DOIs for conference proceedings
How a conference gets Crossref DOIs for its proceedings and every paper in them, what each record carries, and what we do in the organiser's own name.
Every paper, its own DOI
The conference, the proceedings volume and each paper registered with Crossref — every record shown to you before anything is sent.
From the spreadsheet you have
The accepted papers as your conference system exports them: titles, authors, abstracts. We read it; you check each record; then it is registered.
In your own name
Registered under the Crossref account of the society, university or publisher that issues the proceedings. Crossref's fees are on its own fee page.
Questions organisers ask
Can a conference give its papers DOIs?
Yes. Crossref registers conference proceedings: one record for the conference itself (its name, acronym, number, place and dates), one for the proceedings volume, and one DOI for every paper in it. The volume can have a DOI of its own as well.
Who registers them, and in whose name?
The DOIs are registered under a Crossref member's own account — the society, university or publisher that issues the proceedings. Smart Scholars is a Crossref Service Provider: we prepare and register the records with the member's own Crossref login, so the DOIs stay in the organiser's name. A conference with no member behind it joins Crossref first, or publishes through a member.
What does each paper need?
Its own page on the conference or publisher site — the page the DOI leads to — with the title, the authors and the abstract, and the PDF. A DOI that leads to a list of all the papers, or to a PDF alone, is not what readers or Crossref expect.
Is an ISBN required?
An ISBN for the proceedings is recommended, and Crossref's record has a place for it. Proceedings without one can still be registered: the record then states why there is none.
What does a complete record carry?
The conference, the proceedings and, for each paper, its title, every author with their ORCID iD and affiliation, the pages or paper number, the date, the abstract, the licence and the reference list. The reference list is what lets the papers be counted when others cite them.
Will DOIs get the proceedings indexed?
DOIs make the papers findable and citable, and a complete record is what indexes read. Whether Scopus, Web of Science or any other index lists the proceedings is their own decision; nobody can promise it.
We already have the papers in a spreadsheet. Is that enough?
Usually, yes. Most conference systems export the accepted papers — titles, authors, abstracts — to a spreadsheet. We read it, show you every record exactly as it will be sent, and register nothing until you have checked it.
After the conference
A DOI is meant to work for good. When the conference site moves or closes, the papers' DOIs must be pointed at their new pages, or every citation of them leads nowhere. We check every DOI at doi.org and Crossref, and we put the addresses right when a site moves — so the proceedings outlive the conference website.
Smart Scholars is accredited by Crossref as a Service Provider (Basic tier, from 1 October 2026). Crossref's list of service providers · Crossref's fees
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