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NIH Public Access Compliance: Why Is This Paper Non-Compliant?

This LibGuide will walk users through issues of publication compliance with the NIH

The Red Exclamation Point

a screenshot of a red non-compliant status box from the my bibliography

If one of your publications has the red exclamation point, then that publication is Non-Compliant, and we need to address that as soon as possible.  The red exclamation point appears if the paper has been linked to NIH funding and has not been deposited into PubMed Central.  There are 2 ways to remove the red exclamation point:

  1. Submit the Paper through the NIHMS.  The tab "How Do I Make This Paper Compliant?" will walk you through this process.
  • If the publication has already been deposited into PubMed Central through the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS), see the box below this one to input the NIHMSID into the My Bibliography. 

2. Edit the Status of the paper to be Non-Applicable if the publication is exempt from the policy. (see the tab labeled, "Do I Need to Deal With This?")

My paper has a PMCID but is listed as non-compliant in the My Bibliography

Under the new NIH Public Access Policy for scholarly publications, any peer-reviewed scholarly publication accepted on or after July 1, 2025 AND are funded by a grant active on or after this date must be made available in PubMed Central without an embargo. To account for this new policy in the My Bibliography, publications will be listed as non-compliant even when they obtain a PMCID with the status "Non-compliant. Citation embargoed in PMC". To determine how to address this, please proceed to the Step 1 tab. 

a screenshot of a My Bibliography compliance box with the red status "Non-compliant. Citation embargoed in PMC"

 

Step 1. Was this publication accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025 AND is linked to a grant that was active on or after this date? Click this link if you need assistance determining the acceptance date.

  • If yes: please proceed to step 2
  • If no: you can designate in the My Bibliography that the publication was accepted before July 1. To do this, click the "Edit status" link in the compliance box for the publication. 
    • a screenshot of a compliance box in the My Bibliography with an arrow pointing to the "edit status" link
    • For the question "Was this citation accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025?" select the "No" option and click save. 
      • a screenshot of the "Edit Public Access Compliance Status" box from the My Bibliography with an arrow pointing to the "No" option 
    • The compliance box and status will change to green and compliant:
      • a screenshot of a green compliance box with a PMCID listed

Step 2. If your publication was accepted on or after July 1, 2025, and has been embargoed in PMC, please reach out to the CSHL Science Informationist (x6844, kmcguire@cshl.edu) promptly to get assistance with your publication. 

I have an NIHMSID for a paper. How do I use it to indicate progress towards compliance?

Once a publication has been approved in NIHMS for deposit in PubMed Central, it is given an NIHMSID. You can use this number to demonstrate provisional compliance on an RPPR for up to 90 days after the official publication date of the paper. Follow these steps to load the NIHMSID into your My Bibliography. 

Step 1. Locate the NIHMSID for the publication. You can do this by logging into the NIH Manuscript Submission System and locating the paper. It will most likely be in the "in process" tab of your submission system. Once you locate the correct manuscript information, locate the NIHMSID under the "Manuscript Information" heading and copy it.

a screenshot of the status of a publication in NIHMS with a box and an arrow highlighting the NIHMSID field

Step 2. Next, navigate to the My Bibliography and find the citation for the publication for which you are trying to demonstrate compliance. Click "edit status" in the compliance box on the right side of the citation. Then, select the option that states "This citation has been submitted" and enter the NIHMSID into the box. Then, click save.  

a screenshot from the My bibliography to "edit public access compliance status" with the "this citation has been submitted NIHMS ID" option selected

If it has been less than 90 days since the official publication date, then the compliance box should turn blue and read as "in process" like in the example below. 

a screenshot of the blue "in process at NIHMS" compliance box from the my bibliography

If it has been more than 90 days since the official publication date, then the compliance box will stay red and say "non-compliant" like in the example below. The publication will only be considered compliant at this stage when it has been given a PMCID. 

a screenshot of a non-compliant publication from the my bibliography with particular emphasis on "non-compliant. no PMCID 3 months post publication"

Additional Questions: