NIH Public Access Policy

The NIH has moved up the Effective Date of the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy,
NOT-OD-25-047, to July 1, 2025 at which time it will replace the 2008 Public Access Policy.

Authors of any articles reporting NIH-funded research accepted on or after July 1, 2025 must deposit their manuscript upon acceptance, for immediate public availability on the date of publication, in the NIH public access repository, PubMed Central.

Any publications reporting NIH-funded research accepted for publication before July 1, 2025 are subject to the 2008 Public Access Policy. If your publication was accepted before July 1, you will need to make your publication publicly available in PubMed Central one year after it is published to be compliant with the 2008 policy.

Attribution: Becker Medical Library at Washington University School of Medicine  

The Policy implements the requirements specified in the NIH revision of policy NOT-OD-25-101: "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.” https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-047.html 

The major changes from the previous version of the Policy are:

• The author's accepted manuscript must be deposited in PubMed Central
• It must be deposited at the time it is accepted for publication

This policy applies to authors that meet the following criteria:

• Their article based on NIH-funded research has been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal
• Their article was accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025

The new policy and its accelerated implementation are new to authors, institutions, and publishers. The library will share resources, FAQs, and guidance with UNC Charlotte faculty, staff, and students as it becomes available.

The Policy implements Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL 110-161 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008) which states:

SEC. 218. The Director of the National Institutes of Health shall require that all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central an electronic version of their final peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication: Provided, That the NIH shall implement the public access policy in a manner consistent with copyright law.

The Public Access Policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH-funded research. It requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central. The Policy requires that these final peer-reviewed manuscripts be accessible to the public on PubMed Central to help advance science and improve human health.

2008 NIH Public Access Policy Overview

This policy applies to any publication that meets the following criteria:

• Is peer-reviewed;
• Was accepted for publication in a journal on or after April 7, 2008, and before July 1, 2025;
• And, arises 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, or;
  • Any direct funding from the NIH Intramural Program, or;
  • An NIH employee.

https://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm