Department of Energy public access policy

Please note: Below is the current policy and procedures for the Department of Energy (DOE). This policy and procedure will change as all federal funding agencies begin compliance with the August 2022 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) policy memorandum entitled “Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research.” Please see our OSTP/Nelson Memo impact webpage for more details and updates about the policies and upcoming changes.

What do I need to submit to DOE?

Public Access to Manuscripts: All researchers receiving DOE funding are required to submit metadata and a persistent hyperlink to the full-text accepted manuscript (in an institutional repository) or the full text of the accepted manuscript itself to DOE's Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). Public access will be provided via the DOE Public Access Gateway for Science and Energy (DOE Pages) database.

Where do I submit?

The Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Link system (E-Link) is used for submitting scientific and technical information (STI) products, including journal article accepted manuscripts, technical reports, conference proceedings, scientific software, and other types of STI.

When do I need to submit?

Papers should be submitted to the PAGES repository upon acceptance for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Papers submitted within 12 months of publications are considered compliant.

How do I submit?

Submissions of manuscripts should be submitted through E-Link once they are accepted for publication, but no later than one year after the day the journal article is published online.

To submit an accepted manuscript, grantees should use the "Financial Assistance Recipients" tab from the E-Link webpage. Researchers will then use a simple step-by-step submission interface to make the submission.

OSTI has prepared a video tutorial to demonstrate how to submit a manuscript. Instructions for submitting are outlined under the "Scientific and Technical Reporting" section of the DOE Federal Reporting Checklist and Instructions, DOE F 4600.2 (see Journal Article/Accepted Manuscripts, pp. 7-8). Detailed instructions can also be found on E-Link.

Before submitting, you will need:

  • DOE Contract/Award Number
  • DOI for the Accepted manuscript/publication
  • Publicly accessible link or digital copy of the final accepted peer-reviewed manuscript

More information: