NIH Public Access Law Compliance
The NIH Public Access Policy Law states: ” …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…”
CPC Guide to Public Access Compliance
Use the public access compliance guide to understand how and where the Public Access Compliance Law comes within the publication process.
Submitting to NIH Manuscript System (NIHMS)
Once your publication has been accepted, send the materials listed below to Lexie Groner so she can submit the manuscript to NIHMS on your behalf.
- Final accepted manuscript before journal formatting
- Title page with author affiliations, corresponding author contact information, and abstract
- Figures and tables
- Supplemental information or appendices
Contact info
Contact Lexie Groner with questions
919-962-3626
NIHMS Tutorials
Tutorials for how to navigate the NIHMS system, including ones for the approval processes, can be found here.
The Difference Between a PMCID and a PMID
The PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) is different from the PubMed reference number (PMID). PubMed Central is an index of full-text papers, while PubMed is an index of abstracts. The PMCID links to full-text papers in PubMed Central, while the PMID links to abstracts in PubMed. PMIDs have nothing to do with the NIH Public Access Policy.
Examples of Citations:
Lawrence, Elizabeth M., Richard G. Rogers, and Robert A. Hummer. 2020. Maternal Educational Attainment and Child Health in the United States. American Journal of Health Promotion. 34 (3):303-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0890117119890799 PMCID: PMC7033002.
Renson, Audrey, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Jennifer Beam Dowd, Lauren Gaydosh, Matthew B. McQueen, Kenneth S. Krauter, Michael J. Shanahan, and Allison E. Aiello. 2020. Early Signs of Gut Microbiome Aging: Biomarkers of Inflammation, Metabolism, and Macromolecular Damage in Young Adulthood. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 75 (7):1258-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaa122 PMCID: PMC7302166.
Examples, before the PMCID is available:
When the publisher submits the manuscript use: “PMC Journal – In Process”:
Example: Frankenberg, Elizabeth, Cecep Sumantri, and Duncan Thomas. 2020. Effects of a Natural Disaster on Mortality Risks over the Longer Term. Nature Sustainability. 3:614-9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0536-3 PMCID: PMC Journal – In Process.
When CPC or another author submits the manuscript use the NIHMSID:
Example: Valizadeh, Pourya, and Shu Wen Ng. Online ahead of print. The New School Food Standards and Nutrition of School Children: Direct and Indirect Effect Analysis. Economics & Human Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100918. NIHMS1615278.
Note: NIH expects NIH applications, proposals and reports to provide the most up-to-date information available on Public Access Policy compliance. The NIH Manuscript Submission reference number (NIHMSID) or “PMC Journal – In Process” should not be used once the PMCID is available. Previously submitted applications, proposals and reports need not be updated when the PMCID becomes available.
Information on acknowledging the CPC Center Grants can be found here.