NIH Public Access Policy
The mandatory NIH Public Access Policy requires that all investigators funded by the NIH submit (or have submitted for them) to PubMed Central an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. This applies to final peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication on or after 7 April 2008.
The NIH Public Access Policy implements Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL 110-161, which was signed into law in late 2007. Compliance with this Policy is a legal requirement and a term and condition for all active grants and contracts awarded as of 7 April 2008. Failure to comply may trigger one or more enforcement actions, depending on the severity and duration of the non-compliance.
Please see the NIH's Public Access web site for further information, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), training information, and other resources.
To ensure compliance with the Policy, please remember to:
Address Copyright
Make sure that any copyright transfer or other publication agreements allow your paper to be submitted to NIH in accordance with the Policy.
Submit Papers upon Acceptance for Publication
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Some journals will submit the final published article on your behalf, without your involvement. See http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm for a list of these journals.
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For any journal other than those on this list, please:
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When submitting a paper for publication, inform the journal that the final peer-reviewed manuscript is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy.
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Make sure that any copyright transfer or other publication agreement allows the final peer-reviewed manuscript to be submitted to NIH in accordance with the Policy. For more information, see the FAQ 'Whose approval do I need to submit my article to PubMed Central?' and consult with your Institution.
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Submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript to NIH upon acceptance for publication at http://www.nihms.nih.gov/. See the Submission Process for more information.
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Cite Papers
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When citing your NIH-funded papers in NIH applications, proposals or progress reports, please include the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) for each paper.
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NIH will monitor compliance through citations. Effective from 25 May 2008, when your NIH Program Officer reviews your progress report or application, he or she will be expecting a PMCID in the citation of every applicable paper that arose out of your NIH funding, or a manuscript submission system reference number (NIHMSID) if the PMCID has not been issued. See Section C of the FAQ page for examples.
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If you publish through a journal listed under http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm, there might be a slight delay in assignment of a PMCID. This is okay. NIH have signed agreements with these journals that allow NIH to resolve submission with them without your involvement. To facilitate your Program Officer's job, NIH asks that you indicate 'PMC Journal - In Process' until the PMCID is available.