Submitting to PubMed Central

There are four methods to ensure that an applicable paper is submitted to PubMed Central (PMC) in compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy. Authors may use whichever method is most appropriate for them and consistent with their publishing agreement. To identify the submission and reporting method for a specific journal, visit Determine Submission Method.

Which journals automatically deposit to PMC?

Overview of Submission Methods

Version of Paper Submitted	Final Published Article	Final Peer-Reviewed Manuscript
Submission Process	Publisher posts the paper directly to PMC	Papers are required to be submitted via the NIHMS upon acceptance for publication. Publishers, authors or their designee deposit files and the NIHMS converts them to the PMC native format.
Submission Method to Deposit Files	Method A: Some journals automatically post NIH supported papers directly to PMC Method B: Authors must make special arrangements for some journals and publishers to post the paper directly to PMC	Method C: Authors or their designee must submit manuscripts to the NIHMS Method D: Some publishers will submit manuscripts to the NIHMS Awardees are responsible for ensuring manuscripts are submitted to the NIHMS upon acceptance for publication
Approve Submission	Publisher	Author, via NIHMS
Approve PMC web version	Publisher	Author, via NIHMS
Responsible Party	NIH Awardee	NIH Awardee
To cite papers, from acceptance for publication to 3 months post publication	PMCID or “PMC Journal- In Process”	PMCID or NIHMSID
To cite papers, 3 months post publication and beyond	PMCID	PMCID

Step-By-Step Instructions And Best Practices	Participating Journals And Publishers
Method A Method B Method C Method D	Method A Journals Method B journals and publishers Method D publishers

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Related Resources

Determine Submission Method