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NIH Employee Procedures for Complying with NIH Public Access and Copyright Policy

As of April 7, 2008, all NIH employees must comply with the NIH Public Access Policy. Upon acceptance of any peer-reviewed paper by a journal, you must submit to PubMed Central (PMC).  The Policy applies to all peer-reviewed articles that you author or co-author as part of your official NIH duties. You must do the following for every article:

Submission to PubMed Central (PMC)

  • Publish in a journal that automatically deposits all NIH-funded published articles in PMC.  See  http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm.
  • OR

  • If you publish in any other journal, deposit the manuscript in PMC as soon as it is accepted for publication via the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system, as described at Public Access FAQs. You can then specify a delay in appearance in PMC up to 12 months from the date of publication.
  • Internal NIH Reporting

    If you cite one of your articles in your Institute/Center’s (IC’s) Annual Report or for any IC review, such as a Board of Scientific Counselors review, or a request for competitive funding from the NIH, you must include its PMC ID. See Public Access FAQs. (An exception will be made only if the article was accepted for publication prior to April 7, 2008.)

    Helpful Links:

    NIH Public Access Home

    NIH Employee Procedures

    Public Access FAQs

    NIH Publication Clearance Form

    NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS)

    Step-by-Step Directions for Submitting to PMC via the NIHMS

    List of Journals That Submit Directly to PMC

    Technology Development Coordinators