What is the correct protocol for including peer reviews that I have done in a CV?

I believe you may get some tips from the answers to a question of mine on this very site: “Do you list journals you have reviewed for on your CV?”

As for myself, I list the peer-reviews I have done in a “Administrative and collective duties” or “Community involvement”. Or, in a short CV which doesn't have such divisions, I put it with the broader “Other skills and activities” section (i.e. not teaching, not research projects).

What I include is:

  • list of journals for which I act as reviewer (“Regular reviewer for many chemistry journals, including …”)
  • funding bodies (NSF, private trusts, etc.) for which I act as expert (including, e.g., NSF division, but not the exact programs)
  • evaluation committees on which I sit

It feels obvious, but it's always worth repeating: do not include any confidential information, such as titles or author lists for reviewer papers or projects. I think it's safe to list the number of reviews performed for each outlet if you want (but I don't do it).


As I see it the reviews are, unless explicitly stated otherwise, a communication between you and the editor and authors. If you make the reviews public you probably need to ask the other parties for permission, if nothing else so for politeness. I therefore suggest anonymous listing.

I personally have an entry in my CV which tells how many reviews I have made since (in my case) 1995 and then lists the journals for which I have made such reviews. As a side-point, I do the same for reviews of proposals I make for large granting organisations such as NERC (UK) and NSF (US). I do not see any point in, say, providing details on suggestions for reject/revisoions/accept. In the end the number of reviews (also per year) is what shows your experience and provides credit.

You should also look at the question Can I publish the reviews I write? and Ethics of publishing received peer reviews [duplicate] for different views on making public reviews in different ways.