"[3] In 2015, DOAJ launched a reapplication process based on updated and expanded inclusion criteria.

At the end of the process (December 2017), close to 5,000 journals, out of the 11,600 indexed in May 2016, had been removed from their database, in majority for failure to reapply.

[4][5][6] Notwithstanding the substantial cleanup, the number of journals included in DOAJ has continued to grow, to reach 14,299 as of 3 March 2020.

[8] Founder, Lars Bjørnshauge, announced his retirement in 2021 and from January 2022, DOAJ has a new Managing Director, Joanna Ball.

was founded in 2012 in the UK as a community interest company by open access advocates Caroline Sutton and Alma Swan.