What is the NIH Public Access Policy?
Effective
Effective July 1, 2025, all peer-reviewed accepted author manuscripts published on federally-funded projects must be made accessible in PubMed Central (PMC) immediately. This change eliminates the previous 12-month delay. If the journal or publisher does not submit manuscripts on behalf of the researcher, researchers must submit manuscripts immediately after acceptance using the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).
Source Reference: https://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm
How Manuscripts Get into PubMed Central (PMC):
Method A: Journals automatically post NIH-supported manuscripts directly to PubMed Central (PMC).
Method B: Authors make special arrangements for journals/publishers to post their manuscripts directly to PMC.
Method C: Authors of their designee submits manuscripts to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).
Method D: Publishers submit manuscripts to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).
Source Reference: https://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process.htm
