National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded investigators are required by Federal law to submit (or have submitted) to PubMed Central (PMC) an electronic version of the final, peer-reviewed manuscript upon acceptance for publication. Currently, a one-year embargo of the manuscript is allowed, but that policy is changing (see below). Having a PMCID for an article is the only way to show compliance. For more information see the NIH's Overview of the policy and policy development information.
On December 17, 2024, NIH issued its updated Public Access Policy in accordance with the Nelson Memo. On April 30, 2025, the NIH announced that the 2024 Public Access Policy is effective for manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025. The updated NIH Public Access Policy requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication. For more information on this upcoming policy see the NIH's Public Access Policy site.
Compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy is only possible by receiving a PMCID for the deposited manuscript. There are a variety of methods of how a manuscript can be submitted to the NIH, listed below in the 'Submit a Manuscript to PubMed Central' section. Researchers can delegate other users to help manage their citations.
The NIH public access policy applies to any manuscript that:
For Institutional Training, Career Development, and Related Awards (T15, T32/TL1, T34/TL4, T35, T90, R25/RL5, R90/RL9, K12/KM1/KL2, D43, D71, DP7, U2R, U45): Trainee, scholar, and participant publications fall under the public access policy if the publication resulted from work conducted while the individual was supported by the award (i.e., receiving a stipend or salary from the award). See NOT-OD-15-091 for more information.
For publications arising from shared resources, see NOT-OD-16-079
More information available at the NIH here.
To check compliance of your submitted manuscripts, follow the steps below:
1. Login to myNCBI via eRA Commons
Login to your myNCBI account using the eRA Commons option, if you do not see it click on 'other login options' and it will appear. TU researchers may obtain their eRA Commons credentials at NIH Commons ID.
2. Find your papers in PubMed, and add them to your My Bibliography
If you have papers that are not in your My Bibliography, add citations with the steps below:
Search for your articles and select them by clicking the checkbox to the left of the article
In the menu under the search bar, click 'Send To' and select 'My Bibliography'
Choose 'Selection' and choose My Bibliography. Then click 'Add'.
3. Use the publication compliance status bar to determine compliance
After going to the My Bibliography tab in your myNCBI account, you will see the publication compliance status bar in the image below.
The colors and icons will tell you the potential issues.
4. Make changes as needed to resolve compliance issues
As described for each option, there are steps researchers or those they designate may need to take to ensure publications are in compliance.
More information on managing compliance is here. Contact your subject liaison librarian for assistance, but be aware library staff cannot manage compliance for you.
Pathway #1: Submission of the Final Published Article to PMC from a journal that has a formal agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) upon the Official Date of Publication
Pathway #2: Submission of the Final Peer-Reviewed Manuscript to PMC upon its acceptance for publication
Method C – Author enters citation, then deposits manuscript
Method D – Author enters citation, journal deposits manuscript
Deposit your manuscript as soon as possible to ensure compliance. It takes time to process your deposit into NIHMS and to issue a PMCID (~2-3 weeks), which is your proof of compliance.
Confirm your journal's policies
For new submissions, choose a publication venue that supports a zero-embargo deposit. Check the Director of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) to find trustworthy journals
Check the NIH’s list of journals that have a formal agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to submit the Final Published Article to PMC upon the Official Date of Publication (i.e., Submission Method A)
Check Open Policy Finder to find your journal or publisher’s policy on posting open versions (i.e., self-archiving, green open access)
Record should list: an accepted manuscript policy, no embargo, and PMC as a deposit location
Contact your subject librarian or specialist for additional help
Pathway #2: Submission of the Final Peer-Reviewed Manuscript to PMC upon its acceptance for publication
Method C – Author enters citation, then deposits manuscript
Step 1: Deposit Files in NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system by clicking ' Submit New Manuscript' (as seen above), and assign Reviewer (author or PI, could be the submitter)
Step 2: Reviewer checks submission and approves
Step 3: NIHMS review and convert files
Step 4: Reviewer reviews converted documents and approves them
Step 5: PMCID is assigned and manuscript is matched to a PubMed record
Step 6: Manuscript is made available on PMC
You can follow the process in 'My Manuscripts' in your account after logging in to NIHMS. Refer to the NIHMS Overview page for these steps:
