Open Access Publishing: NIH Public Access Policy

The updated 2024 Public Access Policy for Publications was issued on December 17, 2024. 

The 2024 Public Access Policy includes two supplemental notices: Publication Costs and Government Use License Use and Rights and one revised notice: Revision: Notice of Updated Effective Date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, issued on April 30, 2025.

Readings

• NIH. Revision: Notice of Updated Effective Date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy Notice Number: NOT-OD-25-101. April 30, 2025. 
• NIH. Accelerating Access to Research Results: New Implementation Date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy. April 30, 2025.
• NIH Office of Science Policy. Transforming Transparency Through Policy. April 30, 2025.
• NIH: Under the Poliscope. Introducing the New NIH Public Access Policy! December 17, 2024.
• NIH Director: Statements. NIH Issues New Policy to Speed Access to Agency-funded Research Results. December 17, 2024.

2024 NIH PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY

Purpose

Increasing access to publications resulting from National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding offers many benefits to the scientific community and the public who funded the underlying research. When patients, families, and healthcare providers can access published findings resulting from NIH funding, they are able to better understand and address the most critical health concerns facing their communities. It also allows researchers, students, and members of the public in all communities to have equitable access to such content. This access can accelerate future research, lead to collaboration, and allow interested readers and patients to follow the latest advances more closely. Importantly, these goals also reflect NIH’s commitment to the responsible stewardship of the Nation’s investment in biomedical research by improving transparency and accessibility of taxpayer-funded research, an essential component of fostering trust in research.

To achieve these goals, the NIH Public Access Policy requires Author Accepted Manuscripts accepted for publication in a journal, on or after December 31, 2025, to be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication, for public availability without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication.

Definitions

Author Accepted Manuscript: 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.

Final Published Article: 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.

Journal: A periodical publication that is either 1) included in the “journal” section of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Catalog or 2) meets all of the following criteria:

• Requirements for ISSN assignment;
• Content is issued over time under a common title;
• Is a collection of articles by different authors; and
• Is intended to be published indefinitely.

Official Date of Publication: The date on which the Final Published Article is first made available in final, edited form, whether in print or electronic (i.e., online) format. 

Scope and Effective Date

The NIH Public Access Policy applies to any Author Accepted Manuscript accepted for publication in a journal, on or after December 31, 2025, that is the result of funding by NIH in whole or in part through:

• A grant or cooperative agreement, including training grants,
• A contract,
• An Other Transaction,
• NIH intramural research, or
• The official work of an NIH employee.

The NIH Public Access Policy applies regardless of whether the NIH-funded principal investigator or project director is an author and regardless of whether non-NIH funds contributed to developing or writing the Author Accepted Manuscript. Upon the Effective Date, this Policy replaces the 2008 NIH Public Access Policy.

Requirements

The NIH Public Access Policy requires:

• Submission of an electronic version of the Author Accepted Manuscript to PubMed Central upon its acceptance for publication for public availability without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication;
• An acknowledgment in the Author Accepted Manuscript and Final Published Article that satisfies the requirements in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS) regarding communicating and acknowledging federal funding (GPS 4.2.1 and GPS 8.2.1), as well as analogous requirements for acknowledging federal funding as incorporated into the terms of Other Transaction agreements and applicable contracts; and
• When an Author Accepted Manuscript is submitted to NIH¹, agreeing to a standard license that mirrors that of the Government Use License at 2 CFR 200.315, or its successor regulation, explicitly granting NIH the right to make the Author Accepted Manuscript publicly available through PubMed Central without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication. 

Government Use License and Rights

• By accepting NIH funding, the recipient grants to NIH, as the funding agency, a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for federal purposes and to authorize others to do so, which includes making Author Accepted Manuscripts publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication. A statement that conveys this point is incorporated into Notices of Award, the terms of Other Transaction agreements, and applicable contracts.
• NIH encourages authors to include a statement that indicates the Author Accepted Manuscript is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy and that this means that NIH, as the funding agency, has the right to make the Author Accepted Manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication. NIH provides sample language in the Guidance on Government Use License and Rights that authors may choose to include in Author Accepted Manuscripts. Such a statement ensures transparency and ensures awareness that NIH has the right to make the Author Accepted Manuscript available in PubMed Central without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication.
• Authors are not expected to provide rights to NIH to the Final Published Article, and the rights that accrue to NIH upon the acceptance of funding are to the Author Accepted Manuscript. However, as noted in the section on Compliance and Enforcement, NIH will accept submission of the Final Published Article to PubMed Central from journals or publishers with formal agreements with NLM as compliant with the Policy when it may be made publicly available without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication.

NIH Funding of Publication Costs

Reasonable costs associated with publication that are allowable costs of the project budget may be requested as direct or indirect costs, as specified in the GPS 7.9 and as incorporated into the terms of Other Transaction agreements and applicable contracts (see the Guidance on Publication Costs for more information). Submission of Author Accepted Manuscripts to PubMed Central remains free for authors under the NIH Public Access Policy. If, during the course of the publication process, an author is asked to pay a fee for submission of the Author Accepted Manuscript to PubMed Central, such costs are not allowable. 

Compliance and Enforcement

Regarding submission to PubMed Central, compliance with the Policy may be achieved through either:

• Submission of the electronic version of the Author Accepted Manuscript to PubMed Central upon its acceptance for publication, for public availability without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication, or
• Submission of the Final Published Article to PubMed Central from journals or publishers with formal agreements with NLM, upon the Official Date of Publication, for public availability without embargo.

Additional details on compliance and enforcement can be found below:

• Grants: Noncompliance with the NIH Public Access Policy may be considered by NIH regarding future funding decisions for the recipient institution (e.g., as authorized in the NIH GPS 8.5, Specific Award Conditions and Remedies for Noncompliance (Specific Award Conditions and Enforcement Actions)). Non-competing continuation grant awards are subject to a delay in award processing for noncompliance with the NIH Public Access Policy.   
• Contracts: Compliance with and enforcement of the Policy will be consistent with the contract and the Federal Acquisition Regulations, as applicable.
• Other Transaction Agreements: Compliance with and enforcement of the Policy will be consistent with applicable NIH policies and the terms of the agreement.
• Intramural Research and the Official Work of NIH Employees: Compliance with and enforcement of the Policy will be consistent with applicable NIH policies and procedures.

Communicating and acknowledging federal funding enables a clear, public-facing indication of NIH funding in Author Accepted Manuscripts and Final Published Articles. Failure to include required acknowledgments may result in noncompliance with the NIH Public Access Policy, in addition to resulting in noncompliance with terms and conditions of funding regarding communicating and acknowledging federal funding.

 

[1] This happens typically through the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) System.

Key Changes to Note:

• Immediate Submission to PubMed Central: Researchers must submit their Author Accepted Manuscripts to PubMed Central upon acceptance of publication. This ensures that research is accessible to the public as soon as possible.
• No Embargo Period: There will no longer be an embargo period for journals. Full-text must be made publicly available in PubMed Central upon publication.
• Impact on Funding: Non-compliance with these new requirements could affect current and future funding opportunities, including grant renewals. It is crucial to adhere to these guidelines to maintain funding status.
• No Cost to Authors: Authors can submit their manuscript files to PubMed Central at no cost, regardless of whether they have published open access or not.