Journal profile · Medicine, Legal
Journal of Forensic Sciences
ISSN 0022-1198 · eISSN 1556-4029 · Wiley-Blackwell · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1956
Journal of Forensic Sciences: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.89; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,330; median 108 days to acceptance (103 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 279 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Forensic Sciences is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Forensic and Genetic Research, Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies and Forensic Fingerprint Detection Methods, together about 38.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS) is the official publication of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). It is devoted to the publication of original investigations, observations, scholarly inquiries and reviews in various branches of the forensic sciences. These include anthropology, criminalistics, digital and multimedia sciences, engineering and applied sciences, pathology/biology, psychiatry and behavioral science, jurisprudence, odontology, questioned documents, and toxicology. Similar submissions dealing with forensic aspects of other sciences and the social sciences are also accepted, as are submissions dealing with scientifically sound emerging science disciplines. The content and/or views expressed in the JFS are not necessarily those of the AAFS, the JFS Editorial Board, the organizations with which authors are affiliated, or the publisher of JFS. All manuscript submissions are double-blind peer-reviewed.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine, Legal
Editor-in-chief Michael A. PeatPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Forensic and Genetic ResearchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology17.6%
- Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology StudiesArts and Humanities13%
- Forensic Fingerprint Detection MethodsSocial Sciences7.6%
- Forensic Toxicology and Drug AnalysisPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics6.5%
- Molecular Biology Techniques and ApplicationsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.7%
- Autopsy Techniques and OutcomesMedicine5.5%
- Forensic Entomology and Diptera StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.3%
- Restraint-Related DeathsMedicine4.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Legal | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medicine, Legal | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Legal | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.89LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.54LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.16LetPub ·
- h-index
- 87LetPub ·
- h-index
- 154OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6,593OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.79OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 29.23%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 247LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 258Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 857,317Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 13,159 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 226 | 133 | 23 |
| 2025 | 279 | 144 | 438 |
| 2024 | 244 | 147 | 882 |
| 2023 | 268 | 159 | 1,702 |
| 2022 | 228 | 60 | 1,750 |
| 2021 | 318 | 52 | 2,695 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
108 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 81 days – 148 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 17 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 128 days
- Sample
- 103 articles with submission and acceptance dates (556 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 2 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 39%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 39%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 37 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 37 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 100 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,330 / EUR 3,620 / GBP 2,870 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 6
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted8
- book reviewBook Review – A review of a book or other publication of interest to the forensic science community or closely related fields.Length not stated
- case reportCase Report – A brief description or analysis of an unusual case or a small series of cases.Length not stated
- commentaryCommentary– The EIC and/or Associate Editors may invite respected researchers to submit a Commentary on his/her area of expertise on a paper to be published in …Length not stated
- critical reviewCritical Review – JFS welcomes detailed Critical Reviews of a topic area of interest to forensic science.Length not stated
- letterLetter – Usually a discussion on a manuscript previously published in JFS, or an issue of interest to the AAFS.Length not stated
- original paperOriginal Paper – A full-length research report (hereinafter referred to as "Paper").Length not stated
- replyReply – Usually an author(s) response to a Letter commenting on their published work.Length not stated
- technical noteTechnical Note – A description of a technical aspect of a field or issue, a report on a procedure or method, or a validation of techniques or methodologies.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
All persons designated as authors must qualify for authorship. The order of authorship should be a joint decision of the coauthors. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflicts of Interest (adapted from the ICMJE Statement on Conflict of Interest)
A conflict of interest for a given manuscript exists when a participant in the peer review and publication process – author, reviewer, Associate Editor or EIC – has ties to activities that could inappropriately influence his/her judgment, whether or not judgment is in fact affected. Financial relationships with industry (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, pat…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Originality requirement: no prior or concurrent publication. Model summary
Manuscripts submitted as Commentaries, Critical Reviews, Papers, Technical Notes or Case Reports are accepted for consideration with the understanding that their essential contents, including text, tables and figures, have neither been previously published, nor concurrently submitted to another journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Resources
Double-blind peer review for Commentaries, Critical Reviews, Papers, Technical Notes and Case Reports. Model summary
Peer Review Best Practice AI in Peer Review All You Need to Know to Become an Effective Peer Reviewer Peer Review Report: Getting it Right Reviewing Different Article Types
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening with iThenticate at submission. Model summary
JFS employs the plagiarism detection system, iThenticate, with plagiarism checks conducted on manuscripts at the point of submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints COMMUNITY PREPRINT SERVICES
Preprint policy: posting to a community preprint server is not considered prior publication under certain conditions. Model summary
Posting of unreviewed manuscripts to a community preprint server by the author(s) will not be considered prior publication, provided that the following conditions are met:
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1956
- ISSN
- 0022-1198
- Electronic ISSN
- 1556-4029
- Society / sponsor
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 71, Issue 5 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Forensic Sciences
What CAS zone is Journal of Forensic Sciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Forensic Sciences is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Medicine, Legal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Forensic Sciences?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.89; CiteScore 3.7, h-index 154.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Forensic Sciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 103 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 108 days (interquartile range 81–148 days); authors report an average review time of about 2 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 39% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Forensic Sciences?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 6; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index Journal of Forensic Sciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Forensic Sciences is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Forensic Sciences open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Forensic Sciences is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,330.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .