November 1, 2025

Journal of Regulatory Affairs: A guide for submitting articles

Author(s)

Journal of Regulatory Affairs

Updated 10 November 2025

In January 2026, RAPS launched the Journal of Regulatory Affairs, a bimonthly (i.e., six times a year) publication building on the success of its predecessor, RF Quarterly. This independent, peer-reviewed journal delivers original, research-based content on emerging issues in the global regulatory landscape. The new journal also publishes Online Only articles, which may or may not be included in a subsequent bimonthly issue. It reaches an audience of 30,000 regulatory professionals globally.

One of the key goals for the Journal of Regulatory Affairs is to expand the current global and regional coverage of the regulatory space. It will also:

Continue to publish topic-focused articles based on the 2026 Editorial Calendar;
Include ad hoc articles on topics of author interest/specialty not on the calendar;
Publish dissertations/capstone projects – in full, or as articles based on the work;
Publish articles adapted from Convergence and Euro Convergence presentations; and
Provide information with a strong “how-to” subtext for use in the real-world regulatory setting.

We invite regulatory professionals and experts to consider contributing to this quality, evidence-based journal written by regulatory professionals, for regulatory professionals, and validated through a double-blind peer review process.

Resources at a glance

Style Guidelines for Authors
Presubmission checklist
2026 Editorial Calendar
Article document settings
RAPS Media Planner

A comprehensive editorial and article submission guide

The following information covers:

Journal mission and scope
AI-generated content, plagiarism, and promotional content
Submission process
Editorial process: Review, editing, proofreading, and publication
Editorial expectations
Examples of published articles
Archives for RF Quarterly and monthly articles
Editorial contact
Advertising sales

Journal mission and scope

The Journal of Regulatory Affairs will replace the current RF Quarterly and be published bimonthly as an online RAPS publication. As noted, it will also publish Online Only articles, which may or may not be included in a subsequent bimonthly issue. Articles will be:

Original to RAPS and member exclusive
Written by regulatory subject matter experts, although new writers and newcomers to the profession are welcome to contribute

Mission – To:

Publish in-depth, evidence-based, original content, exclusive to RAPS members;
Expand its coverage of global regional regulatory issues and trends;
Provide information for use as guidance or a resource in daily regulatory work;
Allow authors to share their knowledge and expertise with their regulatory peers;
Publish dissertations/capstone projects – in full, or articles based on the work;
Publish articles adapted from Convergence and Euro Convergence presentations; and
Advance existing regulatory literature.

Scope

Global drug and medical device regulation and related science and technology
Product lifespan, from development through postmarket surveillance
Career- and workplace-related topics, (e.g., professional development, career advancement, mentoring, leadership, diversity, skills development)

Note Authors who hold the RAC can receive credits toward their recertification requirements (see Recertification Guide).

AI-generated content, plagiarism, and promotional content

AI-generated content will not be considered for publication. References also should not be generated by AI. Articles must be informed by authors’ residual regulatory knowledge and supported by original-source references. In addition, when writing about AI, authors must provide critical assessments of the technology, addressing both its challenges and limitations, as well as its advantages.

Likewise, plagiarized content or content promoting or referencing a tool or service provided by an author or the company they work for will not be considered for publication.

Any of the above contributions will not be sent for review and instead, returned to the sender.

Submission process

Presubmission checklist
Before submitting the final version of the article for peer review, authors should note the requirements for:

References, as outlined on pp. 7-11 of the Style Guidelines;
Article presentation, as outlined in the Article sample document and shown in these two images: article font + type size and article paragraph settings; and
Checking the article before submission, as outlined in the Presubmission checklist (also on p. 44 of the Style Guidelines).

The above tasks ensure closer compliance with the Guidelines and can significantly streamline the review and editorial timelines.

Submitting the article
As already noted, the submission must comply with the Style Guidelines, particularly the requirements outlined in the Presubmission checklist on page 44 of the Guidelines.

Corresponding author
Articles with more than one author must have a designated corresponding author who will be the sole liaison with the editorial team through the submission-to-publication stages. The corresponding author should be a senior member of the writing team who can address substantive editing queries and others related to the article, coordinate the article proofreading process, and sign off on the final PDF version of the article.

Article presentation
Submitted articles must:

Cite references in the text as superscript numbers corresponding to source reference information in a Reference list at the end of the article
Be a minimum of 3,200 words, including references
Be structured to include:

Article title
Author(s) name(s)
Abstract
Keywords (3-5, in alphabetical order)
Introduction/background that includes the stated purpose of the article
The main body of the article, with subsections clearly marked with subheads
Conclusion
Abbreviations list
Author biography/biographies
Disclosures and/or acknowledgment (only if needed), and
References
Where possible, be accompanied by tables and figures

Figures
Figures should be sent as an accompanying editable PowerPoint file. (Images of the figures may be included as part of the text, but the editable PowerPoint version must also accompany the submission.)

Each figure must include its source information. If it is a reproduction from another publication or is not from an open access source, the author must provide confirmation in writing that they have permission to use and reproduce it.

The completed article must be emailed as a Word document (not a PDF) to [email protected]

Editorial process: Review, revision, editing, proofreading, and publication

Authors work directly with the editorial staff, from initial enquiries about submission, through the review and editing phases, to publication of the final version.

Reviewers are seasoned regulatory subject matter experts. We do not use AI for reviews.

Technical review
The submitted article will undergo an initial technical review to ensure it complies with the Style Guidelines and requirements outlined in the Presubmission checklist (p. 44). If it does not comply with those requirements, it will be returned to the author for technical corrections before advancing to peer review.

Peer review
If the submission complies with the Style Guidelines, the article will be de-identified and sent to reviewers (usually 2-3) for double-blind peer review.

The article is reviewed for:

Relevance to a regulatory audience [individuals, organizations, reader experience level]
Technical accuracy, including adequate and properly cited references
Timeliness
Quality of presentation
Organization and structure, incl. an abstract with a clearly defined goal(s) and conclusion with a succinct summary and important takeaways
Areas for improvement [specific suggestions are provided to guide the author with revisions ]

Recommendations for publication include:

Yes, as is
Revise, with suggested changes
Revise, with mandatory changes
No, not suitable (does not align with journal mission or scope; is AI-generated; is promotional of a product or service; is an opinion/perspective piece)

Revision
Most articles require revision based on reviewer feedback:

After peer review, the editorial team will consolidate the reviewer comments and return the reviewed article and comments to the corresponding author for revision.
The corresponding author will co-ordinate with the other authors in addressing the reviewer requests and any additional requests from the editorial team. If a particular reviewer issue is not addressed by the authors, written support for that decision must be provided.
Revisions and updates must be done in Track Changes so that the reviewers can easily see the revisions and new content. If revisions are not in Track Changes, they will be returned to the corresponding author for the changes to be tracked.

Editing and proofreading (Word document)
The article will undergo a substantive edit and a second edit once the revisions have been sent back to the editorial team. It will then be returned to the corresponding author as a Word document for a final round of proofing before publication.

All proofreading edits must be done in Track Changes.

Authors must consider this their final opportunity for making any substantive or detailed text or reference changes.

The corresponding author will email the proofread article to the editorial staff, who will check, approve, and prepare it for publication.

At this stage, each author must also:

Sign the copyright release form, which will be included in the initial email containing the article for proofreading. The article will not be published until the all authors, expect those working for the US Food and Drug Administration, have signed the form and it has been returned to RAPS.
Provide a recent, good quality, hi-res headshot of themselves to run with the article. The image should:
Be in color
Be about 4” x 5” in size
Be at least 150 dpi, or about 600 x 750 pixels
Have a background, that is, it should not be close cropped
Have a solid background, that is, no distracting background elements

Checking the article PDF
The corresponding author will also receive a PDF of the article for final check. As already noted, major changes, edits, and rewrites will not be accommodated at this stage. The corresponding author must ensure that all such changes were addressed during the proofreading stage.

Publication of the article

Each issue of the new journal will be compiled into a PDF. The full issue and the individual article PDFs will be published online and sent to each contributing author.
RAPS will also publish ad hoc Online Only articles, which may or may not be included in a subsequent bimonthly issue. The final, author-approved Word document version of the article will be published online, and authors will receive a PDF of the article.
The full journal issue and individual articles will be highlighted on social media, including LinkedIn, and newsletters, reaching 30,000 regulatory professionals globally.

Editorial expectations

As already mentioned, content should be original and exclusive to RAPS. The article must be submitted in accordance with the Style Guidelines, with particular attention to the Presubmission checklist requirements on p. 44 of the Guidelines. To reiterate, articles should:

Add value to and expand the broader body of the regulatory literature;
Not be AI generated – such content will not be considered for publication and will be returned to the person who sent it;
Support statements of fact through references to the original, primary source in the regulatory literature, including laws and regulations/guidance;
Be written from a neutral, non-advocating perspective;Not promote a product and/or service offered by any author or author’s company; and
Be more formal in tone rather than conversational or journalistic (no clichés, verb contractions, or addressing the reader as “you”).

Note The editorial team expects to deal directly with the lead or corresponding author and regulatory specialists, not through communications or marketing intermediaries.

Examples of published articles

Archives for past RF Quarterly issues and monthly articles
RF Quarterly, published since March 2021, and monthly Regulatory Focus peer-reviewed articles (since January 2012), will continue to be published through December 2025. From January 2026, they will continue to be available as archived content:

RF Quarterly – Current issue
RF Quarterly – All articles
Regulatory Focus – Monthly articles

Editorial contact Renée Matthews, Manager Editor, and Anna Han, Content Editor, at [email protected]

Advertising sales Eric Gershowitz • +1 410-584-1983 • RAPS Media Planner

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