The version of the publication to be used for self-archiving is specified. A distinction is made between the originally submitted manuscript (preprint), the manuscript accepted for publication (postprint) and the version that is ultimately published, usually with final typesetting and final layout (version of record). The distinction is crucial because the other conditions are often specified according to the version that is to be self-archived and the conditions sometimes differ significantly depending on the version.

A time delay between the initial publication and the secondary publication (access to the full text) is required and specified.

A reference to the initial publication is required. Standard bibliographical references should be provided; some publishers also specify wordings.

Publication of the self-archived text under a specific licence is permitted or mandatory. In this case, Creative Commons licences are the standard.

The venue for the self-archiving is specified or restricted. The usual publication venues distinguished here are a personal website, a commercial repository, a non-commercial repository or an institutional repository. Publication via social networks for academics (such as ResearchGate or Academia.edu) may also be covered, although this is often explicitly prohibited.