LibGuides: NIH Public Access Policy, Biosketch, and Data Management and Sharing Plans: Public Access Policy

What Is PAP?

The NIH Public Access Policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research. It requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication. To help advance science and improve human health, the Policy requires that these papers are accessible to the public on PubMed Central.

Policy Details

The current version of the Public Access Policy went into effect on 07/01/25. You can find details on the updated policy here. Most aspects of the policy will remain the same, with the major difference being that the 12 month embargo no longer exists and publications should be made publicly accessible in Pubmed Central immediately upon publication.

The primary mechanism that allows for this change is the requirement that all NIH funded research be published under a Government Use License. You can find more information on that here, which includes sample language to include in your manuscript asserting your the right to be included in PubMed Central.

Not all journals have updated their policies, and we will update this space as changes occur. Currently the following publishers allow accepted manuscripts to be uploaded into Pubmed Central on publication for NIH-funded work:

Sage
American Medical Association

For additional information on what specific journals allow, see Open Policy Finder

For publishers who offer free Open Access publishing (which allow immediate uploads into PubMed Central), see our Guide to Open Access Publishing for publishers that Weill Cornell has an institutional relationship with, and the Directory of Open Access Journals for all other journals.

For all other publishers, negotiate making the postprint freely available immediately in PubMed Central, or agree to pay whatever fees are required by the publisher

NIH to crack down on excessive publisher fees for publicly funded research (July 11, 2025)
Notice of Updated Effective Date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy (April 30, 2025)
2024 NIH Public Access Policy (December 17, 2024)
NIH Plan to Enhance Public Access to the Results of NIH-Supported Research (February 21, 2023)
Until further notice, only papers written in Latin script will be collected via the NIH Manuscript Submission System for the NIH Public Access Policy (October 30, 2009)
Clarification on the Use of an NIHMSID to Indicate Compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy (August 12, 2009)
The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 Makes the NIH Public Access Policy Permanent (March 19, 2009)
Reminder Concerning Grantee Compliance with the Public Access Policy and Related NIH Monitoring Activities (September 23, 2008)
NIH Guide Notice for Public Access (January 11, 2008)

NIH Public Access Compliance Procedure

How To Comply

All of your papers that fall under the NIH Public Access Policy, whether in press or in print, must include evidence of compliance in all of your NIH applications and reports. There are a few steps necessary to ensure your publication demonstrates compliance.

Determine Applicability: Does the NIH Public Access Policy apply to your paper?

Address Copyright: Ensure your publishing agreement allows the paper to be posted to PubMed Central in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy.
Submit paper to PMC: Submit papers to PubMed Central (PMC) and approve public release within three months of publication.
Include PMCID in Citations: Include the PMCID at the end of the full citation in your application or report.