1. If I receive US Federal funding, how do I know what Public Access policy applies to me? Am I required to make my article immediately accessible?
Many US federal agencies have public access policies, and some are in the process of introducing or revising their policies. Currently most agencies permit grantees to make their accepted manuscript accessible up to 12 months after publication (this is often referred to as an embargo period). A small number of agencies, such as NIH, require manuscripts to be immediately accessible to the public from the point of publication. In both cases, agencies usually require that a version of the research paper – either the accepted manuscript (AM) or published version of record (VOR) - is deposited in a specific repository, such as PubMed Central (PMC).
To find out if your research funder has implemented a public access policy, and whether this requires immediate access, please check your funder’s website. Your policy requirements may also be included in the terms and conditions of your research grant. However, you should always check your funder’s website in case more recent terms have been introduced.
If you are unsure if your funder has a public access policy, you should contact the organization directly or get in touch with our OA funding and policy support service for assistance.
If you are an NIH-funded author, please see our NIH-specific FAQs below. Please read on to learn how you can comply with immediate access requirements when publishing with Springer Nature.
2. How can I comply with NIH’s Public Access Policy?
If you or your co-author(s) are funded by NIH, here’s what you need to know about complying with NIH public access requirements when publishing with Springer Nature:
- NIH articles must be immediately accessible: The new NIH public access policy applies to all NIH-funded articles accepted for publication from 01 July 2025. This revised policy requires that articles supported by NIH are immediately publicly accessible upon publication via the PubMed Central repository, without embargo.
- Springer Nature enables compliance via gold OA: We enable authors to be fully compliant with the NIH Public Access policy through gold OA publication. As well as being NIH-compliant, gold OA publication has many benefits for authors and readers, including increased citation and usage, and greater public engagement.
- We deposit NIH gold OA papers to PubMed Central (PMC): In addition to making the published version of record (VOR) of gold OA articles freely accessible on the journal website, Springer Nature automatically deposits gold OA articles that acknowledge NIH funding to PMC on publication. To enable us to identify an OA article as eligible for deposit, please make sure to provide details of your relevant research funder, grant number and recipient name in the structured funding fields provided during the submission process. Authors can also choose to self-archive a copy of their gold OA VOR to PMC.
- APCs for gold OA are allowable for NIH grantees: For articles made immediately accessible via the gold OA route, an article processing charge (APC) is usually paid to cover the services provided by the journal. APCs are an allowable expense under the NIH public access policy. For further information on how to fund the APC for gold OA publication, please see our FAQ below. If you have any concerns about supporting the APC for your publication, get in touch with our OA funding and policy support service for assistance.
- Publishing via the subscription route is not a viable option: Choosing the subscription publication route in a Springer Nature journal conflicts with immediate public access policies, such as NIH’s policy. Authors will therefore need to opt for gold OA in order to comply with the NIH’s policy. For more information, please see our FAQ below on complying with immediate access requirements.
As a reminder, in addition to NIH’s immediate access requirements, the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy requires researchers to plan for and share scientific data generated from NIH-funded research. Learn more about the benefits of open data and our open data policies.
3. How can I comply with immediate access requirements when publishing in a Springer Nature journal?
Springer Nature enables compliance via gold OA publication:
This means that the published version of record (VOR) is freely accessible to all users immediately on publication, and the accepted manuscript (AM) or VOR can be deposited by the author to any institutional or funder repository (e.g. PMC) for public release immediately on publication. You will be able to fully comply with all US Public Access policies by choosing to publish via the gold OA route and depositing your article in your funder’s designated repository. For articles made immediately accessible via the gold OA route, in most cases an article processing charge (APC) is paid to cover the services provided by the journal.
A gold OA option exists across all our research journals:
Fully OA journals: Springer Nature publishes over 700 fully OA journals that publish all research via the immediate gold OA route.
Hybrid journals: Springer Nature publishes over 2,000 hybrid journals that offer a choice of immediate gold OA or subscription (non-OA) publication, including those within the Nature portfolio.
Publishing via the subscription route is not a viable option: Authors publishing in Springer Nature hybrid journals should select gold OA at the point of acceptance in order to comply with any immediate access policy requirements. If you opt to publish via the subscription (non-OA) publication route, you will sign our standard subscription licence terms. Because authors warrant under our subscription licensing terms that they haven’t committed to licensing any version of their article under a licence inconsistent with the terms of our agreement – including the applicable embargo period – publication under the subscription model isn’t suitable for authors whose funders require no embargo. This includes situations such as prior agreements with a funder (e.g. NIH) to make the article immediately accessible in a repository.
Springer Nature supports gold OA as the only sustainable route to immediate access. Immediate sharing of content that has been published via the subscription route (zero-embargo green) is not a sustainable approach to immediate access, with its continued reliance on library subscription payments. As well as enabling compliance with immediate access policies, gold OA publication has many benefits for authors and readers, including increased usage, the highest citations and greater public engagement.
4. How do I fund the APC for gold OA publication?
For articles made immediately accessible via the gold OA route, an article processing charge (APC) is usually paid to cover the services provided by the journal.
Many research funders and institutions provide APC funding to support the costs of publishing via the immediate gold OA route, or permit APCs as allowable grant expenses, including US federal agencies. All US Federal Agencies that require immediate access have confirmed that APCs are an allowable grant expense. You should make sure all potential APC costs are budgeted accordingly in your grant application.
For Springer Nature authors, APCs may also be covered by a transformative or OA agreement with the corresponding author’s institution. If you are not covered by a transformative or OA agreement you can also check our list to see whether your APC may be supported by OA funds from your institution or by other research funders that have supported the research.
If you have concerns about funding your APC, get in touch with our OA funding and policy support service for assistance.
5. How can I comply with public access policies that permit a 12-month embargo when publishing with Springer Nature?
Most US federal agencies require that a version of the research paper – either the accepted manuscript (AM) or published version of record (VOR) - is deposited in a specific repository. Currently, many agencies permit grantees to make their accepted manuscript accessible up to 12 months after publication - this is often referred to as an embargo period.
If your funder permits a 12-month embargo then Springer Nature offers two routes to compliance:
- Gold OA publication: Where authors opt for Gold OA, the published version of record (VOR) is freely accessible to all users immediately on publication, and the VOR or the accepted manuscript (AM) can be deposited by the author to any institutional or funder repository (e.g. PMC) for public release immediately on publication. For articles made immediately accessible via the gold OA route, in most cases an article processing charge (APC) is paid to cover the services provided by the journal. Read more about how to fund your APC in our FAQ above.
- Self-archiving with an embargo: Where authors opt to publish via the subscription route, Springer Nature permits authors to self-archive the accepted manuscript (AM) in their funder or institutional repositories for public release after an embargo period. Read more about the terms of our self-archiving policy on our OA policies page.
6. My article has already been published but it does not comply with my funder’s policy. What should I do?
It is possible to meet your funder’s requirements after the point of publication. Springer Nature offers the following two routes:
Self-archiving with an embargo: In cases where your funder permits a 12-month embargo, you may comply via self-archiving or manuscript deposition. Springer Nature permits authors to self-archive the accepted manuscript (AM) in their funder or institutional repositories for public release after an embargo period. Authors should check the self-archiving policies of the journal. Read more about the terms of our self-archiving policy on our OA policies page.
Retrospective gold OA publication: If your funder requires immediate access, the subscription publication route is not compatible with immediate public access policies, such as NIH’s policy. If your article was published via the subscription route but should have been published via the immediate gold open access route, it is usually possible to retrospectively make the article openly available via the gold route on the journal’s website. You should ensure that you have sufficient funding to cover the APC. To request retrospective open access for an article that has already been published, please complete our retrospective open access order form.
7. Who can I speak to for more information?
If you have any questions about complying with US federal agency public access policies that aren’t answered here, please contact our OA funding and policy support service for assistance.
8. Where can I learn more about complying with funder and institutional requirements and Springer Nature’s open access policies?
You may have additional policy requirements set by your institution or other research funders. For more information on meeting the policy requirements of your institution, or research funder, please see our funding policy compliance FAQs.
For information on Springer Nature’s open access policies, such as Creative Commons licensing, retrospective open access, self-archiving embargoes, and our accepted manuscript terms of use, see Springer Nature’s open access journals policy page.
