Revised Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting from NIH-Funded Research

Notice Number: NOT-OD-08-033

Update: The following updates relating to this announcement have been issued:

  • January 9, 2013 - See Notice NOT-OD-13-020. Public Access Compliance Monitor: A New Resource for Institutions to Track Public Access Compliance.
  • November 16, 2012 - See Notice NOT-OD-12-160. Upcoming Changes to Public Access Policy Reporting Requirements and Related NIH Efforts to Enhance Compliance.
  • October 30, 2009 - See Notice NOT-OD-10-009 Until further notice, only papers written in Latin script will be collected via the NIH Manuscript Submission System for the NIH Public Access Policy.
  • August 12, 2009 - See Notice NOT-OD-09-136 Clarification on the Use of an NIHMSID to Indicate Compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy.
  • March 19, 2009 - See Notice NOT-OD-09-071. The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 Makes the NIH Public Access Policy Permanent.
  • March 19, 2009 - See Notice NOT-OD-09-070. The intent of this Notice is to provide information on the following statutory provisions that limit the use of funds on National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, cooperative agreement, and contract awards for FY2009.
  • September 23, 2008 - See Notice NOT-OD-08-119. Reminder Concerning Grantee Compliance with Public Access Policy and Related NIH Monitoring Activities.
  • March 7, 2008 - See Notice NOT-OD-08-057. Notice of Public Meeting: Seeking Comments on Implementation of the NIH Public Access Policy.

Key Dates
Release Date: January 11, 2008
Effective Date: April 7, 2008

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov/)

Department of Health and Human Services

Action

Notice; Revised Policy Statement

Summary

In accordance with Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL 110-161 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 ), the NIH voluntary Public Access Policy (NOT-OD-05-022) is now mandatory. The law states:

The Director of the National Institutes of Health shall require that all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication: Provided, That the NIH shall implement the public access policy in a manner consistent with copyright law.

Specifics

  1. The NIH Public Access Policy applies to all peer-reviewed articles that arise, in whole or in part, from direct costs 1 funded by NIH, or from NIH staff, that are accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008.
  1. Institutions and investigators are responsible for ensuring that any publishing or copyright agreements concerning submitted articles fully comply with this Policy.
  1. PubMed Central (PMC) is the NIH digital archive of full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles. Its content is publicly accessible and integrated with other databases (see: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/).
  1. The final, peer-reviewed manuscript includes all graphics and supplemental materials that are associated with the article.
  1. Beginning May 25, 2008, anyone submitting an application, proposal or progress report to the NIH must include the PMC or NIH Manuscript Submission reference number when citing applicable articles that arise from their NIH funded research. This policy includes applications submitted to the NIH for the May 25, 2008 due date and subsequent due dates.

Compliance

Compliance with this Policy is a statutory requirement and a term and condition of the grant award and cooperative agreement, in accordance with the NIH Grants Policy Statement. For contracts, NIH includes this requirement in all R&D solicitations and awards under Section H, Special Contract Requirements, in accordance with the Uniform Contract Format.

Inquiries

Send questions concerning this Notice or other aspects of the NIH Public Access Policy to:

Office of Extramural Research
National Institutes of Health
1 Center Drive, Room 144
Bethesda, MD 20892-0152
Email: PublicAccess@nih.gov
Website: http://publicaccess.nih.gov

1Costs that can be specifically identified with a particular project or activity. NIH Grants Policy Statement, Rev. 12/2003; http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part2.htm#_Toc54600040