National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy

Implementation Guidance for the New 2024 Public Access Policy (Effective July 1, 2025)

The NIH Public Access Policy is designed to ensure that the public has access to the published results of NIH-funded research. As of July 1, 2025, author accepted manuscripts that arise from NIH-funded grants must be submitted to PubMed Central immediately upon publication (note: this is different than the prior 12-month embargo period).

This page provides a brief overview of the policy, what it entails, and where you can go to find additional information. Much of this information comes from NIH Public Access Policy website, which contains more detailed information. Please review all information on the NIH Public Access Policy website. Note that the NIH has also issued supplemental guidance on government use license and rights and publication costs.

Does this new policy apply to you?

This policy applies to any journal-accepted manuscript that is the result of funding by NIH (in whole or in part) through one of the following:

  • Grant or cooperative agreement (Note: this includes training grants)
  • Contracts
  • Other transactions
  • NIH intramural research
  • The official work of an NIH employee

The NIH Public Access Policy applies regardless of whether the NIH-funded PI is an author and regardless of whether non-NIH funds contributed to developing or writing the author accepted manuscript.

Please note, that if you are the Principal Investigator (PI) for the funded project, you are responsible for making sure that all articles coming out of the project are submitted, even if you are not an author. The University of Oregon (UO) is also responsible for making sure this happens.

When does this policy take effect?

The existing Public Access Policy took effect Monday, April 7, 2008.  As of July 1, 2025, author accepted manuscripts arising from NIH funds must be submitted to PubMed Central immediately on the date of publication.

How to comply with the policy

  • Ensure that the publication agreement (or any other copyright-transfer document) that you sign with a journal publisher allows submission to PubMed Central. Consult the NIH website for additional information about how to do this, including sample language and what to do if a journal publisher refuses to allow submission to PubMed Central.
  • Submit your manuscript (the final, peer-reviewed version) to the NIH. This can be done by using the NIH manuscript submission (NIHMS) system (by you or your support staff).  Some publishers may submit it for you. (With these first two options, you will still need to go into NIHMS to verify and personally approve the manuscript.)  Other NIH-approved journals automatically submit all articles to PubMed Central on the author’s behalf, so long as the journal knows that the paper is NIH-funded. . Note that effective July 1, 2025, there is no longer a 12-month embargo period—submission to NIH is required the date of publication.
  • When citing an article in NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports that falls under the policy AND was authored or co-authored by you or arose from your NIH award, you are required to include the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) or the NIHMS ID number, if a PMCID has not been assigned yet. If you need help finding this number, contact the UO Libraries for assistance. More information on how to include this number in your citation is available at the NIH Public Access website.
  • We strongly encourage (but do not require) authors to include the NIH Rights Statement in manuscripts, along with the required funding acknowledgement. The NIH Rights Statement serves to inform publishers and journals that the work is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy and that NIH has the right to make the Author Accepted Manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the official publication date.
    1. The NIH Rights Statement reads: “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.”

Other Resources

NIH submission information

More information about the policy

  • NIH Public Access - information about the requirements, submission guidelines, and answers to frequently asked questions

University of Oregon resources