A rejection that arrives with a transfer offer is a decision point, not a consolation prize. Knowing what moves, what stays behind, and what it may cost lets you choose well.
What a manuscript transfer is
A manuscript transfer between journals happens when a journal declines your paper and offers to pass it to another journal, usually one from the same publisher. Your files and submission details move across instead of being re-entered, and in some cases so do the reviewer reports. The process goes by several names: a cascade, cascade peer review, a referral, a transfer desk.
Transfer offers are built around fit. A journal may be more selective than your findings can carry, or its scope may not match your topic, while a sister journal would consider the same work seriously. Springer Nature's guidance acknowledges that editors sometimes reject sound manuscripts for reasons other than quality, such as a poor match with aims and scope.
Offers reach you by two main routes:
- Editor referral. The handling editor names one or more journals in the decision letter.
- Transfer desk. A publisher team or matching tool suggests journals from the publisher's portfolio. At Wiley, a Transfer Desk Assistant uses machine learning to suggest up to eight journals. At Springer Nature, subject specialists on the Transfer Desk send recommendations after the editor-in-chief refers the manuscript.
Most transfer offers are a rejection from the first journal plus an invitation to submit to a second, not an acceptance. There are exceptions: Elsevier's Article Transfer Service page says authors with an enhanced transfer offer "may even receive conditional acceptance or guaranteed peer review at the destination journal." Read your offer to see which kind you have, because the two ask for very different planning.
How a cascade works, step by step
The screens differ between submission systems, but the sequence is broadly the same:
- The first journal decides. The offer may come without peer review, after an editor's scope check, or after reviewers have reported.
- You receive the offer. It usually sits in the decision letter or a separate email with a link and a list of suggested journals.
- You choose. You pick a destination, or decline. Nothing moves without your agreement.
- The files move. The manuscript, supplementary files and submission data are copied into the receiving journal's system, with reviewer reports if that service transfers them.
- You complete the submission. You log in at the new journal, select the article type, supply anything it requires and the first did not, and upload a revised manuscript if you choose.
- The new editor assesses it. The receiving journal makes its own decision on its own criteria.
Step 5 carries more work than it looks like it should. Elsevier's guidance on its Article Transfer Service notes that the new journal may have different article types, different title or abstract limits, and additional required files. Choose the article type first, because it changes what else the system asks for.
What happens to the reviews
The answer varies by publisher and sometimes by journal. Here is what three publishers' own support pages say:
| Publisher service | Reviewer reports | Deadlines and declining |
|---|---|---|
| Wiley Refer and Transfer | Transferred along with the files, where reports exist | Editor referrals valid for 120 days; Transfer Desk Assistant offers do not expire, but Wiley recommends acting within 30 days |
| Springer Nature Transfer Desk | Not transferred: "we will not transfer the previous reports". This covers the Transfer Desk's BMC, Palgrave and Springer titles, so a transfer offer from a different Springer Nature imprint may follow its own rule | Declining the offer to use the Transfer Desk cannot be undone |
| Elsevier Article Transfer Service | Transferred: Elsevier's reviewer FAQ tells reviewers their comments "will be transferred if the submission is offered a transfer and the author accepts it" | Offers expire after 130 days by default; declined or expired offers cannot be reopened |
Policies change and individual journals configure their systems differently, so treat the table as a reason to check rather than a rule. If your decision letter does not say whether the reports will travel, ask the editorial office before you agree.
When reports do move, Wiley's Refer and Transfer FAQ says reviewer comments "will be considered with respect to the requirements of the new journal," and that the need for further review is judged case by case. A reviewer who called your work too specialised for a broad journal is not saying it is flawed, and the receiving editor can read it that way.
When reports do not move, use them anyway. They are the most specific feedback you will get on this version, and fixing what they identified improves your chances wherever the paper goes next.
Deciding whether to accept the offer
A transfer saves administrative effort. It does not choose the journal for you. Work through these questions with your co-authors, since a new target journal is their decision too.
Would you have chosen this journal yourself? The suggestions come from one publisher's portfolio, so the best home for your paper may be elsewhere. Check the destination's aims and scope, read several recent articles, look at the editorial board, and confirm indexing claims in the databases themselves rather than on the journal's website. Our guide to choosing the right journal covers these checks in detail.
What will it cost? A suggested journal may be fully open access, with a fee charged on acceptance; Springer Nature's Transfer Desk says it considers both open access and subscription journals. Check the fee, the waiver policy, and whether the licence and access model meet your funder's requirements.
What did the reviewers say? Use this rule of thumb:
| Situation | Reasonable response |
|---|---|
| Reviews were positive on methods, and the rejection was about scope or novelty | A transfer, with reports attached if possible, is often a sound choice |
| No peer review happened and the offer followed a scope check | Judge the destination purely on fit, as you would any new submission |
| Reviewers found fundamental problems with design or analysis | Fix the problems first; moving the same manuscript will not remove them |
| The suggested journals serve a different readership from the one you need | Decline and submit elsewhere yourself |
Is the clock running? Note the expiry date on the offer and decide inside it, because declining is a one-way door in some systems. You remain free to submit anywhere yourself either way.
Revising before the manuscript moves
The window between accepting an offer and completing the submission is your cheapest chance to improve the paper before a second editor sees it. Wiley encourages revising the files and responding to reviewer comments at this stage but does not require it, and notes the new editor may set different requirements.
Work through the manuscript in this order:
- Address the reviews. Make the changes you agree with and write a point-by-point response, even if the new journal does not ask for one. Our guide on responding to peer review comments shows how to structure it.
- Match the new journal's requirements. Check the article type, word and abstract limits, structured abstract headings, reference style, and the wording of its ethics, consent, funding and data availability statements.
- Re-do the clinical paperwork the transfer does not carry. This is where medical transfers go wrong, because the receiving journal applies its own rules to material the first journal had already accepted:
- Reporting checklists. A completed checklist points at the first journal's page and line numbers, so revision breaks it. Regenerate the relevant EQUATOR Network checklist, CONSORT for a randomised trial, STROBE for an observational study, PRISMA for a systematic review, against the file you are actually submitting, and check whether the new journal wants a different version or extension.
- Trial registration. Repeat the registry name and number in the abstract where the receiving journal wants them, and confirm the registry record still matches your primary outcomes.
- Ethics and consent. Approval letters, the committee's name and reference number, and consent statements may need re-uploading in the new journal's format, and a journal with a different readership may ask for consent to publish identifying details the first did not.
- Replace old files, not just add new ones. Remove the transferred manuscript file before uploading the revised one, so the editor does not receive two versions.
- Rewrite the cover letter. Name the new journal, say which journal the paper came from, state whether reviews are attached, and summarise what changed. The advice in how to write a journal cover letter applies, with the fit sentence rewritten for the new journal.
Before you complete the transfer, confirm that every co-author has seen the revised version and agrees to the new target journal.
Misunderstandings that cause problems
"I can submit elsewhere while I wait." Once the transfer is complete, the manuscript is under consideration at the receiving journal. Submitting the same manuscript to another journal at the same time is duplicate submission, whichever route it took to get there.
"Negative reviews will follow me and sink the paper." Where reports are transferred, the receiving editor weighs them against that journal's own standards. A clear response showing how you addressed each point lets the new editor see the criticisms have been dealt with.
"Readers will know the paper was transferred." Practice varies, but Springer Nature says a transfer is not indicated in the published article, online or in the PDF.
"The ethics and registration paperwork carries across automatically." Files move; approvals do not re-verify themselves. The receiving journal may want the ethics approval letter, consent documentation or data sharing statement in its own format, and disclosure forms follow each journal's process rather than the publisher's: the ICMJE disclosure page tells authors to check the journal they are submitting to for instructions on submitting the completed form.
When you receive a transfer offer
- Read the letter for the reason, what the offer promises, whether peer review happened, and the expiry date
- Find out whether reviewer reports will be transferred
- Share the letter and any reviews with all co-authors
- Check each suggested journal's scope, recent articles, indexing, fees and licence, and compare them with your own shortlist outside the publisher
- Confirm which reporting checklist, ethics approval and consent files the new journal wants re-uploaded, and in what format
- Check the trial registration details still match the manuscript and sit where the new journal wants them
- If you accept, revise, prepare a response document and rewrite the cover letter
- Complete the submission, note the new manuscript number, and submit nowhere else while it is under consideration
Treat it as a fresh choice
A transfer spares you re-uploading files and re-entering submission details. Whether it is the right move depends on the receiving journal, not on that convenience. Give the suggested titles the scrutiny you would give any journal, and use the reviews to improve the paper before it moves.
If you are weighing a transfer offer against journals outside the publisher's portfolio, Directive Publications gathers its publishing standards on For Authors and Publishing Standards, alongside its peer review process. Each journal's own page carries its scope.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to reviewer comments when a manuscript is transferred?
It depends on the publisher and the journal. Some transfer services send any reviewer reports along with the manuscript files, while others move only the submission. The Springer Nature Transfer Desk says it will not transfer the previous reports, but that covers its BMC, Palgrave and Springer titles, and an offer from another imprint may work differently. Check the decision letter or ask the editorial office, and use the comments to revise either way.
Do I have to accept a transfer offer from a journal?
No. Transferring is optional, and the large publisher services state that a manuscript is not moved without the author's approval. If you decline or let the offer expire, you can still submit to any journal yourself, although some systems cannot reopen an offer once it has been declined or has expired.
Does a manuscript transfer guarantee acceptance?
Usually not. Springer Nature's Transfer Desk states plainly that a transfer does not guarantee publication and that all journals are editorially independent, so further peer review or another rejection is possible. Some offers promise more: Elsevier says an enhanced transfer offer may carry conditional acceptance or guaranteed peer review at the destination journal. Read your own offer to see which kind you have.
Can I revise my manuscript before it moves to the new journal?
Usually yes. Wiley, Springer Nature and Elsevier all let authors revise the manuscript before completing the submission at the receiving journal. If reviews travel with the paper, upload a revised file and a point-by-point response so the new editor can see what changed.
Will the receiving journal charge an article processing charge?
That depends on the receiving journal, not on the fact that the paper was transferred. Suggested journals can include fully open access titles that charge a fee on acceptance as well as subscription or hybrid titles. Check the destination journal's fee page, its waiver policy and your funder's requirements before you agree.