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For questions or help with the PMCID process, please email publications@prc.utexas.edu.

Overview

All peer-reviewed journal articles arising from NIH-funded research — accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025 — must comply with the updated NIH Public Access Policy.

Key Requirements & Compliance Steps

1. What to Submit: Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) or Final Published Article

• Upon acceptance for publication, the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) — the author’s final peer-reviewed version including all revisions, tables/figures, and supplementary materials — must be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC) for immediate public access.
• Alternatively (if the journal has an agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM)), the Final Published Article (the journal’s formatted, edited version) may be deposited directly by the publisher upon the official publication date.

2. Timing — No Embargo Period Allowed

• The updated policy eliminates the previous 12-month embargo. For articles accepted on or after July 1, 2025, manuscripts must become publicly available in PMC immediately upon publication (i.e., on the “Official Date of Publication”).
• Embargo periods, which were previously permitted under the older (2008) policy, are no longer allowed.

3. Submission Process

• Authors may deposit via the existing submission pathways (e.g., via the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) System or other recognized PMC submission routes).
• When submitting, authors agree to a standard license (mirroring the “Government Use License” under 2 CFR 200.315 or successor regulation), granting NIH the right to make the manuscript publicly available without embargo.
• Submission to PMC under the new policy remains free — authors are not required to pay a fee for compliance, regardless of whether the journal publishes open access or subscription-based.

4. Acknowledgments / Funding Disclosure / Rights Statement

• The manuscript (both AAM and/or Final Published Article) must include the required acknowledgment of NIH grant support, including the relevant Institute or Center and grant number, as per the stipulations in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS) (e.g., GPS 4.2.1 and 8.2.1).
• NIH strongly encourages inclusion of a “NIH Rights Statement” in manuscripts submitted for peer review, to alert journals/publishers that the work is subject to the 2024 Public Access Policy. Sample language may accompany the funding acknowledgment.

5. Applicability

• The 2024–2025 revised policy applies to all NIH-funded peer-reviewed journal articles accepted on or after July 1, 2025, regardless of when the grant was awarded or closed.
• Articles accepted before July 1, 2025 remain under the older 2008 Policy, which allowed a 12-month embargo.

Why the Change?

These updates implement the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directive requiring immediate public access to federally funded research outputs.

The removal of embargo periods is intended to enhance accessibility, accelerate dissemination of research findings, and ensure equitable public access to taxpayer-funded research.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Texas at Austin is responsible for reviewing all research conducted under the umbrella of UT Austin. The purpose of an IRB is to ensure research involving humans applies ethical principles and complies with federal requirements for protecting the rights and welfare of human participants. Human subjects research at UT Austin is guided by the ethical principles set forth in the Belmont Report (Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research).

All new human subjects research applications will be submitted in the new electronic submission system, UT Research Management Suite – IRB Module (UTRMS-IRB).

For instructions on how to submit a new application please visit this link.

 

It is a good idea to contact the IRB _before_ you submit your application to discuss any questions you have. You can contact the IRB in multiple ways:

Email: irb@austin.utexas.edu; you can email questions or set up a time for a Zoom appointment

Phone: 512-232-1543

Chat (with a live person, not a bot): every day, 9 to 4, from their website

Virtual office hours: Wednesdays 10 to 11 am via zoom (Zoom ID: 99072854072)

Within the IRB portal in UTRMS, there is an orange “Get help” button at the top of the screen—if you click on “Create a new study”, you will be promoted through the steps to create and submit a new application for IRB review. This can be helpful if you haven’t used the new system yet, haven’t submitted in a while, or if you have a grad student who is new to IRB submissions.

Be sure to download templates from https://research.utexas.edu/ors/human-subjects/submitting-to-irb/irb-submission-forms/ or by clicking on the Library tab within the UTRMS-IRB system. Do not use forms you have saved on your computer from previous submissions as they may have changed.

Inconsistency across materials is what causes the most delays in reviews, such as the consent form language not matching the protocol language. Be sure to read through all of your documents with an eye toward consistency before submission.

 

 

Data Use Agreements

The transfer of data between institutions is common in the research community. When the data is confidential, proprietary, or otherwise considered confidential, the organization providing the data will often require that the entity receiving the data to enter into a contract to outline the terms and conditions of the data exchange. This type of contract is referred to as a Data Use Agreement (DUA). Alternatively, it may also be called a License Agreement, Confidentiality Agreement, Non-Disclosure Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, or Memorandum of Agreement.
More information about DUAs can be found on the OSP’s website.

To initiate the process via the PRC the following form will need to be completed by the requester. Once we receive the completed form a member of the PRC Grants Team will reach out and work with the requester to get institutional approval via the Office of Sponsored Projects OSP.

Data Use Agreement Request Form

 

Confidential Data Control Plans (CDCP)

Depending on the type of data and the terms of the agreement, an additional (internal) agreement called a Confidential Data Control Plan (CDCP) will also need to be created.

A CDCP is an internal agreement that helps ensure that unauthorized persons will not access confidential data shared by a third party with UT.

If your DUA requires a CDCP, a member of the PRC staff will be in touch with you to assist in completing a CDCP

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