For method C, authors (or someone they delegate) can submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript (not the final published version) to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). Submitting to NIHMS is the only way an author can submit manuscripts to be added into PMC, if the journal publisher doesn’t deposit it for them.
NIHMS provides a number of great tutorials and an FAQ page to help you get started using the system, including
Note: If you aren’t sure if you need to or should submit your article to NIHMS, check Determine Applicability to your paper?
Note: Email notifications from NIHMS letting authors/PI’s know a submission is ready for approval will come from: nihms-help@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Navigating the NIH Manuscript Submission Process [Video]
This video gives you detailed help in submitting, reviewing, and approving your manuscript in the NIHMS (NIH Manuscript Submission) system. The NIHMS supports deposit of manuscripts into PubMed Central (PMC) as required by the public access policies of NIH and other participating funding agencies.
If you are unable to determine if you have permission to submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript to NIHMS, you will need to contact the publisher to ask for permission. Here is a template you can use: