Beginning in 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) implemented a Public Access Policy requiring that research papers describing research funded by them must be made freely available to the public to advance science and improve human health. The Public Access Policy was later updated in 2024 in response to the 2022 White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) memorandum (known as the "Nelson Memo"), which requires that all federal agencies provide free, immediate, and equitable access to research that they fund. The effective date of the policy was moved forward to July 1, 2025, which was announced in an NIH notice on April 30, 2025.
Acknowledge NIH funding in your manuscript
Submit either your Author Accepted Manuscript to PubMed Central or the Final Published Version to PubMed Central by a journal upon the Official Date of Publication
Ensure immediate release of your manuscript (i.e., embargo periods are no longer allowed)
License the NIH to make your manuscript publicly available upon the publication date, with no embargo
Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM): The final version that has been accepted for journal publication and includes all revisions resulting from the peer review process (i.e., post-print)
Final Published Article: The journal's authoritative copy, including journal/publisher copyediting, stylistic edits, and formatting changes, even prior to the compilation of a volume/issue or the assignment of metadata (i.e., publisher PDF/version of record)
Journal: A periodical publication that is either included in the "journal" section of the NLM catalog or meets the criteria listed here
Official Date of Publication: The date on which the Final Published Article is first made available in final, edited form, whether in print/electronic (i.e., online) format
The NIH Public Access Policy applies to articles that are:
A direct result of NIH funding (even if canceled, unless specified otherwise) (i.e., grant/cooperative agreement, training grant, contract, intramural research, official work of an NIH employee)
An Author Accepted Manuscript accepted for publication in a journal on or after July 1, 2025
Peer-reviewed
This policy applies regardless of whether the NIH-funded principal investigator or project director is an author and regardless of whether non-NIH funds contributed to developing or writing the Author Accepted Manuscript.
All papers that fall under the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy must include evidence of compliance in NIH applications and reports. Non-compliance with the policy, including failure to acknowledge federal funding in the manuscript, may be considered by NIH when making future funding decisions for Temple University.
Choose a publication venue that supports a zero-embargo deposit policy. Check the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) or the NIH's Selective Deposit Collection to find trustworthy journals that meet the policy's criteria
Certain publishers have agreements with the NIH to submit the Final Published Article to PubMed Central automatically (i.e., Submission Method A). Check the PMC Journal List to find journals that have compliant agreements. Select both "Immediate Release" and "Active" agreement status options from the filters menu to see relevant publications
Check Open Policy Finder to find your journal/publisher's policy on posting open versions (i.e., self-archiving, green open access). Look for records that list an accepted manuscript policy, no embargo, and PubMed Central as a deposit location
You must notify your publisher about your need to comply with the NIH's Public Access Policy before or at the time of submitting your manuscript. While you do not need to provide the NIH with proof of communicating this to your publisher, the following statement should be included in the submitted and accepted manuscripts:
This manuscript is the result of funding in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication, as defined by NIH. (NOT-OD-25-049)
Please note that the NIH's 2008 Publishing Agreement and Manuscript Cover Sheet is now obsolete and does not apply to the 2024 Public Access Policy. Do not submit this to your publisher.
Before you sign a publishing agreement with your publisher, you must ensure that it mirrors the Government Use License, which allows the NIH to share your Author Accepted Manuscript in PubMed Central. The NIH does not require you to apply a particular license to your publication, e.g., public domain, Creative Commons license.
The Government Use License (also known as the Federal Purpose License), which has existed since the 1970s, grants the government the right to reproduce, publish, or use work funded by government grants for federal purposes. It takes effect the moment your article is created and acts as a "first-priority" license that cannot be overridden by agreements signed later.
There are four methods to ensure that a manuscript is submitted to PubMed Central in compliance with the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy. These methods vary based on the version of the paper submitted and the actions taken by the author and publisher. Click on each of the links below to find step-by-step guidance for each method.
The manuscript submission process may be initiated by an author, a principal investigator (PI), a publisher, or another third party, but the approval steps must be completed by the author. Deposit your manuscript as soon after acceptance as possible to ensure compliance. It takes 2-3 weeks for the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system to process your deposit.
Pathway #1: Submission of the Final Published Article to PubMed Central from a journal that has a formal agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) upon the Official Date of Publication
Method A - Journal deposits final published article automatically
Method B - Journal agrees with author to deposit final published article
Pathways #2: Submission of the Final Peer-Reviewed Manuscript to PubMed Central upon its acceptance for publication
Compliance with the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy is only possible by receiving a PubMed Central ID (PMCID) for the deposited manuscript, which must be included at the end of the full citation in your application, report, or proposal. This can be found in your article's metadata in both PubMed and PubMed Central. You can also use the PMC ID Converter to locate your PMCID.
For papers published more than 3 months before an application, proposal and report is submitted:
List the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) at the end of the full journal citation
For papers in press or published within 3 months of when an application, proposal or report is submitted:
When using Submission Method A or B, indicate "PMC Journal In Process" or the PMCID at the end of the full citation
When using Submission Method C or D, provide a valid NIHMS system reference number or PMCID at the end of the full citation
Since 2010, the NIH has required PIs to use the My Bibliography feature in My NCBI to quickly import citations from PubMed and PubMed Central to develop their publication lists. Follow the steps below to demonstrate compliance.
Login to your My NCBI account using the eRA Commons option. If you do not see it, click on other login options and it will appear. Temple researchers may obtain their eRA Commons credentials at NIH Commons ID. If not already established, Project Directors and PIs must create a My NCBI account to gain access to My Bibliography.
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
After going to the My Bibliography tab in your My NCBI account, you will see the publication compliance status bar in the image below.
The colors and icons will tell you the potential issues.
As described for each option, there are steps researchers or those they designate may need to take to ensure publications are in compliance.
