From: Larry Alford, University Chief Librarian
Date: May 29, 2025
Re: NIH Public Access Policy Update – New Effective Date for Immediate Open Access Requirement

On April 30, the NIH announced an update to its 2024 Public Access Policy, moving the effective date up to July 1, 2025 (from December 31, 2025). The policy applies retroactively to current NIH-funded grants. All other aspects of the policy remain unchanged.

As a reminder, the updated policy requires that all peer-reviewed manuscripts resulting from NIH funding be made openly available immediately upon publication, with no embargo.

This requirement can be fulfilled in one of two ways:
• By submitting the Author Accepted Manuscript to PubMed Central (PMC), or
• By publishing in a journal that has a formal agreement with PMC to deposit the Final Published Manuscript in PMC upon publication.

For details, consult the NIH’s Author’s Guide to PMC eligibility and submission.

Library staff are available to assist with questions and compliance. Contact the Scholarly Communications & Copyright Office at scholarly.communications@library.utoronto.ca.