NIH Public Access Policy: 2024 Public Access Policy

On December 17, 2024, NIH released its updated 2024 Public Access Policy. This revised policy is in keeping with the White House OSTP memo “Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research”. The Policy was informed by public feedback, including comments received in Summer 2024 in response to the NIH Draft Public Access Policy.

The 2024 Public Access Policy is effective for manuscripts accepted for publication on or after December 31, 2025. Until then, NIH’s current (2008) Public Access Policy remains in effect. See an overview of the 2024 Public Access Policy and supplemental guidance.

Unless otherwise noted, the following definitions were introduced in NIH's 2024 Public Access Policy and supplemental guidance:

• Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) - the author’s final version that has been accepted for journal publication and includes all revisions resulting from the peer review process, including all associated tables, graphics, and supplemental material.
• Embargo - An embargo in publishing is a restriction on access to full-text content until a certain amount of time has passed (this definition is not provided in NIH's policy).
• Final Published Article - The journal's authoritative copy, including journal or publisher copyediting and stylistic edits, and formatting changes, even prior to the compilation of a volume or issue or the assignment of associated metadata.
• Official Date of Publication (ODP) - the date on which the Final Published Article is first made available in final, edited form, whether in print or electronic (i.e., online) format.
• Submitted Manuscript - The author’s pre-accepted version of the manuscript that is submitted to a journal or publisher.

For manuscripts that are accepted for publication in a journal on or after December 1, 2025:

1. The full text of manuscripts that result from NIH funding in whole or in part must be made available immediately upon the Official Date of Publication in PubMed Central. An embargo period of any length will no longer be allowed.
2. Authors must include an acknowledgment of federal funding in the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) and Final Published Article (see guidance below).
3. Authors submitting manuscripts to PubMed Central (via NIHMS) will be required to agree to a standard license that mirrors that of the Government Use License, explicitly granting NIH the right to make the AAM publicly available through PubMed Central without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication (see guidance below).
4. While publication costs for open access publishing of the final published article will still be allowed (within regulations), publisher fees for depositing the AAM to PubMed Central are not allowable. Authors will continue to be able to deposit the AAM without having to pay.

Guidance for Communicating Rights in Author Accepted Manuscripts

In keeping with its principle of transparency outlined in the supplemental guidance on the Government Use License and Rights,  NIH suggests that authors include a statement in the Submitted Manuscript. Such a statement may accompany the required funding acknowledgment.

NIH provides the following sample language that may be included in the Submitted Manuscript and then, should it be accepted, the Author Accepted Manuscript:

“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.”