The Ultimate CFP Submission Checklist (Free Download)

You’ve spent months on the research. The results are strong.
Then — desk reject.
Reason? Not the science. A 0.1 mm margin violation, wrong track, or submitting three hours late because you misread “AoE”.

We’ve watched this happen to over 400 000 submissions.
The fix is the same every time: a ruthless, repeatable pre-submission checklist.

Here it is — battle-tested, continuously updated, and completely free.

Download the Ultimate CFP Submission Checklist (PDF) →
(No email required. Instant download.)

Why Most Researchers Skip Checklists (And Pay the Price)

From the Founder:

I’ve chaired programs at A* conferences and reviewed hundreds of papers.
The painful reality: ~60–70 % of desk rejects and bottom-half scores are 100 % preventable.
Wrong venue, broken anonymity, formatting flags — none of these have anything to do with your contribution.

Top submitters (the ones with 5–10 accepts per year) treat submission like landing an airplane: every single switch gets checked, every time.
Their acceptance rate is consistently 6–10 percentage points higher than average.

This checklist is distilled from eight years of our internal data + feedback from thousands of users.

The Checklist, Broken Down & Timed (12–15 minutes total)

Do these phases in order. Skip nothing.

Phase 1 – Venue Fit (3 minutes)

Wrong conference = guaranteed rejection.

• Scope overlap ≥ 85 % (paste abstract into callforpaper.org → instant score)
• Last 3 years of accepted papers match your contribution type
• Correct track / session selected (use our “Recommended Track” suggestion)
• Venue prestige aligns with your goals (CORE/CCF rank, not predatory)

Phase 2 – Content Quality Gates (4 minutes)

Make reviewers want to bid high.

• Title follows the 2026 formula: [Adjective] [Method] for [Problem] in [Setting] (± [Result])
• Abstract: Problem → Gap → Method → Key Result → Broader Impact (150–250 words)
• Related-work comparison table on page 2 (✓/✗ columns)
• All figures referenced, readable in grayscale, ≥ 300 DPI
• Reproducibility appendix + fully honest checklist completed

Phase 3 – Formatting & Anonymity Lockdown (4 minutes)

Automated tools reject before humans even see your PDF.

• Exact conference LaTeX/Word template used (no modifications)
• Page limit respected (body only; references separate if allowed)
• PDF passes automated check
• Anonymity sweep: search PDF for names, institution, “our previous work”, arXiv author lists
• No identifiable GitHub links or acknowledgments

Phase 4 – Logistics & Deadline Armor (2 minutes)

Never get burned by timezones or crashes again.

• Deadline converted to UTC and added to calendar
• Reminders set: T-7 days (final review), T-24 h, T-2 h (submit)
• All co-authors have signed off on final version
• Backup PDF + source files saved
• Submission ID recorded immediately after upload

Phase 5 – Post-Submit (30 seconds)

• Add to personal tracker
• Start scouting backup venues (just in case)

Print It, Tape It, Use It Every Time

That’s it. Fifteen minutes of discipline = dramatically higher acceptance odds.

Download the printable one-page version here:
→ Get the Free Ultimate CFP Submission Checklist

(Works for NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, ACL, SIGGRAPH, CHI, and 500+ others.)

What’s the dumbest submission mistake that’s ever cost you a paper? Drop it below — we learn from every horror story.

See you in the accepted papers list.

—The callforpaper.org Team