The NIH public access policy requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication.
To advance science and improve human health, NIH makes the peer-reviewed articles it funds publicly available on PubMed Central.
How to Submit Journal Articles to PubMed Central
The NIH Public Access website provides instructions to assist in submitting publications to PubMed Central and complying with the policy: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/.
There are various ways for authors to ensure the paper is submitted to PMC: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process.htm. The method of submittal is dependent on the journal that is publishing the article. Some journals submit automatically to PMC and some don’t. The NIH publishes a list of the status of various journals. If the journal is listed here: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm?jtitle=A then the PMCID happens without any other author involvement. If the journal doesn’t automatically submit to PMC, some journals may submit to PMC if the author acknowledges NIH grant support in their article. The author has the responsibility to make sure the paper is submitted to PMC by determining the best method for their journal.
You can access the NIH Public Access Policy training video here
Learn more about the NIHMS: NIH Manuscript Submission System