Instructions

Applicants should fill out this form before May 15, 2026, 23:59 PM (UTC-12:00 “Anywhere on Earth”).

Information

ACL 2026 offers financial support for registration, caregiving, bandwidth, travel, and VPN access. We encourage students and researchers from underrepresented communities facing financial barriers to apply for these subsidies, as well as for volunteering opportunities. As resources are limited, applying to both may increase the likelihood of having registration fees waived.

Please submit your subsidy application by May 15, 2026, 23:59 (UTC−12:00, “Anywhere on Earth”).

D&I funding can be used to support expenses related to:

Travel and Accommodation Subsidies

We are providing some travel and accommodation subsidies. Priority will be given to authors, first-time attendees and individuals from underrepresented communities with financial hurdles.

If you would like to attend the in-person meeting, please keep in mind that if your waiver application is accepted, accommodations and travel expenses (e.g., flight tickets, hotel receipt, ground transportation) can only be reimbursed after the conference and must have a receipt submitted. Note: The ACL does not book flight tickets; awardees are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and for using the funds responsibly.

Important: We encourage in-person grant recipients to book refundable tickets and accommodations, as if your visa is denied or you are otherwise unable to attend in person, your grant will be null and void. In-person attendance is required for reimbursement of an in-person grant. Virtual registration will be covered if registration fees are included in the grant. The number of accepted applicants and the amount of money subsidised will vary depending on the number of applicants and the funding availability.

Please answer questions regarding whether you have previously attended any ACL conferences (NAACL, EACL, AACL, ACL, EMNLP and COLING) accurately as we would like to give all first-time attendees a chance.

Registration and Membership Subsidies

This is for getting a waiver for ACL 2026 registration (this includes virtual registrations for authors). You can also request ACL membership if applicable. You will be asked to justify your application. For instance, you can say:

  • “I have an accepted paper at the main conference. I would like to apply for a registration fee waiver because my fees are not funded by my organisation/institution.”
  • “I have a paper accepted at the main conference and I am an active member of Latinx/Masakhane/North African in NLP/QueerinAI/WNLP.”
  • “I have an accepted paper at an ACL Workshop, I live in a developing country [name the country] and I/my institution cannot afford the registration fees.”

Note that if you are applying for a registration fee waiver, you SHOULD NOT register for the conference until you hear from us about your D&I subsidy application. Keep in mind that we will take your justification into account when processing your application.

Caregiving and Accessibility Subsidies

The ACL does not offer caregiving directly; however, we can reimburse caregiving expenses needed at the time of the conference. You need to provide receipts for your expenses. These can be babysitting, accessibility assistance, transportation costs, or other support required for yourself or your dependents, which would ease your participation.

If you need any personal or technical assistance to access and navigate the conference due to a disability, we can reimburse it (e.g., if you need assistance in using gather.town due to visual impairment). We acknowledge that accessibility needs are highly individual to each participant, so please feel free to reach out to us with any issues you might face in this regard. When justifying your caregiving and accessibility subsidy application, you can say for example: “As a caregiver, I would like to apply for a subsidy of $$ USD to take care of my child when I will be presenting my work at the conference.”

Bandwidth and VPN Subsidies

We can reimburse bandwidth or VPN expenses (for those attending virtually) that you need for the conferences. You need to provide receipts for your expenses. Bandwidth subsidies would be for high-speed internet access costs for the duration of the conference only. VPN generally does not cost more than 10 USD per month and could be applied towards participation if you need anonymity to participate completely.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on the submitted materials and provided justifications. Privacy will be respected and preference will be given to first-time attendees and applicants from underrepresented groups who are presenting a paper at the main conference or at any of the workshops associated with ACL 2026, and those who do not have other means of support.

Application and Notification Deadlines

All deadlines are 11:59 pm UTC -12h (“anywhere on Earth”).

  • Application Deadline: May 15, 2026
  • Notification Deadline: May 30, 2026

Notification of Acceptance

Applicants will be notified on (or before) May 29, 2026, before the ACL 2026 early registration. Link to ACL 2026 registration: https://2026.aclweb.org/registration/

We aim to send all the notifications by the deadline above. Please be patient and wait for our email as we will notify you as soon as we can and no matter what the response is.

Contact

ACL 2026 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team: acl2026dei@googlegroups.com.