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NIH Public Access Policy

The NIH Public Access Policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research. It requires scientists to submit journal articles that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central. The Policy requires that these articles be accessible to the public on PubMed Central to help advance science and improve human health.

• Brochure for UIC Researchers
• Policy Chart: When do NIH-Funded Authors Need to Comply?
• Compliance Flow Chart: Complying with the Revised NIH Public Access Policy when selecting a Journal

The Law

The NIH Public Access Policy implements Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL 110-161 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008) which states: "SEC. 218. 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..."

PubMed Central (PMC)

PubMedCentral is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.

Author Submission Process

For an overview of the submission process and to link to detailed online instructions, please visit the NIH Submission Process page.

Additional Information Guides

The Association of Research Libraries' "NIH Public Access Policy: Guide for Research Universities"

The Association of Research Libraries' Webcast: "Institutional Compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy: Ensuring Deposit Rights"