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How Do I Comply With the NIH Public Access Mandate?

What is Public Access?

Public access means providing access to published research free of charge to everyone. The US federal government, through the Office of Science Policy, promotes this through its research funding policies. 

New Public Access Policy goes into effect on July 1, 2025

Author Accepted Manuscripts accepted for publication in a journal on or after July 1, 2025, must be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication, for public availability without embargo upon the Official Date of Publication. This is a change from the previous policy, which allowed a 12-month embargo period after the date of publication.

For more information, visit Penn State’s page on NIH Public Access Requirements: Publications and Data at this link:  NIH Public Access and Data Management Policies - Research Support . With questions, please contact Harrell Health Sciences Library at herref@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

Does the NIH public access mandate apply to you?

Yes, if your peer-reviewed article meets any of the following criteria:

·         Directly funded by an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal Year 2008   
    (October 1, 2007- September 30, 2008) or beyond;

·         Directly funded by a contract signed on or after April 7, 2008;

·         Directly funded by the NIH Intramural Program

·         If NIH pays your salary.

A reminder that NIH funding includes not only grants, but cooperative agreements, and contacts. If the author acknowledges NIH support in the article it should more than likely comply with the policy.
 

Who is responsible for compliance?

The Principal Investigator (PI) or Grantee is responsible for compliance, whether or not he or she is an author on a manuscript, and to make certain that all personnel, including subcontractors, adhere to the each agency's Public Access Policy.

Do I have to publish in an open access journal in order to comply with the policy?

No. You can still choose to publish in a traditional journal that charges subscription fees to readers. You must ensure, however, that the publisher will allow you to deposit your accepted manuscript (the version without page numbers, and editorial formatting) in PubMed Central as soon as you are notified of acceptance. The only way to comply with this policy is to deposit your article in PubMed Central--even if your publication is free of charge to the public in an open access journal, that alone does not achieve compliance.

If you do choose to publish in an open access journal, Penn State University Libraries can help! 

  • List of publishers offering discounts to Penn State researchers for article processing charges (APCs). Use your Penn State email address when submitting your article. 
     
  • Submitting a case report? Physicians, residents, students and staff can publish case reports at no cost to BMJ Case Reports.  Please contact the Harrell Health Sciences Library for the fellowship code required at the time of submission.
     
  • Penn State University Libraries does not offer funding for any charges incurred during the open access publishing process. However, consult with your department to learn if any departmental funds are available. Researchers also often include a budget line in their grant applications for article processing charges from open access journals.

Keywords: open access, OA, article processing charges, APC, publishing discounts, free, author discounts

 

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