NIH Public Access Policy

Both NIH investigators and their delegate(s) (optional) will need to log in to and use My NCBI to manage NIH compliance for research publications authored by the investigator or arising from their NIH award. See below for general guidance about My NCBI access and use for investigators and delegates. 

INVESTIGATORS

• All NIH investigators will have an eRA Commons account and will want to use that account to log in to My NCBI if they do not already have a My NCBI account. For details, see the "Scenario 1" instructions in the "Create a My NCBI Login" section below.
• NIH investigators who have an eRA Commons account and login to their My NCBI account via another login, e.g., ORCID, etc., will need to link their eRA Commons accounts to NCBI in order to activate NIH compliance management functionality in My NCBI.  For details, see the "Linking My NCBI to eRA Commons" section below.
  • If you have forgotten your eRA Commons password, follow the "(For external users) Forgot Password/Unlock Account?" link in the top left section of the eRA Commons homepage, or contact the eRA Commons Help Desk via the link or phone numbers given in the bottom left section of the eRA Commons homepage.
• Assign delegate status if you plan to have someone act as a delegate for you.  See the "Creating a Delegate" section below for details.
  • In order for your delegate to manage your compliance, you will also need to ensure that your My NCBI and eRA Commons accounts are linked as described above. If they are not or if you are uncertain, please see the "Linking My NCBI to eRA Commons" section below.

DELEGATES

• To assist one or more investigators in managing their NIH research publications and/or SciENcv biosketches, delegates will need to set up a 3rd Party Login to My NCBI such as ORCID. (It is assumed that the majority of delegates do not have eRA Commons accounts.)
  • If you do not have an existing My NCBI account, follow the "Scenario 2" instructions in the "Create a My NCBI Login" section below to set up a 3rd Party login to My NCBI.
• To successfully help manage NIH compliance of an investigator's research publication in My NCBI:
  • The investigator must assign you as a delegate and you must accept that role. See the "Creating a Delegate" and "Accepting Delegate Assignment" sections below.

Begin by navigating to PubMed and clicking on the "Log In" link on the top right corner of the page.

Scenario 1:  If you do not already have a My NCBI login method set up, but you do have an eRA Commons account, click on the eRA Commons Login icon and sign in to My NCBI using your eRA Commons information.  Logging in this way will create your My NCBI account as well as automatically link your eRA Commons account to your My NCBI account which activates the NIH compliance features in your My Bibliography. Also, you do not need to take any additional steps to connect your eRA Commons account to your My NCBI.

Scenario 2:  If you do not already have a My NCBI login method set up and do not have an eRA Commons account, choose one of the available 3rd Party Sign In Options (see NCBI login screenshot above) including ORCID under "more login options". 

Once you have your My NCBI account, you will need to link that account to your eRA Commons account. (Note this linking step is completed automatically for investigators who log in to My NCBI for the first time with their eRA Commons accounts.)

To link your existing My NCBI account to your eRA Commons account:

1. Log in to My NCBI with your existing My NCBI account
2. Once you are in your account, click on your login name at the top right of the page.  On the NCBI Account Settings page, scroll down to the "Linked Accounts" section.

3. Click on the "Change" button to the right of the "Linked Accounts" option (see below)

4. Using the "Login Account Options" scroll down and select "NIH & eRA Commons" and log in to your eRA Commons account

These steps will successfully link your accounts! Once your accounts are linked, the icon  will display within your My Bibliography area and verify that an eRA account has been linked to a My NCBI account.

If you wish, you may set up one or more delegates for your My NCBI account. Delegates are persons who are granted access by NCBI account owners to view and manage their bibliographies (and/or their SciENcv profile). Delegates can add and remove citations, and check whether a manuscript is compliant with the NIH Public Access policy. 

1. Navigate to your NCBI account settings by clicking on your login name at the top right of the page.  On the NCBI Account Settings page, scroll down to the "Delegates" area.

2.  Click the “Add a Delegate” link

3.  Enter the delegate’s e-mail address. Click the “Add a Delegate” button.

4.  Your delegates will receive an email which they must then confirm by clicking on a link in the email.

5. Note: In order for your delegate to manage your compliance, you will need to ensure that your My NCBI and eRA Commons accounts are linked. If they are not or if you are uncertain, please see the "Linking My NCBI to eRA Commons" section in this guide.

To accept a delegate assignment:

1. Sign in to your personal My NCBI account.

2. Respond to the confirmation email from My NCBI by clicking on the URL provided within the email.

3. Click on the "Confirm Connection" button. Under "Collections" area you should see a link for the bibliography for which you are a delegate along with a link to your personal bibliography. Note that these are separate bibliographies.

4. You may need to ensure that the investigator whose bibliography you are managing has linked their My NCBI and eRA Commons accounts.  If this step has not been completed, you will not be able to see the "Awards View" in My NCBI, which will help you to manage their compliance. See the "Linking My NCBI to eRA Commons" section in this guide for instructions on linking these accounts.