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NIH Public Access Policy

Basic information about the NIH Public Access Policy that took effect July 1, 2025.

JULY 1, 2025 UPDATE

Important and Time Sensitive: NIH Policy Updates

NIH Public Access Policy Effective July 1, 2025. 

The NIH has announced that the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy will now apply to all articles accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025. Due to the significant policy changes and the new, accelerated implementation timeline, all NIH-funded researchers need to understand the requirements and adjust their research plans accordingly to comply with them, thereby avoiding potential jeopardization of their current and future funding opportunities.

Key Information:

  • Immediate submission to PubMed Central (PMC): Authors should submit the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) to PMC as soon as it is accepted for publication, to be made publicly available on the official date of publication (with “zero embargo”). 

  • July 1st acceptance date: The new requirements will apply to articles accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025, even if they were already submitted for peer review when the policy was announced. For some, this may result in unplanned expenses. 

  • Open Access Fees or Article Processing Charges (APC): Authors should investigate their preferred journals’ policies on Green Open Access and depositing to PMC. While the NIH does not require payment from authors, many journals will charge open-access fees or APCs, so the only free path to compliance may be choosing a different journal. 

  • Self-archiving: Even if a journal allows authors to make their AAM available immediately, many require authors to deposit the manuscript to PMC on their own. 

  • Compliance and enforcement: Non-compliance may affect NIH's future funding decisions for the author’s institution or result in delayed award processing. 

NIH Public Access Requirements

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy applies to all grants and other funding mechanisms, including those awarded prior to the implementation date of the new 2024 Public Access Policy.

The Policy requires that all peer-reviewed publications arising from research funded by NIH, in whole or in part, must be submitted to the digital archive PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication. The new 2024 policy details can be found here: https://sharing.nih.gov/public-access-policy/public-access-policy-overview

2024 Policy Changes: Updated Requirements

As described above, the new 2024 NIH Public Access Policy is effective for manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025. This 2024 Policy update requires:

  • Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal must be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC) upon acceptance for publication, for public availability without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication.

  • Authors must include a statement in the AAM and Final Published Article that satisfies the requirements in the NIH Grants Policy Statements GPS 4.2.1 and GPS 8.2.1 and other requirements for acknowledging federal (NIH) funding in the terms of Other Transaction agreements and applicable contracts.
  • When submitting to NIH, authors must also agree to a license similar to the Government Use License (2 CFR 200.315), explicitly granting NIH the right to make the AAM publicly available in PMC, with no embargo, on the Official Date of Publication.

Definitions

  • Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM): "The author’s final version that has been accepted for journal publication and includes all revisions resulting from the peer review process, including all associated tables, graphics, and supplemental material."
  • Final Published Article: "The journal's authoritative copy, including journal or publisher copyediting and stylistic edits, and formatting changes, even prior to the compilation of a volume or issue or the assignment of associated metadata."
  • Official Date of Publication: "The date on which the Final Published Article is first made available in final, edited form, whether in print or electronic (i.e., online) format".

2024 NIH Public Access Policy
Supplemental Guidance: Government License Use and Rights

Licensing and Reuse Information

This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Large portions of this guide were taken and used with permission from the "NIH Public Access Policy and You" guide created by Barrie Hayes at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Medical Library.