1. First apply to the DHET for inclusion. The deadline every year is 15 June. Not a day later. Send Mr Walter Ntuli (Ntuli.w@dhet.gov.za) an email in advance clarifying what he requires from you. Usually it is a motivation request and the links to the last 3 years of issues.

2. See 5.8 to 5.11 in the DHET Research Output Policy of 2015 for the criteria - https://www.dhet.gov.za/Policy%20and%20Development%20Support/Research%20Outputs%20Policy%202015.pdf

3. To give you an idea of the DHET criteria here is a sample (please read 5.8 to 5.11 for context):

5.10 South African journals which, in the opinion of the editor, comply with the following criteria may apply to the Department for inclusion in the  List of accredited South African journals:

(a) The purpose of the journal must be  to disseminate research results and the content must support high level learning, teaching and research in the relevant subject area; 

(b) Articles accepted for publication in the journal must be peer reviewed;

(c) At least 75% of contributions published in the journal must eminate from mutiple institutions; 

(d) The journal must have an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN);

(e) The journal must be published at the frequency it is intended to be published, eg quartely, , biannually , annually or biennially;

(f) The journal must have an editorial board, with more than two-thirds of the editorial board members beyond a single institution, and which is reflective of expertise in the relevant subject area;

(g) The journal must be distributed beyond a single institution;

(h) The journal must include English abstracts if their language of publication is not English

5.11 When applying for inclusion in the Approved List of South African Journals, the following information, must be submitted to the Department by 15 June for the journal to be considered for inclusion effective the following calendar year: 

(a) Title, including translations if not published in English; 

(b) The ISSN of the journal; 

(c) Publisher and the publisher's address and contact details; 

(d) Frequency of publication; 

(e) Evidence that the journal has been published uninterrupted for a minimum of three years as well as the latest three consecutive copies of the journal; 

(f) Editorial policy, including evidence of the peer review process; 

(g) Editorial Board - the status of the members of the editorial board must be stated together with their institutional affiliations; 

(h) In the case of electronic journals, the journal's internet Uniform Resource Locator (URL); and 

(i) Proof of the journal's library holdings and/or downloads for electronic publications. 

4. The DHET / ASSAf panel will then recommend inclusion (or not) and if the panel recommends inclusion, then the title is forwarded to the SciELO SA team.

5. We then check the journal against the 23 SciELO SA-specific criteria. See - https://sites.google.com/view/assaf-scholarly-pub-resources/scielo-sa/scielo-sa-2025-criteria-table-format?authuser=0

6. You will see that A2 of the SciELO SA criteria indicates the necessity of first being evaluated by a DHET panel.

7. Meanwhile, work through all 23 SciELO SA criteria to ensure the journal adheres to all of those. Note that the criteria are updated annually to be in line with new SciELO Network criteria and