The PubMed Central Identifier number - PMCID - is the indicator that the article is compliant with the NIH Public Access Policy. Once this ID is assigned, the article becomes and remains compliant.
Look up the publication in PubMed to see if it has a PubMed Central ID (PMCID) below the author affiliations. Note that PubMed and PubMed Central (PMC) are separate databases with different numbering systems. A PubMed citation with a PMCID means the full text of the article is available in PMC. Example record:
To ensure all compliance steps are completed, make sure the publication is included in the PI's My Bibliography, is associated with the relevant funding, and has a "complete" compliance status.
If the PMCID is not present, and no awards are listed under Grants and Funding, it's likely that compliance steps have not been completed. In this case:
Make a note of the publisher's name via the View full text button.
Check whether the article was published open access with the publisher, indicated either with "open" on the View full text button, or on the article itself.
Determine the correct method (A, B, C or D) for submitting your article to PMC, then follow the steps below.
Only articles in Methods C and D journals are required to go through the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). However, since Method A and B papers sometimes get submitted to NIHMS, it's good practice to search for a paper here regardless of which method the journal uses. This step verifies if an Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) was already submitted to NIHMS and helps you determine what to do next. You don't have to be associated with the article to view its status in NIHMS.
Methods A and B papers occasionally get submitted to NIHMS though they don't need to be. Simply complete the manuscript approval process as you would for Methods C & D. Contact the NIHMS Help Desk to delete a NIHMS duplicate of the publisher's deposit.
Who to contact from the journal or publisher? Generally a production manager, manuscript manager, or editorial contact can help you deposit the manuscript post-publication. You can find this information on the journal's web page - look under "About" or "Contact". The author(s) might also have a good contact from email correspondence about their manuscript.
Search the Jisc open policy finder to find a journal or publisher's policy on posting open versions and for public release embargo periods.
Selected publisher policies and contacts. All are Method D unless noted:
AAAS (Method C or D): policy statement
AACR: policy statement | pubs@aacr.org
APPI (American Psychiatric Association): policy
BMJ (Method C): policy statement
Elsevier: policy statement | Support@elsevier.com
IEEE: Support Center
JAMA (Method D): JAMA Internal Medicine policy
Karger: policy | look for contact on specific journal webpage
LWW/Kluwer: policy example | look for contact on specific journal webpage
Oxford (Method A): Policy | contact journal editorial office if no PMCID after 12 months
RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry): Policy (under Repositories) | RSC1@rsc.org
Springer Nature (Method C): Policy | Springer Nature no longer deposits the final accepted manuscript into NIHMS for Method D (non-open access) articles.
Taylor & Francis (incl Routledge): policy statement | authorqueries@tandf.co.uk
Thieme (Method C): frequently asked questions
Wiley: policy statement | look for contact on specific journal webpage
Replace the yellow highlighted text below with the specifics for your article(s) and publisher. Provide additional information with your message as you see fit.
Single article, Method A or Method B journal:
Dear Journal Author Support,
I am contacting you to request that you deposit an article published in one of your journals into PubMed Central (PMC). The paper falls under the NIH Public Access Policy and is currently out of compliance with this policy. This is resulting in funding being held up for the award that funded the underlying research. In order to meet compliance, the final published article needs to be deposited into PMC for immediate availability. According to NIH's guidelines for Method A journals / Method B publishers, Sage Publishing submits the article version of record published in Reproductive Sciences to PMC on behalf of authors.
Please deposit the following article to PMC at your earliest convenience:
Herndon CN, Aghajanova L, Balayan S, Erikson D, Barragan F, Goldfien G, Vo KC, Hawkins S, Giudice LC. Global Transcriptome Abnormalities of the Eutopic Endometrium From Women With Adenomyosis. Reprod Sci. 2016 Oct;23(10):1289-303. doi: 10.1177/1933719116650758. Epub 2016 May 27. PubMed PMID: 27233751.
Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response.
Single article, Method D journal:
Dear AACR Author Support,
I am contacting you to request that you deposit the author accepted manuscript (AAM) for a paper published in one of your journals into PubMed Central (PMC). The paper falls under the NIH Public Access Policy and is currently out of compliance with the policy. This is resulting in funding being held up for the award that funded the underlying research. In order to meet compliance, the AAM needs to be submitted to NIH’s Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). According to AACR’s NIH Policy Statement at https://aacrjournals.org/pages/open-access, AACR will submit the AAM to NIHMS on the author’s behalf.
Please deposit the manuscript to NIHMS for the following paper at your earliest convenience:
Netanya I. Pollock, Jennifer R. Grandis, HER2 as a Therapeutic Target in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Clin Cancer Res, Feb 2015 (21) (3) 526-533; DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-14-1432
Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response.
Multiple articles, Method D journal:
Dear Elsevier Author Support,
I am contacting you to request that you deposit the author accepted manuscripts (AAMs) for the following papers published in one or more of your journals into PubMed Central (PMC). The papers fall under the NIH Public Access Policy and are currently out of compliance with this policy. This is resulting in funding being held up for the award that funded the underlying research.
In order to meet compliance, the AAMs need to be deposited into NIH’s Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). According to Elsevier’s NIH Policy Statement at https://www.elsevier.com/open-access/funding-arrangements/nih/pmc-terms-and-conditions, Elsevier will submit AAMs to NIHMS on the author’s behalf.
Please deposit the manuscripts to NIHMS for the following papers at your earliest convenience:
Takashi Tsukamoto, José M. Matés, Francisco J. Alonso, Chunmei Wang, Youngho Seo, Xin Chen, J. Michael Bishop, The Metabolic Profile of Tumors Depends on Both the Responsible Genetic Lesion and Tissue Type, Cell Metabolism, Volume 15, Issue 2, 8 February 2012, Pages 157-170, ISSN 1550-4131, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2011.12.015.
Marta Margeta-Mitrovic, Yuh Nung Jan, Lily Yeh Jan, A Trafficking Checkpoint Controls GABAB Receptor Heterodimerization, Neuron, Volume 27, Issue 1, July 2000, Pages 97-106, ISSN 0896-6273, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0896-6273(00)00012-X.
Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response.