NIH Public Access Requirements

Critical Policy Changes Effective July 1, 2025

The NIH eliminated its 12-month embargo period on July 1, 2025, requiring immediate public access to all NIH-funded research publications. This accelerated timeline means these requirements are currently in effect for all NIH grants, including those awarded before July 2025.

The NIH provides an FAQ regarding the policy that can answer specific questions. Below is an overview of the policy’s requirements.

Core Requirements

Zero Embargo Policy: All Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) must be publicly available in PubMed Central immediately upon the Official Date of Publication. This applies to manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025, regardless of submission date.

Submission Timeline: Researchers must submit AAMs to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication, not after publication. This requires proactive coordination with publishers and co-authors.

Government Use License: Authors must grant NIH “a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use this work for Federal purposes” through required manuscript language.

Universal Application: The policy applies to ALL NIH funding mechanisms (grants, contracts, training awards, cooperative agreements) and covers research funded “in whole or in part” by NIH, regardless of whether the NIH-funded PI is an author.

Compliance Pathways

The NIH provides a chart that is helpful for understanding submission methods and responsibilities.

There are several ways to comply with the requirements:

1. Author Self-Submission: Use the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS) to deposit Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAC)* manuscripts directly. This is most reliable method of submission for individual contributors.

  • An Author Accepted Manuscript is defined by the NIH as “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.”

2. Automatic Deposits Via Journal Agreements: Some journals have agreements with the National Library of Medicine for automatic manuscript deposit. Journals will submit the “Final Published Article” at the time of publication.

  • Check the journal list for participating publishers.
  • The NIH recommends reviewing the specific journal record to confirm that the Release Delay is 0 months (Immediate Release) and the Agreement Status is Active.
  • A Final Published Article is defined by the NIH as “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.”

3. Selective Deposits Via Journal Agreements: Some Journals also have “Selective Deposits”

4. Publisher Submission to NIHMS: Some publishers submit directly to NIHMS on behalf of authors.

Critical Implementation Details

Funding Acknowledgment: Include required statement in all 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.

Publisher Policy Conflicts: Major publishers including Elsevier and Springer Nature currently maintain embargo periods conflicting with NIH policy. See this Authors Alliance FAQ for Authors for more information.

Budget and Cost Considerations

Allowable Costs: “Reasonable publication costs” may be included as direct or indirect costs in grant budgets, but NIH does not require funding these costs.

Prohibited Costs: Fees specifically for PubMed Central submission are NOT allowable expenses. This mostly applies to paying third party vendors.

Cost-Effective Compliance: Many researchers can achieve compliance through repository deposit without paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). These costs can be covered with NIH funding. The Library also offers its Open Access Publishing Fund to assist researchers with APC costs associated with publishing in open access journals.

Enforcement and Consequences

Non-compliance can result in delays or loss of current and future NIH funding. NIH monitors compliance through the My Bibliography system and requires compliance verification before processing new awards.

Resources