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NIH Public Access Policy

Guidelines for complying with the NIH Public Access Policy

What Is the NIH Public Access Policy?

The NIH's Public Access Policy requires:

  • Final, peer reviewed manuscripts resulting from NIH-funded research must be posted to the NIH Manuscript Submission system (NIHMS) upon acceptance for publication, and be made publically available on PubMed Central (PMC) no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. PubMed Central is a free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.
  • The Policy applies to all peer-reviewed articles accepted for publication on or after April 7th, 2008, arising in whole or part from
    • Any direct* funding from an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal year 2008 or beyond, or;
    • Any direct funding from an NIH contract signed on or after April 7, 2008.
  • The Policy requires that these articles be accessible to the public on PubMed Central to help advance science and improve human health, and ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research.
  • Applications, Proposals and Reports must include evidence of compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy for all applicable papers that are authored by the Principal Investigator (PI) or arose from the PI's NIH funds.

   *"Direct" funding means costs that can be specifically identified with a particular project or activity.