ALERT: Effective July 1, 2025 all NIH-funded publications must be made available in PubMed Central immediately upon the official date of publication. 

• What’s new? All NIH-funded, peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025, must be made available in PubMed Central immediately upon the official date of publication—the previous 12-month embargo is eliminated. 

• Official date of publication is now defined as when the final published article is first available in its final, edited form, either online or in print.

• Who does this affect? If you have NIH funding and your manuscript is accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025, you must comply with this policy. If your paper was accepted for publication before this date, then the 2008 policy applies.

• What should you do? Check your publisher’s self-archiving and submission policies, as many are actively revising compliance options. Publishing Open Access is not required for compliance, but many publishers might push toward this option. Be sure to acknowledge funding, retain the Author Accepted Manuscript, and submit manuscripts to PubMed Central without delay. 

• Cost: NIH affirms that compliance is free and that any fees charged just to deposit a manuscript to PubMed Central are not allowable Starting in 2026, NIH may cap allowable publication costs covered by awards.

1. Always acknowledge funding: 

• Include all relevant grants, including the P30 CA008748 Core Grant, in your peer-reviewed manuscripts.

2. Review publisher policies:

• Familiarize yourself with the publisher’s NIH Public Access/self-archiving policy.

• Confirm who is responsible for submitting manuscripts to PMC, noting recent policy updates.

3. Choose publishers strategically:

• Consider publishers that allow for zero embargo.

4. Publish Open Access if possible:

• Explore Open Access options when funding is available.

5. Retain author rights:

• If publishing in non-Open Access journals, consider including a SPARC copyright addendum to retain your rights and ensure PMC deposit permissions.

6. Deposit your manuscript:

• Keep the author-accepted manuscript and submit it to PMC immediately upon publication, unless your publisher handles this.

Old vs New Policy: Previously, a 12-month embargo was allowed, aligning with many publisher policies. The new zero embargo policy conflicts with many publisher policies.

Open Access push: Many publishers now direct NIH-funded authors toward Open Access to comply.

NIH’s position: They maintain that under the Government Use License, NIH has rights to make accepted manuscripts freely available in PubMed Central.

Cost and compliance: NIH states policy compliance is free, and fees solely for submitting manuscripts to PMC are not allowable. In 2026, the NIH plans to cap allowable publication costs covered by awards (details pending Request For Information).

Confusion is common: Authors are in the middle of conflicting agreements, with both the NIH and publishers maintaining rights over manuscripts.

Further Reading: 

2024 NIH Public Access Policy

NIH FAQ's

Authors Alliance Q&A 

NIH-funded science must now be free to read instantly: what you should know