ICMJE Recommendations ("The Uniform Requirements")
Where can I find the URMs?
The ICMJE has revised the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts (URMs). To better reflect its current content and purpose the document has been renamed, Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations). The ICMJE Recommendations may be found here.
How do I obtain a print copy of the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations)?
The ICMJE does not publish print copies of the current ICMJE Recommendations. The official and most current document is freely available to the public at on the ICMJE web site. Interested users can download and print a PDF version of this document.
Related: Who Should Use the Recommendations?
Can I translate/reprint the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations)?
Reprints/Translations of ICMJE Recommendations/Editorials
Other organizations should not reprint in their own publications or post the ICMJE recommendations on their own websites, but are welcome to post a link to the freely available, periodically updated official version on www.ICMJE.org. Official translations of ICMJE editorials and recommendations are those produced by ICMJE members and are posted as a link to the original English version when available.
The ICMJE welcomes organizations to translate the ICMJE Recommendations into languages other than English for non-commercial purposes. However, the ICMJE does not have the resources to translate, to back translate, or to review or approve translated versions of the document. Thus, any translations should prominently include the following statement:
"This is a (insert language name) language translation/reprint of the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. (insert name of organization) prepared this reprint/translation with support from (insert name of funding source, if any). The ICMJE has not endorsed nor approved the contents of this reprint/translation. The official version of the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals is located at www.ICMJE.org. Users should cite this official version when citing the document.”
Organizations that translate the ICMJE Recommendations should notify the ICMJE of that translation by sending an e-mail to the ICMJE secretariat office: icmje@acponline.org and provide a link to the translation. ICMJE will post that link on ICMJE.org.
We do not permit republication of ICMJE editorials/notices or unofficial translations by non-member organizations. We recommend that interested journals and organizations instead publish/post a concise commentary or notice pointing to the material on ICMJE.org.
Related: Translations of Recommendations
How do I cite the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals?
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [homepage on the Internet]. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals [insert month/day/year you accessed site] Available from: http://www.ICMJE.org.
Which journals follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations)?
The editors of 17 journals are currently official members of the ICMJE: Annals of Internal Medicine, The BMJ, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Deutsches Ärzteblatt (German Medical Journal), Ethiopian Medical Journal, JAMA, Journal of Korean Medical Science, المجلة الطبية التونسية (Medical Tunisia), Medwave, The National Medical Journal of India, Nature Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, New Zealand Medical Journal, PLOS Medicine, and The Lancet. The Committee also includes representatives from the US National Library of Science and the World Association of Medical Editors.
A large number of journals follow the ICMJE Recommendations. ICMJE no longer maintains a list of journals who self-report that they follow the ICMJE Recommendations see add link to April 2025 announcement).