Thursday, August 25, 2022 Policy & Advocacy

U.S. Federal Public Access Policies

Open Access   ·   Open Data

U.S. federal agencies have published and are implementing public access policies focused on making taxpayer-funded research immediately available for the public to freely access and fully use. These policies unlock more than $90 billion in research that the U.S. government funds each year by eliminating the 12-month waiting period for access to the outputs of federally funded research, including articles and data.

These agency policies are built on guidance issued across multiple White House administrations and through experiences making scientific outputs publicly available over the last decade. White House guidance includes:

    • Restoring Gold Standard Science Executive Order issued by the White House on May 23, 2025. The Order established nine core tenets to restore the scientific integrity in federally funded research. Additional guidance from the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) was published June 23, 2025, requiring agencies to develop Gold Standard Science implementation plans within 60 days. Agencies used these plans as opportunities to show how public access initiatives and requirements are implementing the Gold Standard Science tenets.
    • Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research Memorandum issued by OSTP on August 25, 2022. The memo builds on the 2013 OSTP memo and provides guidance on making publications and data immediately available. It also underscored the critical role that openness plays in ensuring scientific research integrity, providing new guidance for the use of persistent identifiers (PIDs) and robust metadata accompanying articles and datasets. Many agency public access policies were developed based on the expectations included in the memo. 
    • Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research Memorandum issued by OSTP on February 22, 2013. The memo directed agencies funding more than $100 million in R&D, to establish a policy ensuring that the results of federally-funded scientific research are available for the public to freely access and fully use. Applicable agencies developed and implemented public access policies addressing the memo guidance. 

Agency policies requiring publications and data sharing without any delay or embargo, were expected to be effective by December 31, 2025. The majority of agencies’ policies are currently in effect. The remainder of agencies have policies drafted and ready for agency approval, with a small handful of agencies putting policy development on hold pending additional administration guidance.

 

Agency Updates

To aid in interpreting and comparing agency public access policies, SPARC developed a Publication and Data Sharing Requirements by Federal Agency resource that breaks down agency requirements under different sections. This page complements that resource to quickly surface agency policy implementation status and key information. This page was last updated March 30, 2026. 

Use the quick links below to navigate to each agency for details on their policy implementation:

Agencies with Updated Policies in Effect
ACF | ACL | AHRQ | ASPR | CDC | Census | CMS | CPSC  | Ed | DOE | EPA

FDA | IMLS | NASA SMD | NEH | NIH | NSF | Smithsonian | USGS

Agencies Without Updated Policies Published
DOD | DOT | DHS | FWS | NIJ | NIST | NOAA | SSA | USDA | VA

 

Agencies with Updated Policies in Effect

Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 

Publications policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new awards only)

ACF’s Public Access Plan functions as its Public Access Policy. 

Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Publications policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new awards only)

Policy Resources:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Publications policy effective date: December 18, 2024 (new and existing awards)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 18, 2024 (new awards only)

Policy Resources: 

Administration from Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR)

Publications policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new and existing awards)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Publications policy effective date: April 8, 2024 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: October 1, 2024 (new awards only) 

Policy Resources: 

Census Bureau

Publications policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new/existing awards not specified in policy)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new/existing awards not specified in policy)

Policy Resources:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Publications policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new and existing awards)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new and existing awards) 

CMS’s Public Access Plan functions as its Public Access Policy. 

Policy Resources:

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Publications policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new and existing awards)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new and existing awards) 

CPSC’s Public Access Plan functions as its Public Access Policy. The plan requirements are applicable to intramural research. 

Policy Resources:

Department of Education (Ed)

Publications policy effective date: September 30, 2024 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: September 30, 2024 (new awards only) 

Policy Resources: 

Department of Energy (DOE)

Publications policy effective date: October 1, 2024 (new and existing awards)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: October 1, 2025 (new awards only) 

DOE has described FY2025 as a transition year for public access to publications.

Policy Resources: 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Publications policy effective date: January 2, 2025 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: January 2, 2025 (new awards only) 

Policy Resources: 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Publications policy effective date: August 15, 2025 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: August 15, 2025 (new awards only) 

Policy Resources: 

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

Publications policy effective date: October 1, 2025 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: October 1, 2025 (new awards only)

NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD)

Publications policy effective date: December 2, 2022 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 2, 2022 (new awards only) 

NASA SMD (which funds ~70% of all NASA extramural research) has public access requirements for publications and data management effective December 2, 2022, with the policy requirements introduced in new solicitations, contracts, and agreements as appropriate after the effective date. The public access policy for all of NASA is not yet in effect.

Policy Resources: 

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

Publications policy effective date: October 1, 2025 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: October 1, 2025 (new awards only)

Policy Resources: 

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Publications policy effective date: July 1, 2025 (new and existing awards)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: January 25, 2023 (new awards only) 

Policy Resources:

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Publications policy effective date: January 22, 2026 (new awards only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 8, 2025 and January 22, 2026 (new awards only)

Policy Resources:

Smithsonian Institution (SI)

Publications policy effective date: January 1, 2025 (intramural research only)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: January 1, 2025 (intramural research only)

SI’s Public Access Plan functions as its Public Access Policy. The plan requirements immediately went into effect when it was released and are applicable to intramural research. 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Publications policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new and existing awards)
Data management and sharing policy effective date: December 31, 2025 (new and existing awards) 

USGS’s Public Access Plan functions as its Public Access Policy.

Policy Resources:

 

Agencies Without Updated Policies Published

Department of Defense (DOD)

DOD released its Public Access Plan in December 2024. DOD has not yet released its Public Access Policy.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

DOT issued a Request for Information (RFI) in March 2023 to gather feedback on Increasing Public Access to the Results of USDOT-Funded Transportation Research. DOT has not yet released its Public Access Policy.

Policy Resources:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

DHS has not yet released its updated Public Access Plan or Policy.

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

FWS released its Public Access Plan in December 2024. The plan says FWS policies will be updated for public access implementation effective December 31, 2025. FWS has not yet released its Public Access Policy.

National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

NIJ issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather feedback on its Draft Public Access Plan in September 2024. NIJ has not yet released its Public Access Policy, but anticipates it will become effective October 1, 2025.

Policy Resources:

National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST)

NIST released its Public Access Plan in October 2023. NIST has not yet released its Public Access Policy.

Policy Resources:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

NOAA has not yet released its updated Public Access Plan or Policy.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

SSA released its Public Access Plan in December 2023. The plan says the requirements will apply to awards given on or after December 31, 2025. 

Policy Resources:

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA released its Public Access Plan in June 2023. USDA has not yet released its Public Access Policy.

Policy Resources:

Veterans Affairs (VA)

VA has not yet released its updated Public Access Plan or Policy.

Resources

Supportive Statements & Blog Posts

This is a selection of statements/blogs and not meant to be an exhaustive list:

Media Coverage

NASA’s Updated Scientific Information Policy for Science Mission Directorate (SMD)

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