🏃‍♂️ NeurIPS 2025 Submission Sprint Guide

[Joanne]

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All deadlines use Anywhere on Earth (AoE, UTC-12).
If the program chairs publish new e-mails or website updates, those supersede this guide.

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Quick-Reference Timeline

Milestone	Date (AoE)
OpenReview site opens	3 Apr 2025
Abstract submission deadline	11 May 2025
Full-paper submission deadline	15 May 2025
Supplementary-material (appendix) deadline	22 May 2025
Decision notification	18 Sep 2025
Camera-ready due	23 Oct 2025

Source: NeurIPS 2025 Call for Papers

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What’s New in 2025?

Change	Details	What to do
9-page Position-Paper Track	9-page, double-blind papers arguing for a direction, policy, or framework. Same deadlines and template as the main track.	If your work is vision- or policy-driven, consider this track.
OpenReview profile check	Every author must complete ORCID/profile and conflict list before the full-paper submission deadline; missing data can trigger a desk-reject.	Update profiles early; create an anonymous e-mail if needed.
LLM usage disclosure	The submission checklist (“Model Usage”) now asks exactly how you used LLMs (text, code, figures…).	State usage honestly; avoid large, un-acknowledged blocks of LLM-generated prose.
Reproducibility push	Strongly encouraged to upload code/data (≤ 100 MB .zip). CodeOcean is optional.	Provide runnable scripts; host a private, anonymous Git repo if necessary.
Ethics & Societal Impact	Every paper must include a Societal Impact section. Work on generative AI, biomedicine, or dual-use research may be routed to the Ethics Committee—but ethics alone will not cause rejection.	Discuss potential risks and mitigations thoroughly.

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Historical Numbers

Year	Submissions	Acceptance Rate	Highlight papers*
2024	15 671	25.8%	4.2% (Spotlight + Oral)
2023	≈ 12 343	26.1%	≈5%

* Highlight = Spotlight + Oral; oral talks are roughly one-quarter of highlights.

Trend: Submissions grew ≈ 27 % in two years while acceptance dipped slightly—solid contributions and crisp storytelling matter more than ever.

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Frequent Reject Traps

• Placeholder title/abstract — after 11 May no edits allowed; “TBD” is auto-flagged and removed.
• Missing baselines or citations — failing to compare with contemporaneous work (post-May 2023) costs points.
• Template violations — > 9 pages, tweaked margins, or non-default fonts ⇒ instant desk-reject.
• Identity leaks — anonymise every link (GitHub, Drive, Docker) and scrub names/watermarks from images.

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24-Hour Final Checklist

• OpenReview profiles and conflict lists complete.
• PDF ≤ 50 MB; main text ≤ 9 pages (refs & checklist excluded).
• Checklist filled (incl. LLM usage & Societal Impact).
• Code/data .zip ≤ 100 MB, runnable & anonymous.
• Title & abstract identical to the 11 May submission.

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🤫 Double-Blind & System Tips

• Cite prior work as “Authors et al., 2024.”
• In OpenReview → Settings → Conflicts mark all potential reviewer conflicts.
• Peak load occurs in the last 24 hours — submit ≥ 6 h early and verify PDF/.zip integrity.

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Handy Resources

• NeurIPS LaTeX template & macros: https://neurips.cc/Conferences/2025/PaperTemplates
• Want a tour of last year’s top highlight papers? Comment “+1” and we’ll post a breakdown.

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Final Thought

Hard-core contributions set the ceiling; clear storytelling decides whether reviewers ever reach it.
Wishing you bug-free builds, inspired ideas, and a successful submission to NeurIPS 2025!