What is the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy?
Since 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy has been promoting public access to NIH-funded research by requiring that its researchers deposit their publications in PubMed Central (PMC). However, the original policy allowed for a 12-month embargo on the release of these publications, which meant the public may not be able to access them until 12 months after the publication appeared in a journal.
In July 2025, the new 2024 NIH Public Access Policy went into effect, which removed the allowable embargo period. This updated policy was released in response to a 2022 Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) memo that instructed all federal agencies to develop policies that would allow immediate (i.e. without embargo) access to funded research.
Tips for Compliance
The new policy went into effect July 1, 2025, and applies to all manuscripts accepted for publication on or after this date, regardless of when the grant was initiated. As noted above, the main change is the removal of the 12-month embargo period, which means that authors need to take steps to ensure their manuscripts are immediately available in PubMed Central.
There are several key actions you can take as an NIH-supported researcher to ensure your compliance with this new policy:
- Make sure to clearly state any NIH funding associated with your publications at the time of submission. This will help ensure that your publisher knows you are NIH-funded and will need to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.
- Select an appropriate licensing model when signing your author’s agreement. You want to make sure you retain the necessary rights to post a copy of your manuscript to PubMed Central and don’t accidentally sign an agreement that prohibits it. Of note, many publishers are promoting their Gold Open Access (OA) publishing models as the only route to compliance, though the NIH policy states that publishing OA is not required. The Ohio State University has several open access publishing agreements, including the Ohio State University Libraries and Health Sciences Library (HSL) Open Access and Publication Support, that may help offset the costs of publishing open access should you choose that route; however, many of these agreements have annual caps, so funds cannot always be guaranteed.
- Identify which deposit method you will need to follow. The exact steps of how your article will make its way into PubMed Central will vary depending on the specific journal and publisher you are working with, as well as how you choose to publish (OA vs non-OA). Knowing which method your article will follow and who is responsible for each step up front can save you time and trouble in the end.
- Initiate the submission of your article to PubMed Central upon acceptance, if needed. Processing an Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) through the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system can take some time, and your goal should be to have it in place when the journal publication goes live.
- Track the compliance of your publications proactively using the My Bibliography tool. My Bibliography (part of your MyNCBI account) is required to manage and report the compliance of all manuscripts associated with your NIH funding. By regularly monitoring your compliance status, you can avoid delays and possible issues with non-compliance down the road.
For more information on the NIH Public Access Policy and how to maintain your compliance, check out our NIH Public Access Policy Guide or the NIH Grants webpage on Public Access.
