The NIH Public Access Policy
The NIH public access policy requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication. If an awardee claims a publication arises from their NIH award, they are responsible for its compliance with the public access policy.
1. Preparing a Manuscript: Address Copyright
Before signing a publication agreement or similar copyright transfer agreement, make sure that the agreement allows the paper to be posted to PubMed Central (PMC) in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy.
2. Accepted for Publication: Submission Methods
Final, peer-reviewed manuscripts must be submitted to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS) upon acceptance for publication, and be made publicly available on PMC no later than 12 months after the official date of publication.
There are four methods to ensure that an applicable paper is submitted to PubMed Central (PMC) in compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy. Authors may use whichever method is most appropriate for them and consistent with their publishing agreement. To identify the submission and reporting method for a specific journal, use the submission method identification wizard.
3. Reporting to the NIH: Include PMCID in citations
Anyone submitting an application, proposal or report to the NIH must include the PMC reference number (PMCID) when citing applicable papers that they author or that arise from their NIH-funded research.
The Difference Between a PMCID and a PMID
The PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) is different from the PubMed reference number (PMID). PubMed Central is an index of full-text papers, while PubMed is an index of abstracts. The PMCID links to full-text papers in PubMed Central, while the PMID links to abstracts in PubMed. PMIDs have nothing to do with the NIH Public Access Policy.
Resources
The University of Virginia Health Sciences Library has a guide for how to obtain a PMCID number.
Cite the Grant
Additional resources for UVA researchers can be found here.
last updated 01/01/2024