NIH Public Access Policy

This two-page handout summarizes the NIH Public Access policy being implemented on July 1, 2025. The updated handout describes the policy, directs Caltech researchers on how to comply with the policy, and provides links to Caltech resources to aid with compliance.

The key takeaways for the NIH Public Access policy are as follows:

• All NIH-supported articles, no matter the funding award date, must be made publicly available through PubMed Central (PMC) without embargo at the time of publication, for all articles accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025.
• Submit the peer-reviewed, accepted – not the journal-formatted – version of your article to PMC via the NIH Manuscript System (NIHMS) as soon as the article is accepted.
• NIH reiterates that compliance with the Public Access Policy is free. Some peer-reviewed publishing routes, however, might result in publication costs, including article processing charges (APCs).