Skip to Main Content
Becker Medical Library logotype
Library Quicklinks and Information

NIH Public Access Policy: Home

Welcome

Welcome to the guide for the NIH Public Access Policy for publications.

New as of April 30, 2025:

The revised effective date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy for Publications applies to

Author Accepted Manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 01, 2025.

The updated 2024 Public Access Policy for Publications was issued on December 17, 2024. The 2024 Public Access Policy includes two supplemental notices: Publication Costs and Government Use License Use and Rights and one revised notice: Revision: Notice of Updated Effective Date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, issued on April 30, 2025.

Readings

Stay tuned for more updates including a new library guide for the 2024 NIH Policy.

The NIH Public Access Policy

2008 Policy:

The 2008 NIH Public Access Policy requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds and accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008, to PubMed Central (PMC) upon acceptance of publication.  To help advance science and improve human health, the Policy requires that these papers are accessible to the public on PubMed Central no later than 12 months after publication.

2024 Policy: 

The 2024 NIH Public Access Policy for Publications requires scientists to submit Author Accepted Manuscripts that arise from NIH funds and accepted for publication on or after July 01, 2025, to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication with a zero embargo periodThe Final Published Article is also acceptable for articles published in journals that have formal agreements with the National Library of Medicine.

Key Points

NIH-funded investigators are required to submit (or have submitted for them) their final, peer-reviewed manuscript to PubMed Central (PMC) upon acceptance of publication to be made publicly available within 12 months of publication. This policy applies to NIH-funded manuscripts accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008.

NIH applications, proposals and progress reports must include the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) when citing a work that falls under the policy and is authored or co-authored by the investigator, or arose from the investigator’s NIH award. This policy includes applications, proposals, biosketches and progress reports submitted to the NIH.

A PMCID is required within 90 days post-publication of the work.

Recommended Practices for NIH-funded Authors

1. Acknowledge NIH funding support in publications. Some specific grants may have a preferred method of acknowledging support. Check with the PI of the grant to confirm wording to use for the acknowledgement. 

2. Confirm that the publisher allows for compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy before submitting a work for peer review. This can be done by reviewing the copyright transfer agreement form or by checking the publisher website. Per NIH: "Before you sign a publication agreement or similar copyright transfer agreement, make sure that the agreement allows the paper to be posted to PubMed Central (PMC) in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy." See: Addressing Copyright.

3. Retain a copy of the copyright transfer agreement.

4. Retain a copy of the final, peer-reviewed manuscript version of the work that reflects all changes made as a result of the peer review process.

Summary of Changes: 2008 and 2024 Policies

 

Presentations

Are you preparing a manuscript from your NIH-funded research? If so, then you may be required to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.

Presentations are available upon request for an overview of the NIH Public Access Policy including the steps involved in complying with the policy and how to demonstrate compliance.

If you would like to schedule a presentation for your department, program or division, please contact Cathy Sarli or Amy Suiter.

Other presentations include:

  • NCBI My Bibliography
  • NCBI SciENcv
  • NCBI Tools: PubMed and My Bibliography
  • NIH Biosketch

Resources from NIH