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NIH Public Access Policy

2008 Policy vs 2024 Policy

The main difference between the 2008 and the 2024 Policies is the removal of an allowable 12-month embargo period.

 

  • The 2008 Policy allowed researchers to deposit their manuscripts into PMC upon acceptance in a journal, but delay the public release of the article up to 12 months (aka an "embargo").
  • The 2024 Policy removes this embargo option and requires researchers to make their manuscripts publicly available in PMC immediately upon publication.

Determining Which Policy To Follow

As we transition to the new 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, there will be a brief period of time when some researchers may still be subject to the previous policy.

Below are 3 common scenarios:

Received notification of acceptance before July 1, 2025

If you had already received formal acceptance of your article before July 1, 2025, then you are subject to the 2008 Public Access Policy, which allows a 12-month embargo.

Manuscript currently under review without notification of acceptance

If you had already submitted a manuscript, but had not yet received notification of acceptance prior to July 1, 2025, then you will be subject to the 2024 Public Access Policy if/when your manuscript is accepted.  This means you must make your manuscript publicly available in PMC immediately upon publication.

If you had not already been planning for immediate public access to your paper, you may want to reach out to your publisher to let them know you will be subject to the new policy and find out what your publishing options will be.

All new manuscripts submitted for publication moving forward

Now that the new 2024 Public Access Policy is officially in effect, any manuscripts submitted moving forward will be subject to the new policy, regardless of when the grant was awarded, which means you must make your manuscript publicly available in PMC immediately upon publication..  Make sure to plan for your compliance when you are selecting a journal to publish in and considering your author agreements.