NIH Public Access Policy
Background
How to Comply
Manuscript Submission
Cite Papers
Finding PubMed Central ID Numbers
Policy Applications
Results of Non-Compliance
Further Information and Assistance (tutorials, FAQs, etc.)
Public Access Policy
NIH Public Access Policy Statement November 2012
Public Access Policy Compliance Details Available in NIH Guide notice NOT-OD-12-160
What NIH Grantees Need to Know About ClinicalTrials.gov and FDAAA This Web site provides information to help NIH applicants and grantees (recipients of extramural grants and cooperative agreements) to understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to ClinicalTrials.gov and the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA) of 2007. The information on this site may not apply to NIH contracts or NIH intramural research.
To NIH-funded UC Researchers / Authors (PDF)
Since April 7, 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has required that an author’s final version of any peer-reviewed journal article resulting from NIH-funded activities be submitted to the PubMed Central repository, where it will be available to the public within 12 months after the journal article is published. Complete information about this requirement is located at the NIH Public Access Site.
How to ComplyCopyright
Make sure that any copyright transfer or other publication agreements allow the final peer-reviewed manuscripts to be submitted to NIH in accordance with the Policy.
Manuscript Submission
Authors may submit a paper to the journal of their choice for publication.
- Some publishers make the final published version of every NIH-funded article publicly available in PubMed Central within 12 months of publication, without author involvement. See http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm for a list of these journals.
- For any journal other than one of those in this list, the author must:
- Inform the journal that the final peer-reviewed manuscript is subject to the Public Access Policy when submitting it for publication.
- Make sure that any copyright transfer or other publication agreement allows the final peer-reviewed manuscript to be submitted to NIH in accordance with the Policy. For more information, see the FAQ Whose approval do I need to submit my article to PubMed Central? and consult with your Institution.
- Submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript to NIH, upon acceptance for publication. See the Submission Process for more information.
When your manuscript is submitted to NIH, you will receive a NIHMS ID number. The NIHMSID is a preliminary article identifier that applies only to manuscripts deposited through the NIHMS system. Once the paper appears in PubMed Central (PMC), it will also be assigned a PMCID.
Effective May 25, 2008, you need to cite the PMC ID or NIHMS ID numbers for your articles that you cite in your progress reports, new applications, and renewals. These are only needed for articles accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008, but you may include PMC ID numbers for articles already in PubMed Central as well.
PMC ID numbers can be found in PubMed and in PubMed Central. The PMC ID number begins with PMC and appears in the lower left of the PubMed citation in the Abstract display option.
NIHMS ID numbers can also be found in PubMed Central and in PubMed in the MID (Manuscript ID) field when viewing the citation in the MEDLINE display format.
Examples of how to find PMCID, NIHMSID, and PMID numbers. The Health Sciences Library can help you find these numbers, if you need assistance.
If you publish through a journal in the list of Journals That Submit Articles To PubMed Central, you may indicate "PMC Journal - In Process" until the PMCID is available. There might be a slight delay in assignment of a PMCID even for those publishers working with NIH. By using this phrase, you are letting the NIH program officer know that your article will be in compliance with the new policy.
Finding PubMed Central (PMC) ID Numbers- National Library of Medicine: Technical Bulletin
- Difference Between a PMCID and a PMID
- Locating the PMCID
- PMCID Converter: translates PMIDs to PMCIDs and vice versa
Applies to "All Investigators Funded by NIH"
Directly or indirectly resulting from NIH funded research or contract
Supported whole or in part with direct costsResearch grant and cooperative agreements
Contracts
Career development awards
All Kirschstein National Research Service awards
Intramural grants
If NIH pays your salaryOriginal primary research
Applies to "All Final Peer-Reviewed Articles"
Electronic version of manuscript
With all the edit made during peer review
But NOT the final published version with copy editing, stylistic changes and editing
Use of the final PUBLISHED version requires permission from the publisherDo not download the PDF from the journal site unless you have permission
Submit whether or not it is indexed in MEDLINE/PUBMED
Does NOT apply to:
Results of Non-ComplianceBooks
Book chapters
Editorials or correspondence
Non peer-reviewed articles
Articles in trade magazines
Abstracts or proceedings
Multimedia or other type of publications
What will happen if you do not comply?
Beginning no earlier than the Spring of 2013, open access policy compliance will be enforced. Compliance details available: NIH Guide notice NOT-OD-12-160
Further Information and Assistance
NIH Training/Communications: video tutorials and more
Submitting an Article to PubMed Central (Windows Media Player video)
Approving Submission of an Article to PubMed Central (Windows Media Player video)