Skip to content

NIH Guidance

2024 NIH Public Access Policy - Effective July 1, 2025

On April 30, 2025, the newly appointed Director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a revised implementation date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy. Originally set to go into effect on December 31, 2025, the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy will now be effective as of July 1, 2025. 

The revised implementation date means that any Author Accepted Manuscript that is the result of funding by NIH in whole or in part accepted for publication in a journal on or after July 1, 2025, is subject to the policy.

A joint working group of representatives from UC libraries, RPAC, and faculty developed guidance to assist UC authors with understanding and complying with the upcoming changes. The guidance is available on the UC Office of Scholarly Communication (OSC) website and is intended to support researchers across the system in meeting the revised policy requirements.

Key Changes in the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy

The most significant change in the 2024 policy is the removal of the 12-month embargo period. Under the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, Author Accepted Manuscripts for NIH-funded work must be submitted to PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication. These articles will be made publicly accessible in PubMed Central when the Final Published Article is first made available, in print or online.  With the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, NIH also issued supplemental guidance on government use license and rights and publication costs. These are explained below. 

Please note that the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy applies only to publications. There are no new requirements for research data. All data management and sharing requirements remain covered by the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy (effective January 25, 2023).

1. Government Use License and Rights

  • A new term will be included in the Notice of Award, or other applicable contract or agreement, that grants to NIH a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use Author Accepted Manuscripts for federal purposes and to authorize others to do so. By accepting this term, grantees provide NIH the right to make the publication available in PubMed Central.
  • Authors submitting Accepted Manuscripts to PubMed Central must agree to a submission statement as part of the standard PubMed Central manuscript submission process.
  • Authors are strongly encouraged by NIH to include the NIH Rights Statement in manuscripts submitted to publishers, along with the required funding acknowledgement. The NIH Rights Statement serves to inform publishers and journals that the work is subject to the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy and that NIH, as the funding agency, has the right to make the Author Accepted Manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication. The NIH Rights Statement reads:
    • “This manuscript is the result of funding in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication, as defined by NIH.”
  • After the acknowledgement of funding, per the NIH Grants Policy, authors should also include a disclaimer that reads:
    • "The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."

2. Publication Costs

  • Compliance with the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy does not require the payment of an Open Access fee to a journal; the free pathway to compliance can be achieved by depositing the Author Accepted Manuscript into PubMed Central for public availability upon the Official Date of Publication.
  • For those authors that choose to publish their articles open access on a journal’s website, and where a journal charges fees for such publication, the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy states that “Reasonable costs associated with publication that are allowable costs of the project budget may be requested as direct or indirect costs.”
  • The University of California has agreements with several publishers to help authors pay open access article processing charges (APCs). Authors who have budgeted for APCs in their grant may be asked to contribute a portion of the APC through a UC agreement. 

NIH Data Management and Sharing

NIH has implemented a policy regarding Data Management and Sharing, effective on January 23, 2023. This Policy establishes the requirements of submission of Data Management and Sharing Plans and compliance with NIH Institute, Center, or Office (ICO)-approved Plans. It also emphasizes the importance of good data management practices and establishes the expectation for maximizing the appropriate sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research, with justified limitations or exceptions. This Policy applies to research funded or conducted by NIH that results in the generation of scientific data.

NIH has published information to assist with writing a data management and sharing plan. You can also utilize the DMPTool.

The FDP NIH DMS Pilot templates are now available in DMPTool for any individual needing to create an NIH DMS Plan. Individuals using DMPTool to create a DMS Plan will now see three options when selecting NIH as the primary funding organization. These templates are:

  1. "NIH-Default DMSP”, which is based on NIH’s optional DMS Plan Format. If you have been using DMPTool to create an NIH DMS Plan, this template has been available in DMPTool since the NIH DMS Policy went into effect on January 25, 2023.
  1. NEW “NIH-FDP Pilot Template Alpha” – the DMPTool version of the word doc format Alpha Template
  1. NEW “NIH-FDP Pilot Template Bravo” – the DMPTool version of the word doc format Bravo Template

A PDF download of these two new templates is also posted on the pilot webpage. These DMPTool templates, and the “paper-based” templates they are based on, were developed and vetted by NIH Program staff and can be used to create the final DMS Plan included in a submission to NIH.

 

NIH Biosketch

NIH requirements for the biosketch format are outlined in NOT-OD-21-073 and NOT-OD-21-110. All new applications must include a biosketch in this format, and NIH may not review your application if any Biosketches do not follow the correct format.

NIH encourages the use of SciENcv, which can be used to generate both Biosketch documents in the appropriate format. SciENcv will provide the most up-to-date form and also keeps your previously entered information so that it is easy to make updates to the document.

If SciENcv is not a good option for you, you can access the blank forms on NIH's Biosketch Form Page. Here you will find resources such as:

Additional resources:

NIH Other Support

In response to recent developments affecting the integrity of biomedical research conducted in the United States, the NIH issued NOT-OD-19-114 in order to clarify and remind of the need to report foreign activities. This notice reviews NIH's longstanding policies on Other Support, Foreign Components, and Financial Conflict of Interest.

On March 12, 2021, NIH announced via NOT-OD-21-073 their Upcoming Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page for Due Dates on or after May 25, 2021. On April 28, 2021, NIH additionally released NOT-OD-21-110: Implementation of Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page. These two notices designate the required use of new Biosketch and Other Support forms beginning May 25, 2021 and state that "failure to follow the appropriate formats on or after January 25, 2022 may cause NIH to withdraw applications or delay consideration of funding." Therefore it is important to ensure that for all new NIH proposals, JITs, and progress reports, the updated Other Support format is being used.

Additional resources: