Common Forms Required for all NIH Submissions Starting January 2026
Major Changes to NIH biographical documents for submissions on or after January 25
Quick Summary
- Significant changes to the NIH personnel documents will be required for all applications due January 25, 2026 and beyond.
- The changes will impact how the documents are prepared and formatted, and will have profound effects on the content as well.
- The PDS team advises all investigators planning to apply for NIH funding to take action now to prepare for NIH's shift to the Common Form.
A couple of notes about the official Common Forms:
- They look just as expected based on the Preview forms.
- All sections of the Common Form must have something entered in order for you to download a compliant form.
- You can add formatting to narrative sections (Personal Statement and Contributions to Science) using HTML code.
NIH is requiring personnel documents for all submissions due May 8 and after to be created using the Common Form in SciENcv (NOT-OD-26-079). This affects proposals, RPPRs and JIT submissions. Details of the changes can be found in the original notice (NOT-OD-26-018). Please reach out to the PDS team at [email protected] for assistance.
Not only are there MAJOR changes to how the biosketch is formatted and generated, but it also has profound impacts on the content as well.
Key Take-aways:
- All key personnel must obtain an ORCiD ID and log-in to SciENcv in order to generate new electronically certified forms for the biosketch Common Form, the NIH biosketch supplement, and Current and Pending Support.
- One can assign delegates in both ORCiD and SciENcv to help you populate your forms. The delegator (i.e., PI) must still log in to SciENcv to certify each document created for them by a delegate. Delegates must also have an ORCiD id.
- Documents not created in SciENcv, or that lack the certification, will generate an error in the NIH submission systems (Cayuse424, ASSIST) and will prevent submission.
- Text submitted in SciENcv for the Personal Statement and Contributions to Science can be formatted using HTML code.
- A maximum of ten citations may be listed in the biosketch in one section of Products. You may NOT include any citations in the Personal Statement and Contributions to Science although you may refer to the citations listed in the Products section.
- A link to MyBibliography will no longer be allowed in the biosketch. The only active link in your biosketch will be your ORCiD id public profile.
ACTION ITEMS to take NOW to prepare for your next submission:
First: Take advantage of the resources provided by the Proposal Development Services team in the Office of Research
- Sign up for Office Hours on Zoom (Events | Proposal Development Services) in which you will be guided step-by-step on the process of creating ORCID and SciENcv accounts and generating a biosketch on the new forms
- If you can’t attend a Zoom session, this document (Kerberos login required) explains all of the changes and provides step-by-step instructions for setting up your ORCID and SciENcv accounts
Next: Obtain an ORCID ID by logging into ORCID using your UC Davis credentials (Sign in - ORCID)
- Link your ORCiD account to your eRA commons account
- Populate your ORCiD profile and make it public, since this will be the only live link allowed on your new biosketch (links to MyBibliography will not be allowed)
- Optional: Add a delegate to your ORCID account
Finally: Log-in to SciENcv (SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae)
- Link your SciENcv account to your ORCID and eRA commons accounts
- Optional: Add a delegate to your SciENcv account
- Generate your biographical documents to ensure that all systems are linked and you are familiar with the interface.
If you encounter difficulties in any aspect, such as setting up your accounts, linking accounts, accidentally generating multiple accounts, adding delegates, adding citations and other products, please don’t hesitate to contact the Proposal Development Services team at [email protected].