The National Institutes of Health expects to begin requiring the use of Common Forms for personnel documents, the Biosketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support, in November 2025. Learn more on the VPR website.
To prepare for this transition, NOT-OD-25-152 has been issued. This Guide Notice informs the extramural community that NIH has launched preview versions of the NIH Common Forms within Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv). Users are now able to access these preview versions of the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Forms and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement (along with the corresponding instructions).
The preview documents will allow users to save, reopen, and edit the preview forms within the SciENcv module. However, the download PDF functionality will be disabled, and the form(s) and data entered into the preview versions will be deleted and no longer accessible once the official NIH Common Forms become available for preparation and submission, anticipated in November 2025. These preview forms are an opportunity for users to preview the new system functionality and new instructions. These are not the final official versions, and NIH is not seeking any feedback or testing from external users.
For those who have not used SciENcv before and/or do not already have an ORCID ID, here’s what you can do now to prepare:
- Familiarize yourself with Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv).
- SciENcv is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive, or are associated with research investments from federal agencies.
- You will be required to use SciENcv to complete Common Forms (i.e., Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support) and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement to produce digitally certified PDF(s) for use in application submission.
- Preview the new system functionality, forms, and instructions in SciENcv (preview feature will be available by September 15, 2025).
- Get an ORCID ID.
- ORCID is a free, unique, persistent identifier (PID) for individuals to use as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities.
- Once NIH adopts the new forms, all senior/key personnel listed on an application must have an ORCID ID and the ID must be linked to their eRA Commons Personal Profile.
- You will be required to enter your ORCID ID in the Persistent Identifier (PI) section of the Common Forms.
Frequently Asked Questions and responses can be found here.
Please continue using the current NIH Biosketch and Other Support forms for all submissions until the new Common Forms are officially implemented in November. The new preview forms are for preparation only. Submissions that use the preview forms before the official launch will be rejected.
If you have any questions, please contact your Contract and Grant Specialist. Additionally, LTS has a helpful guide on their website with FAQs for ORCID and SciENcv.