Scholarly Communication & Publishing: Public Access Policy

The Public Access Policy was established by the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP)  with the goal of increasing public access to the results of  federally funded research. 

On April 30, 2025, the NIH released an update to its guidance on the NIH Public Access policy for implementation of the 2022 Nelson Memorandum accelerating its effective date to July 1, 2025. All other elements of the policy remain unchanged. A link to the new guidance is available here: https:// grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-101.html  

To assist with compliance, NIH has developed a new website dedicated to the Public Access Policy which includes an overview of the policy, supplemental guidance, tips for submitting to PubMed Central, contact information, and FAQs. The site can be found at:   https://grants.nih.gov/policy-and-compliance/policy-topics/public-access

Overall Requirements and Scope

• The policy requires immediate public access to articles; embargoes are no longer allowed. 
• The NIH reiterates that authors do not have to pay a fee to comply with the policy.
• The policy applies to Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAM) resulting from NIH funding (in whole or in part), accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025.
• The policy requires that final peer-reviewed manuscripts be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC) upon acceptance to be made publicly available immediately upon publication. 
• The policy requires that grantees explicitly grant the NIH the right to make the manuscript available in PMC without an embargo. 
• Acknowledgment of NIH funding in the AAM and the final published ariticle is required. 
• The policy does not explicitly grant full reuse rights of the manuscript to the public.

Compliance

• NIH will maintain its two existing submission pathways: submission of the final peer-reviewed manuscript to PMC directly or submission of the final published article to PMC from a journal that has a formal agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM). 
• Non-compliance with the policy, including failure to acknowledge federal funding in the manuscript, may be considered when making future funding decisions for the grantee or cause a delay in the continuation of non-competing grant awards. 

Definitions

Authors Accepted Manuscript (AAM): final version accepted for publication, includes all revisions from the peer review and associated tables, graphics, and supplemental material.

Official Date of Publication: date on which the final published article is first made available in final form, whether print or electronic. 

The NIH Public Access Policy and Data Management and Sharing Policy are connected.

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy (DMSP) Policy published in 2020, went into effect in 2023. The DMSP requires researchers to develop data management and sharing plans that maximize the appropriate sharing of scientific data.  The NIH encourages scientific data to be shared as soon as possible, and no later than the time of an associated publication or end of the performance period, whichever comes first. Data associated with publications needs to be publicly available (if possible) no later than the time of publication. 

Does the Federal Purpose License (FPL) apply retroactively to grants accepted before the new policy takes effect?

Yes. The FPL applies to all existing research grants from the federal government and has been in place since the 1970s. Even when an agency doesn't specifically name the FPL in its public access policy, it applies. 

Is the ACS Article Development Charge an allowable cost?

Current understanding (June 2025) - NIH's intention is for the ACS Article Development Charge to NOT be an allowable cost.

Does the NIH policy require a Creative Commons License such as CC BY?

No, a CC BY license is not required. 

How can authors ensure they are meeting compliance requirements so that the publication can be made publicly available on the official date of publication?

Submitting the author accepted manuscript (as required) should aid in compliance as it gives authors time to submit the AAM prior to the official date of publication at which time, NIH will make it publicly available. 

How will authors be informed of the official date of publication?

Currently, NIH determines the official date of publication based on information received from the publisher and the National Library of Medicine (NLM).

How will the AAM submission process change with the new policy?

Currently, the understanding is that the NIH Manuscript Submission process (methods A-D) will remain unchanged. 

• Method A: SOME journals automatically post NIH supported papers directly to PMC
• Method B: Authors must make special arrangements for SOME journals and publishers to post the paper directly to PMC.
• Method C: Authors or their designee must submit manuscripts to the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS).
• Method D: SOME publishers will submit manuscripts to the NIHMS. 
• Awardees are responsible for ensuring manuscripts are submitted to the NIHMS upon acceptance for publication. 

Will publishers who currently deposit to PMC for authors continue to do so?

Some of the large publishers are signaling that they will stop PMC deposits for articles subject to the public access policy. Authors will continue to be able to deposit to NIHMS without charge.