2025 NIH PAP Updates – Guidance from the First 3 Months

2025 brought numerous challenges for researchers and authors in our community, one being the implementation of changes to the NIH Public Access Policy. While we don’t have all answers, here is the guidance we’ve gathered from authors, publishers, and colleagues over the past 3 months.

Guidance Before Submitting a Manuscript

  • Investigate a journal’s policies prior to submission, especially using the “For Authors” page on the journal’s website.
  • Pay attention to what boxes you check or what you agree to during the initial submission process, especially related to “other licenses” on your work.
  • Communicate with Journal Managers & Editors along the way; ask questions and communicate your challenges.

Guidance After the Acceptance of a Manuscript

If the journal presents you with multiple publication options:

  • If a journal requires a 12-month embargo on the Author Accepted Manuscript and you have NIH funding, they will require you to pay for Open Access to comply.
  • If you choose to submit to PubMed Central without paying for Gold Open Access with a journal that requires a 12-month embargo, you do so at your own risk.
  • Some publishers are more author friendly than others. Smaller publishers like JAMA and even some major publishers, like Wiley, are allowing authors to comply with the policy without payment.
  • Many major publishers, like Elsevier and Springer Nature are not allowing authors to comply without paying for extremely expensive APCs.

If the journal allows you to comply without payment, submit manually to PubMed Central as soon as possible    

You have the right to pull your article from publication, especially if you do not have funding to pay for Gold Open Access

Advocacy Opportunities for Editors, Reviewers, and Mentors

  • If you or your lab or department has a primary or favored journal that doesn’t allow authors to submit without paying APCs, consider finding an alternative journal
  • If you are a regular peer reviewer for a journal that doesn’t allow authors to submit without paying for APCs, consider dedicating your unpaid labor to an alternative journal
  • If you are an editor or board member at a journal that doesn’t allow authors to submit without paying ACPs, consider speaking up about this issue or finding an alternative journal for your unpaid labor

You can see more tips and related information on our Guide to the Public Access Policy here.

Updated Guidance for NIH Public Access Compliance