NIH Public Access Policy

Public Access Policy Overview

The NIH Public Access Policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research. It requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central (PMC) upon acceptance for publication. To help advance science and improve human health, the Policy requires that these papers are accessible to the public on PMC no later than 12 months after publication.

Overview of NIH Public Access Policy (video) from UCD Publishing Symposium, October 2017

Determine if the policy applies to your paper;

Process for submitting papers to PubMed Central (PMC);

Correctly cite papers in applications and reports;

Link your My NCBI and eRA Commons accounts;

Use My Bibliography to track your publications

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For additional information please see
NIH Public Access Policy website

Does it Apply to Your Paper?

The NIH Public Access Policy Does NOT Apply to the Following:

Books or Book Chapters
Editorials
Articles accepted for publication BEFORE April 7, 2008
Articles resulting from work funded by sources other than NIH
Other materials that are NOT peer-reviewed

If you don’t know the acceptance date

If you are trying to go back and ensure older articles are compliant, it can be difficult to determine when an article was accepted for publication and if the Policy applies to the paper. Below are some strategies for figuring this out and what to do with the citation in My Bibliography.

If you have a copy of the journal agreement in your files or email from your publisher, check when your manuscript was ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION (not when it was submitted or when it was published)

If you cannot find the agreement, search for a copy of the article:

Put PMID number into PubMed search box (you can also use single citation matcher with author name, year, etc.)
Make sure it is the correct citation
Click on full text link
View PDF version: likely locations for acceptance information are below abstract, at bottom of first page, after conclusion with author information, at the end of references, or occasionally in a box along the side of the first page; every journal is different.

Cannot find the acceptance date in the PDF of the article?

Check the PubMed citation – use the PMID to search for the article, as above
Change the Display setting (left hand side) to MEDLINE
Scroll down towards bottom of data to the PHST field (publication history field)
See if you find the PHST code and a listing of when article was submitted and accepted for publication
- DO NOT use the dates in EDAT, MHDA, CRDT fields, as these are the NLM processing dates
- Example of correct fields to use:
  - PHST- 2008/01/03 [received]
  - PHST- 2008/04/17 [revised]
  - PHST- 2008/04/27 [accepted]

For all of the above:

If accepted for publication BEFORE April 7, 2008 – it does NOT fall under policy BUT you must change its status in MyBibliography (MyNCBI)
If accepted for publication ON or AFTER April 7, 2008 – it IS COVERED by the policy and you must submit your authors manuscript through the NIH Manuscript submission system

Relate Resources

Submit Your Paper to Pubmed Central (PMC)

Submission Methods Overview

There are 4 submission methods:

Method A
Journal deposits final published articles in PubMed Central without author involvement

Method B
Author asks publisher to deposit specific final published article in PMC

Method C
Author deposits final peer-reviewed manuscript in PMC via the NIHMS

Method D
Author completes submission of final peer-reviewed manuscript deposited by publisher in the NIHMS

More details from NIH

NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS)

Authors (or someone they delegate) can submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript (not the final published version) to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). Submitting to NIHMS is the only way an author can submit manuscripts to be added into PMC, if the journal publisher doesn’t deposit it for them.

NIHMS provides a number of great tutorials and FAQ page to help you get started using the system.

Have you addressed copyright?

NIH Public Access Policy : Address Copyright

Publisher Policies for NIH-funded Authors
From Simmons College: Useful to determine journal submission methods

Related Resources

Citations and PMCID

PMCID

When citing applicable papers in any applications, proposals, or reports you submit to the NIH, you must include the PubMed Central ID number (NOT the PubMed ID #)

Over 3 months after publication

List the PubMed Central number (PMCID) at the end of the full citation

Less than 3 months after publication or in-press

Add PMCID at the end of the full citation if you have it
Add ‘PMC Journal – In Process’ at the end of the full citation (Submission Method A or B)
Add a valid NIH Manuscript Submission System reference number (NIHMSID) at the end of the full citation (Submission Method C or D)

Note: This applies to articles for which you are either the PI of the NIH award or an author of the article. It does not apply to article you cite but have no affiliation with.

Additional instructions from NIH

Related Resources

PMID vs. PMCID

Screenshot of a record in the PubMed database (note the PubMed logo in the top left corner).

Note the differences between the PubMed ID # and the PubMed Central ID #.
You can also look for the ‘Free PMC Article’ link to go to PubMed Central and view the full-text article.
The ‘Grant Support’ from NIH will often be listed in the PubMed record. Just click the plus sign to view the Grant.

PMCID in PubMed Central

Screenshot of an article in the PubMed Central database (note the PubMed Central (PMC) logo in the top left corner).

Compliance Process

NIH detailed instructions for Managing Compliance to the NIH Public Access Policy

Complying with NIH Public Access Policy

How to create a My NCBI account
How to link a My NCBI account to an eRA Commons account
How to add citations to your My Bibliography
How to make someone a Delegate for your My Bibliography
How to update the compliance status of a citation
How to submit articles using the NIHMS System
How to approve NIHMS submissions
How to claim an NIHMS record
Answers to common questions
Who to contact for help

Compliance Process Diagram

The diagram below depicts the overall process involved in the NIH Public Access Policy. It illustrates what systems are involved and the interactions between those systems. The steps a PI/author needs to take are illustrated, with those that are typically problematic highlighted in red.

Useful materials

If the publisher’s policy does not allow deposit, attach this Letter to the_Publisher (pdf) from the UC Office of Technology Transfer. Another option is to modify the publisher’s copyright transfer agreement to retain the right to make the article available in PMC by attaching this NIH Addendum form (pdf). If you are unable to determine if you have permission to submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript to NIHMS, you will need to contact the publisher to ask for permission. We have created a template (below) you can use.

Guidance on How To Cite the UC Davis CTSC Grant

Checklist for Authors
Offers recommended steps related to the NIH Public Access Policy for authors to take from prior to article submission to after publication. Created by the UC Davis CTSC.

Steps for Retroactive Compliance of Works Under the NIH Public Access Policy (with hyperlinks)
Provides guidance for anyone who is working to bring published articles into compliance. Includes hyperlinks to relevant tools and information. Created by Cathy Sarli at Becker Library, with permission.

Submission Methods and Documenting Compliance (with hyperlinks)
Provides a chart of the four different paths for article submission into PMC. Includes hyperlinks to further guidance and tools. Adapted by the UC Davis CTSC from Cathy Sarli at Becker Library, with permission.

University of California Publisher Letter
For research based on NIH funding, this letter may accompany manuscripts at time of submission to publishers.

Overview of NIH Public Access Policy (video)
A videorecording of a presentation on the NIH Public Access Policy from the UCD Publishing Symposium that took place on the UC Davis Health campus in October 2017.

My NCBI / My Bibliography

My NCBI

My NCBI is a tool that offers many useful features, including:

Saving PubMed searches. (and automatically have search results sent to you).
Saving Collections of citations found in PubMed.
Customization of the filters and results display in PubMed.

Most importantly for anyone awarded NIH funding, My NCBI has a tool named My Bibliography. My Bibliography, allows you to save your citations either directly from PubMed or by manually entering them. Once citations are in My Bibliography you can easily:

See whether your publications comply with the NIH Public Access Policy
Start the compliance process for journal articles
Associate your publications to awards

My Bibliography: Public Access Compliance (Video)

Link My NCBI & eRA Commons

Create New My NCBI Account

Principal Investigators and PD’s must use My NCBI’s “My Bibliography” tool to manage their professional bibliographies (as of July 23, 2010, see the full notice here).

If you already

If you do not have a My NCBI Account, you will need to create one.

Go to PubMed

Click on ‘My NCBI Sign In’ in the upper right corner of the screen.

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You can sign in with accounts you already use like Google, your UC Davis login or your NIH eRA Commons account.

If you have never used My NCBI we strongly recommend clicking on ‘Sign in with NIH login’ and logging in with your eRA Commons login to create your account.

Signing in through one of the Partner Organizations will automatically sync your My NCBI Account, so the easiest option to choose is to sign in via your NIH & eRA Commons account.

Link My NCBI & eRA Commons Accounts

If you already have a My NCBI Account, you need to link your account to your eRA Commons account.

Log into My NCBI
Click on your login name in the top right.
Then click on the ‘Change’ button for ‘Linked Accounts’.

• From the list of ‘Login Account Options’, scroll down and choose ‘NIH & eRA Commons’ and then log into your eRA Commons account.

If you have problems

If you receive an error message when trying to link accounts you may have linked too many accounts already. You will need to contact NCBI directly to have them manually link your eRA Commons account with your current My NCBI account.

NCBI Email Help

Include in your email the following:

MyNCBI username
eRA Commons username
Email address

Note you do not need to send any passwords.

Adding Citations & Delegates

How To Add Citations to My Bibliography

There are four options for adding citations to My Bibliography:

Send PubMed search results to My Bibliography (recommended)
Add from PubMed within My Bibliography
Add manually
Upload a MEDLINE or RIS file

For more guidance about the last three options

Sending PubMed Search Results to My Bibliography

Sign into My NCBI.

Search PubMed to find articles you want to add.

- Try using PubMed’s Single Citation Matcher. Type in the author name and then click search.

From within a particular article record or the search results, click on the ‘Send to’ drop-down.

Click on ‘My Bibliography’ and then the ‘Add to My Bibliography’ button that appears.

NOTE: You are responsible for ensuring that any NIH funded publication for which you were either an author OR the PI of the grant. This means you may need to include articles for which you were not an author but which were supported by a grant you are a PI on.

Using EndNote to Create a RIS File for Upload to MyBibliography

Here are the steps for creating a RIS format file from an EndNote Library to be used for uploading citations into an eRA Commons linked MyBibliography account:

1. In style menu, select RefMan (RIS) Export style. If it is not already listed as an option, find it in “Select Another Style.”

2. In EndNote Library menu, select File–>Export, with the following settings:

Save as type: Text File (*.txt)

Export style: RefMan (RIS) Export

3. Rename the *.txt file manually by appending *.ris to the file name

4. Upload the .ris file into NCBI MyBibliography

Add Delegates

Use the ‘Delegate’ feature to share the work with others in your lab, assistants, or with librarians.

1. From My Bibliography, click on ‘Edit settings’ for My Bibliography.

2. At the bottom of the page click on the link to ‘Add a Delegate’

3. Enter the email of the person you want to add as a delegate and click the ‘Add Delegate’ button. You can add more than one delegate if necessary.

Confirm Delegate Connection

If you have been assigned to be a delegate for someone’s My Bibliography and that person has already added you as a delegate in their account you can follow the steps below to confirm.

Sign into your My NCBI account.
- If you don’t have an account follow the instructions to create a new My NCBI account.
Respond to the confirmation email you received from My NCBI by clicking on the included URL.
When prompted, click on the ‘Confirm Connection button.

After completing these steps, a link to the delegated bibliography will be listed in your collections in your My NCBI account.

My Bibliography

How To Add Citations to My Bibliography

There are four options for adding citations to MyBibliography:

Send PubMed search results to My Bibliography (recommended)
Add from PubMed within My Bibliography
Add manually
Upload a MEDLINE or RIS file

For more guidance about the last three options, see:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ma16/ma16_my_ncbi_enhancements.html

Sending PubMed Search Results to My Bibliography

Sign into My NCBI
Search PubMed to find articles you want to add.
From within a particular article record or the search results, click on the ‘Send to’ drowpdown.
Click on ‘My Bibliography’ and then the ‘Add to My Bibliography’ button that appears.
The ‘Other Citations” option is for grant PIs; to be used for publications that cite your grant, but are not authored by you.

NOTE: You are responsible for ensuring that any NIH funded publication for which you were either an author OR the PI of the grant. This means you may need to include articles for which you were not an author but which were supported by a grant you are a PI on.

Manage Compliance thru My Bibliography

Detailed instructions for Managing Compliance to the NIH Public Access Policy are provided by NIH.

Sections include:

My Bibliography Delegates

Use the ‘Delegates’ feature to share the work with others in your lab or with librarians.

From My Bibliography, click on ‘Edit settings’ for My Bibliography.

• At the bottom of the page click on the link to ‘Add Delegate’

• Enter the email of the person you want to add as a delegate and click the ‘Add Delegate’ button.

Demonstrate Compliance

Manage Compliance Through My Bibliography

Detailed instructions for Managing Compliance to the NIH Public Access Policy are provided by NIH.

Sections include:

Manage Compliance Through My Bibliography

After adding your citations to your My Bibliography and linking your eRA Commons account, set the Display Settings to the Award View as shown below.

This should then show you your citations with red, yellow, and green dots indicating the status of each citation (see example below).

Status Codes

An article can have one of the following statuses.

Any article with a red ‘Non-compliant’ or question mark, ‘Edit Status’ status needs your attention.

Click on the link associated with those articles (which could be an ‘Edit Status’, an NIHMS ID number, or a ‘Citation not in NIHMS or PMC’ link). The following box will open.

Use the given options to change the status of the citation.

Hints:

If the article was accepted for publication before April 8th, 2008, it is exempt.
- See instructions for determining the acceptance date for an article.
If the article was a conference proceeding or editorial (i.e. not peer-reviewed) it is exempt.
If you are going to start Method C (submit it to NIHMS) you will need to upload the final peer-reviewed manuscript (this is not the final pdf the journal published).

Assign Awards

You should assign the correct awards to each citation in your My Bibliography.

The “My awards” provides the list of awards associated with the PI’s eRA Commons profile.
The “Other awards” section displays those awards that are not associated with the PI’s eRA Commons profile, but have been linked to citations in the My Bibliography collection.

NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS)

Need Publisher Permission?

If you are unable to determine if you have permission to submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript to NIHMS, you will need to contact the publisher to ask for permission. We have created a template you can use.

Publisher Permission Email Template [from Duke University Medical Library & Archives]

NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS)

Authors (or someone they delegate) can submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript (not the final published version) to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). Submitting to NIHMS is the only way an author can submit manuscripts to be added into PMC, if the journal publisher doesn’t deposit it for them.

NIHMS provides a number of great tutorials and an FAQ page to help you get started using the system, including

Note: If you aren’t sure if you need to or should submit your article to NIHMS, check Does it Apply to your paper?

Note: Email notifications from NIHMS letting authors/PI’s know a submission is ready for approval will come from: nihms-help@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Navigating the NIH Manuscript Submission Process [Video]

This video (9:48) gives you detailed help in submitting, reviewing, and approving your manuscript in the NIHMS (NIH Manuscript Submission) system. The NIHMS supports deposit of manuscripts into PubMed Central (PMC) as required by the public access policies of NIH and other participating funding agencies.

NIHMS: Submitting Manuscripts

NIHMS Submission Instructions

NIHMS login page (and Sign-In Help)

Logging in to NIHMS (may use My NCBI account for third-party login)

Example following using eRA Commons account (may use My NCBI account for third-party login).

NOTE: List ALL NIH Funding that supported the manuscript.

Logging into NIHMS from ERA Commons

How to login to NIHMS from ERA Commons

NIHMS: Approvals

NIHMS Approvals

For more information see the NIHMS tutorials or FAQ page.

Note: Email notifications from NIHMS letting authors/PIs know a submission is ready for approval will come from: nihms-help@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Instructions for authors and PIs who have been notified via e-mail that a submission has been initiated on their behalf

or…

then…

…and then…

Instructions for authors and PIs who have been notified via e-mail that the PMC-ready version of their manuscript is ready for final review.

Claim a NIHMS Record

How can I take over Reviewer responsibilities for a submission in NIHMS?

If a submission has become stalled in the NIHMS process due to inaction by the assigned Reviewer, another author or PI associated with the NIHMS record can request to take over Reviewer responsibilities:

Sign in to NIHMS.
On your Manuscript List page, click the Stalled tab to view the stalled records currently associated with your account.
If the record is in a state that requires Reviewer action, a “claim” button will appear in the Status column and lower right-hand corner of the Manuscript Summary page (which is accessible by clicking on the manuscript title). Click the button to initiate your request.
On the next page, select “Confirm” to indicate that you are an author (or PI) on the manuscript and would like to take over Reviewer responsibilities.

If the currently assigned Reviewer does not act on the submission within one week of your request, the manuscript will be moved to your attention in your Manuscript List to allow you to take action on the submission.

If you would like to take over Reviewer responsibilities for a record that is not stalled in the NIHMS process, please contact the Help Desk with your request.

FAQ & Help

Important Help Contacts

NIH

PublicAccess@nih.gov

NCBI

eRA Commons

Toll-free: 866-504-9552
Phone: 301-402-7469
Password help: 301-402-7469

NIHMS

For NIHMS login problems, contact eRA Commons.

UC Davis Library

Contact Info:
Michael Ladisch
Scholarly Communications Officer
mladisch@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6385

Department of Internal Medicine RAS Unit

The UC Davis Department of Internal Medicine Research Administration and Support Unit is offering assistance with the NIH Public Access Policy on a re-charge basis.

Contact: Monique M. Vasquez, monique.vasquez@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

Answers to Common Questions

Q. The journal I published in is listed as a Method D publisher, but it has been 3 months since it was accepted and My Bibliography is telling me it is not compliant (there is no NIHMS or PMC ID number).

A. No matter what method the journal is listed as it is ultimately the author/PI’s responsibility to ensure the article is submitted to PMC. If the journal/publisher has not submitted the article after 3 months following acceptance for publication, contact them and ask why they haven’t. In the meantime, go ahead and submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript to the NIHMS System (instructions). If the publisher does so later, it will over-ride your submission, but this will ensure you are in compliance.

Q. I need to submit to the NIHMS system, but I can’t find the final peer-reviewed manuscript? Can’t I just download the pdf copy from the journals website and submit that?

A. Unfortunately, that would be against copyright law. If you are unable to find the final version of the manuscript (with peer-reviewed edits but not the final copy-editing formats), and none of your co-authors have a copy either, we recommend that you contact the publisher and explain your problem. They may be able to supply a copy that you could use.

Q. I am the PI for a large teaching grant and am not an author on many of the publications that result from that funding. Do I need to include all of those citations and ensure they are compliant?

A. Yes. As the PI you are responsible for ensuring all articles that are directly funded from that grant are compliant, whether or not you are an author.

Q. One of my articles has a NIHMS ID number but has never been added into PMC and is past the 3 month deadline for needing a PMCID number. What is wrong and how can I fix it?

A. This is probably happening because whoever was entered into the NIHMS System as the reviewer has not responded to a request to review and approve the submission. When publishers or delegates submit manuscripts to the NIHMS system they will select an author of PI to receive emails asking for approval of what was submitted. If that person does not receive the email and follow the steps to approve the submission it will never make it into PMC. Check with the PI or your co-authors to see if anyone received any message from NIHMS. Finally, you can request that the responsibility be transferred to you.

Q. I have an article that was published in 2008 that is listed as being non-compliant. Would it not fall under the Policy because it is from 2008? Do I need to do anything?

A. For any article published since 2008 that has been linked to NIH funding, you will need to take some action. For articles published in 2008 it is possible that they were accepted for publication prior to the April 7th date and therefore do not fall under the policy. However, you need to check to confirm the acceptance date; if it does not fall under the policy, you will need to use My Bibliography to edit the status of the citation to notify NIH of the reason why the article does not need to be compliant. See these detailed instructions on how to find acceptance dates and to update the status of a citation.

NIH Webinar 3/5/15

NCBI and the NIH Public Access Policy: PubMed Central Submissions, My NCBI, My Bibliography and SciENcv

Webinar: NCBI and the NIH Public Access Policy (YouTube)

Links, Slides, Q&A

Outlines how to use My NCBI to report public access policy compliance for NIH grant holders.
Topics include the NIH Public Access Policy, NIHMS and PubMed Central submissions, creating My NCBI accounts, My Bibliography to report compliance to eRA Commons, and SciENcv to create biosketches.

NIH Notices

Notice Number: NOT-OD-13-042 For non-competing continuation grant awards with a start date of July 1, 2013 or beyond:
1) NIH will delay processing of an award if publications arising from it are not in compliance with the NIH public access policy.
2) Investigators will need to use My NCBI to enter papers onto progress reports. Papers can be associated electronically using the RPPR, or included in the PHS 2590 using the My NCBI generated PDF report.
Please see NOT-OD-12-160 for more details.

NIH NOT-OD-12-142

With this Notice, NIH informs grantees that in Spring, 2013, at the earliest, NIH will delay processing of non-competing continuation grant awards if publications arising from that award are not in compliance with the NIH public access policy. The award will not be processed until recipients have demonstrated compliance. This change will take effect in tandem with NIH requiring the use of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPRs) for all Streamlined Non-competing Award Process (SNAP) and Fellowship awards in the Spring of 2013 (see NIH NOT-OD-12-142).

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Notice Number: NOT-OD-10-103
My NCBI Tool to Replace eRA Commons for Bibliography Management

Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:
January 10, 2013 – See Notice NOT-OD-13-017. eRA Commons Users Can Now Generate a Publications Report for the PHS 2590 with My NCBI.
November 16, 2012 – See Notice NOT-OD-12-160. Upcoming Changes to Public Access Policy Reporting Requirements and Related NIH Efforts to Enhance Compliance.
Release Date: June 10, 2010
Issued by National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)

Transition of Bibliography Management to My NCBI
Over the course of their scientific careers, program directors and principal investigators (PD/PIs) create and maintain extensive professional bibliographies, which include publications resulting from or in support of their funded research grants. PD/PIs registered in eRA Commons have been able to use the publications page of their personal profiles in Commons as a repository for their publications. NIH is now providing Commons users with a more efficient, accurate and user-friendly way to manage their professional bibliographies, associate publications with their grant awards, and ensure compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy.

eRA Commons has partnered with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to link NCBI’s personal online tool, “My NCBI,” to Commons. My NCBI offers an online portal—“My Bibliography”—for users to maintain and manage a list of all of their authored works, such as journal articles, manuscripts accepted for publication, books, and book chapters. As of April 2010, linking a Commons account to a new or existing My NCBI account allows references saved in My Bibliography to automatically appear in users’ Commons accounts.

As of July 23, 2010, PD/PIs will be unable to enter citations manually into eRA Commons and must use My NCBI’s “My Bibliography” tool to manage their professional bibliographies.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Duke University Medical Center and Archives for sharing their NIH Public Access Policy resources with us.

Thanks to Francis Francisco for help with content development and migration.