Are you funded by NIH and publishing applicable works that apply under the NIH Public Access Policy? If so, a PMCID is required to demonstrate compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy for works that are three months post publication.

 If a PMCID is not available, there may be several reasons depending on the submission method used:

1. A journal publisher has not yet completed the submission per Submission Method A.

Recommended course of action: The authors should contact the Public Access Help Desk PublicAccess@nih.gov to clarify the submission status.

2. A journal publisher has not yet completed the submission per Submission Method B.

Recommended course of action: The authors should contact the journal publisher and the Public Access Help Desk PublicAccess@nih.gov to clarify the submission status.

3. The authors retained the right to self-submit the manuscript but have not yet completed the submission per Submission Method C.

Recommended course of action: The authors should self-submit the manuscript.

4. The authors assigned a third party (non-journal publisher) to submit the manuscript per Submission Method C.

Recommended course of action: The authors should contact the third party submitter to clarify the submission status. Once the manuscript is submitted, the authors should complete the approval process.

5. A journal publisher completed the submission per Submission Method D but the authors have not approved the submission.

Recommended course of action: All authors should check NIHMS to see if the manuscript is awaiting review and approval. If the manuscript is awaiting review, the designated author should complete the approval process.

6. A journal publisher has not yet completed the submission per Submission Method D.

Recommended course of action: The authors should contact the journal publisher to clarify the submission status of the manuscript. Once a manuscript has been submitted, the authors should complete the approval process.