Conference Paper Checklists

This reference documents the mandatory checklist requirements for major ML/AI conferences. All major venues now require paper checklists—missing them results in desk rejection.

Contents

• - NeurIPS Paper Checklist
• - ICML Paper Checklist
• - ICLR Requirements
• - ACL Requirements
• - AAAI Requirements
• - COLM Requirements
• - Universal Pre-Submission Checklist

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NeurIPS Paper Checklist

Mandatory Components

All NeurIPS submissions must include a completed paper checklist. Papers lacking this element face automatic desk rejection. The checklist appears after references and supplemental material, outside the page limit.

16 Required Checklist Items

#### 1. Claims Alignment

Authors must verify that abstract and introduction claims match theoretical and experimental results, with clearly stated contributions, assumptions, and limitations.

What to check:

• - [ ] Abstract claims match actual results
• - [ ] Introduction doesn't overclaim
• - [ ] Contributions are specific and falsifiable

#### 2. Limitations Discussion

Papers should include a dedicated "Limitations" section addressing strong assumptions, robustness to violations, scope constraints, and performance-influencing factors.

What to include:

• - [ ] Dedicated Limitations section
• - [ ] Honest assessment of scope
• - [ ] Conditions where method may fail

#### 3. Theory & Proofs

Theoretical contributions require full assumption statements and complete proofs (main paper or appendix with proof sketches for intuition).

What to check:

• - [ ] All assumptions stated formally
• - [ ] Complete proofs provided (main text or appendix)
• - [ ] Proof sketches for intuition in main text

#### 4. Reproducibility

Authors must describe steps ensuring results verification through code release, detailed instructions, model access, or checkpoints appropriate to their contribution type.

What to provide:

• - [ ] Clear reproducibility statement
• - [ ] Code availability information
• - [ ] Model checkpoints if applicable

#### 5. Data & Code Access

Instructions for reproducing main experimental results should be provided (supplemental material or URLs), including exact commands and environment specifications.

What to include:

• - [ ] Exact commands to run experiments
• - [ ] Environment specifications (requirements.txt, conda env)
• - [ ] Data access instructions

#### 6. Experimental Details

Papers must specify training details: data splits, hyperparameters, and selection methods in the main paper or supplementary materials.

What to document:

• - [ ] Train/val/test split details
• - [ ] All hyperparameters used
• - [ ] Hyperparameter selection method

#### 7. Statistical Significance

Results require error bars, confidence intervals, or statistical tests with clearly stated calculation methods and underlying assumptions.

What to include:

• - [ ] Error bars or confidence intervals
• - [ ] Number of runs/seeds
• - [ ] Calculation method (std dev vs std error)

#### 8. Compute Resources

Specifications needed: compute worker types (CPU/GPU), memory, storage, execution time per run, and total project compute requirements.

What to document:

• - [ ] GPU type and count
• - [ ] Training time per run
• - [ ] Total compute used

#### 9. Ethics Code Compliance

Authors confirm adherence to the NeurIPS Code of Ethics, noting any necessary deviations.

What to verify:

• - [ ] Read NeurIPS Code of Ethics
• - [ ] Confirm compliance
• - [ ] Note any deviations with justification

#### 10. Broader Impacts

Discussion of potential negative societal applications, fairness concerns, privacy risks, and possible mitigation strategies when applicable.

What to address:

• - [ ] Potential negative applications
• - [ ] Fairness considerations
• - [ ] Privacy implications
• - [ ] Mitigation strategies

#### 11. Safeguards

High-risk models (language models, internet-scraped datasets) require controlled release mechanisms and usage guidelines.

What to consider:

• - [ ] Release strategy for sensitive models
• - [ ] Usage guidelines if needed
• - [ ] Access controls if appropriate

#### 12. License Respect

All existing assets require creator citations, license names, URLs, version numbers, and terms-of-service acknowledgment.

What to document:

• - [ ] Dataset licenses cited
• - [ ] Code licenses respected
• - [ ] Version numbers included

#### 13. Asset Documentation

New releases need structured templates documenting training details, limitations, consent procedures, and licensing information.

For new datasets/models:

• - [ ] Datasheet or model card
• - [ ] Training data documentation
• - [ ] Known limitations

#### 14. Human Subjects

Crowdsourcing studies must include participant instructions, screenshots, compensation details, and comply with minimum wage requirements.

What to include:

• - [ ] Task instructions
• - [ ] Compensation details
• - [ ] Time estimates

#### 15. IRB Approvals

Human subjects research requires documented institutional review board approval or equivalent, with risk descriptions disclosed (maintaining anonymity at submission).

What to verify:

• - [ ] IRB approval obtained
• - [ ] Risk assessment completed
• - [ ] Anonymized at submission

#### 16. LLM Declaration

Usage of large language models as core methodology components requires disclosure; writing/editing use doesn't require declaration.

What to disclose:

• - [ ] LLM used as core methodology component
• - [ ] How LLM was used
• - [ ] (Writing assistance doesn't require disclosure)

Response Format

Authors select "yes," "no," or "N/A" per question, with optional 1-2 sentence justifications.

Important: Reviewers are explicitly instructed not to penalize honest limitation acknowledgment.

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ICML Paper Checklist

Broader Impact Statement

ICML requires a Broader Impact Statement at the end of the paper, before references. This does NOT count toward the page limit.

Required elements:

• - Potential positive impacts
• - Potential negative impacts
• - Mitigation strategies
• - Who may be affected

ICML Specific Requirements

#### Reproducibility Checklist

• - [ ] Data splits clearly specified
• - [ ] Hyperparameters listed
• - [ ] Search ranges documented
• - [ ] Selection method explained
• - [ ] Compute resources specified
• - [ ] Code availability stated

#### Statistical Reporting

• - [ ] Error bars on all figures
• - [ ] Standard deviation vs standard error specified
• - [ ] Number of runs stated
• - [ ] Significance tests if comparing methods

#### Anonymization

• - [ ] No author names in paper
• - [ ] No acknowledgments
• - [ ] No grant numbers
• - [ ] Prior work cited in third person
• - [ ] No identifiable repository URLs

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ICLR Requirements

LLM Disclosure Policy (New for 2026)

ICLR has a specific LLM disclosure requirement:

> "If LLMs played a significant role in research ideation and/or writing to the extent that they could be regarded as a contributor, authors must describe their precise role in a separate appendix section."

When disclosure is required:

• - LLM used for significant research ideation
• - LLM used for substantial writing
• - LLM could be considered a contributor

When disclosure is NOT required:

• - Grammar checking
• - Minor editing assistance
• - Code completion tools

Consequences of non-disclosure:

• - Desk rejection
• - Potential post-publication issues

ICLR Specific Requirements

#### Reproducibility Statement (Optional but Recommended)

Add a statement referencing:

• - Supporting materials
• - Code availability
• - Data availability
• - Model checkpoints

#### Ethics Statement (Optional)

Address potential concerns in ≤1 page. Does not count toward page limit.

#### Reciprocal Reviewing

• - Authors on 3+ papers must serve as reviewers for ≥6 papers
• - Each submission needs ≥1 author registered to review ≥3 papers

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ACL Requirements

Limitations Section (Mandatory)

ACL specifically requires a Limitations section:

What to include:

• - Strong assumptions made
• - Scope limitations
• - When method may fail
• - Generalization concerns

Important: The Limitations section does NOT count toward the page limit.

ACL Specific Checklist

#### Responsible NLP

• - [ ] Bias considerations addressed
• - [ ] Fairness evaluated if applicable
• - [ ] Dual-use concerns discussed

#### Multilingual Considerations

If applicable:

• - [ ] Language diversity addressed
• - [ ] Non-English languages included
• - [ ] Translation quality verified

#### Human Evaluation

If applicable:

• - [ ] Annotator details provided
• - [ ] Agreement metrics reported
• - [ ] Compensation documented

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AAAI Requirements

Formatting (Strictest of All Venues)

AAAI enforces formatting rules more strictly than any other major venue. Papers that deviate from the template are desk-rejected.

• - [ ] Use the exact AAAI style file without modification — no \setlength, no \vspace hacks, no font overrides
• - [ ] 7 pages main content (8 for camera-ready with author info)
• - [ ] Two-column format, Times font (set by template)
• - [ ] References and appendices do not count toward page limit
• - [ ] Abstract must be a single paragraph
• - [ ] Do not modify margins, column widths, or font sizes

Required Sections

• - [ ] Abstract (single paragraph, no math or citations)
• - [ ] Introduction with clear contribution statement
• - [ ] References in AAAI format (uses aaai2026.bst)
• - [ ] Appendix (optional, unlimited)

Ethics and Reproducibility

• - [ ] Broader impact statement (encouraged but not always mandatory — check current year's CFP)
• - [ ] Reproducibility details (datasets, code availability)
• - [ ] Acknowledge use of AI writing tools if applicable

Key Differences from Other Venues

• - No separate limitations section required (unlike ACL), but discussing limitations is recommended
• - Strictest formatting enforcement — the style checker will reject non-compliant PDFs
• - No paper checklist like NeurIPS has, but the universal checklist below still applies
• - Unified template covers main paper and supplementary in the same file

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COLM Requirements

Overview

COLM (Conference on Language Modeling) focuses specifically on language model research. Framing must target this community.

Formatting

• - [ ] 9 pages main content (10 for camera-ready)
• - [ ] Use COLM template (based on ICLR template with modifications)
• - [ ] Double-blind review
• - [ ] References and appendices unlimited

Required Sections

• - [ ] Abstract
• - [ ] Introduction framed for language modeling community
• - [ ] Conclusion
• - [ ] References

Content Expectations

• - [ ] Contribution must be relevant to language models (broadly interpreted: training, evaluation, applications, theory, alignment, safety)
• - [ ] If the method is general, frame with language model examples
• - [ ] Baselines should include recent LM-specific methods where applicable

Key Differences from Other Venues

• - Narrower scope than NeurIPS/ICML — must frame for LM community
• - Template derived from ICLR — similar formatting rules
• - Newer venue — reviewer norms are still establishing; err on the side of thorough evaluation
• - No mandatory checklist like NeurIPS, but broader impact discussion is expected
• - LLM disclosure: If LLMs were used in research (code generation, data annotation, writing assistance), disclose this

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Universal Pre-Submission Checklist

Before Every Submission

#### Paper Content

• - [ ] Abstract ≤ word limit (usually 250-300 words)
• - [ ] Main content within page limit
• - [ ] References complete and verified
• - [ ] Limitations section included
• - [ ] All figures/tables have captions
• - [ ] Captions are self-contained

#### Formatting

• - [ ] Correct template used (venue + year specific)
• - [ ] Margins not modified
• - [ ] Font sizes not modified
• - [ ] Double-blind requirements met
• - [ ] Page numbers (for review) or none (camera-ready)

#### Technical

• - [ ] All claims supported by evidence
• - [ ] Error bars included
• - [ ] Baselines appropriate
• - [ ] Hyperparameters documented
• - [ ] Compute resources stated

#### Reproducibility

• - [ ] Code will be available (or justification)
• - [ ] Data will be available (or justification)
• - [ ] Environment documented
• - [ ] Commands to reproduce provided

#### Ethics

• - [ ] Broader impacts considered
• - [ ] Limitations honestly stated
• - [ ] Licenses respected
• - [ ] IRB obtained if needed

#### Final Checks

• - [ ] PDF compiles without errors
• - [ ] All figures render correctly
• - [ ] All citations resolve
• - [ ] Supplementary material organized
• - [ ] Conference checklist completed

Quick Reference: Page Limits

Template Locations

All conference templates are in the templates/ directory:

`

templates/

├── icml2026/ # ICML 2026 official

├── iclr2026/ # ICLR 2026 official

├── neurips2025/ # NeurIPS 2025

├── acl/ # ACL style files

├── aaai2026/ # AAAI 2026

└── colm2025/ # COLM 2025

`