Crossref information about their client service offerings and workflows, including metadata delivery options and test accounts.
Making reasonable efforts to accommodate changes to the Crossref schema and services.
Ensuring that their clients’ content and landing pages are kept up to date (including ensuring that clients’ DOIs resolve to active landing pages at all times).
Participants of the Service Providers Program will benefit from learning about changes and new services ahead of time coupled with regular updates about our services and policies. We will also list all accredited service providers on our website, and all participants will receive a digital Crossref badge to display on their website. We look forward to providing participants with credentials to access our test system for testing integrations, and providing training where necessary.
Service Providers Program tiers
Better metadata support helps improve discoverability, transparency, and the integrity of the scholarly record. We developed two Service Providers Program tiers in order to signal to the community the richness of metadata and support these organisations offer to Crossref members. At the Basic Tier, participants are able to provide members with the core metadata support, while the Advanced Tier includes additional features that enable richer metadata support for Crossref members – the details are laid out below.
Application and accreditation process
Applications to join the program are being accepted via this form. The application form asks for basic organisational information including your contact details and the services you provide to Crossref members. You will then be asked about your organisation’s technical capabilities and workflows, including your ability to support metadata registration, manage multiple client prefixes, and comply with the display guidelines for Crossref DOIs. The form also includes questions about metadata support, such as whether your platform can facilitate the deposit and update of recommended and optional metadata elements, which schema versions you are able to support, and the provision of alternative metadata delivery options.
We recommend reviewing the questions to ensure that the appropriate technical and operational requirements can be met before beginning the application. If you require clarification on any of these questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Maintain communication channels with Crossref and/or participate in trainings.
Notify Crossref when large-scale metadata updates are planned (i.e. when you are aware of daily updates exceeding 500,000 DOIs updated by a single client (Crossref member)).
Use Crossref members’ credentials to register content on their behalf.
Follow industry best practices for credentials security and account protection.
Advanced Tier requirements and questions
In addition to meeting all the Basic Tier requirements, applicants must confirm whether they:
Provide alternative metadata delivery options.
Support recommended and optional metadata elements.
Support latest schema versions (5.3.1 and above).
Following a review of application forms, we will schedule accreditation calls from August 2026 onward that will involve demonstrations of the required functionality and an assessment of the applicant’s ability to meet the requirements of the program. This process will help determine the appropriate tier.
We ask that participants on the Service Providers Program renew their accreditation at the beginning of each calendar year, starting in 2028. This will entail the submission of a re-accreditation form which may contain new requirements such as support for newer schema versions.
We look forward to working more closely with service providers to support richer metadata and seamless infrastructure workflows.
