The NIH changed the effective date of their new 2024 Public Access Policy from December 31, 2025 to July 1, 2025. Author accepted manuscripts (AAMs) resulting from NIH-funded research that are accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025 must be made freely available in PubMed Central (PMC) immediately at the time of publication. The AAM is the manuscript version that has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. This is different from the final, published article that has been copyedited, formatted, and made available on the journal’s website. The current 12-month embargo period for depositing AAMs in PMC will no longer be accepted.
Journal Copyright Policies
To help ensure that your NIH-funded manuscripts will be compliant, check the journal’s copyright and author rights policy before submitting to confirm that you will have the rights to upload your AAM into PMC. If the journal’s policy includes an embargo period, let the journal know before submitting that your work is NIH-funded and must comply with 2024 NIH Public Access Policy.
It’s also good to clarify who is responsible for depositing manuscripts into PMC—some journals do this on the author’s behalf. Journals that do have an agreement with PMC to deposit manuscripts for authors might be doing so with a 12-month embargo period, based on the 2008 policy. Clarify with the journal to see if they will update their policy or if there are other options available to comply with the new policy.
Do I Need to Publish Open Access?
The NIH states that authors do not need to pay an open access fee to a journal to bring their manuscripts into compliance. However, publishing open access is one way of making your manuscript immediately available and retaining the right to deposit your work into PMC.
NIH Rights Retention Statement
The NIH recommends that authors include the following NIH Rights Statement in their manuscripts to be extra transparent with the journal that the NIH has the right to make the AAM available in PMC without embargo:
“This manuscript is the result of funding in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication, as defined by NIH.” – Government Use License and Rights Notice Number: NOT-OD-25-049
Library Support
If you have any questions about these upcoming changes, selecting journals for publication, or interpreting journal policies, contact HSLS Publishing Services.
~Stephen Gabrielson
This article was also published in Pitt’s University Times newsletter on Monday, June 2, 2025.