NIH Is Standardizing with SciENcv: What’s Required and Why

The NIH, in alignment with a White House science policy initiative to harmonize federal research disclosures, is rolling out Common Forms that replace the old NIH biosketch and Other Support formats. These forms are only available in SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae), and NIH will enforce their use for all submissions starting January 25, 2026.

Your TL;DR: NIH will require all NIH grant applicants and awardees to use the SciENcv portal to complete and certify the Common Forms for biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support beginning with application due dates and other submissions on or after January 25, 2026. That means no more PDF templates outside SciENcv; if your biosketch or support form isn’t generated and certified in SciENcv you can’t submit your NIH proposal, JIT request, or RPPR.

What “Common Forms” Means

  • Biographical Sketch Common Form – replaces the traditional NIH biosketch format and now collects key professional information in a standardized federal format.
  • Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form – replaces the old Other Support page, tracking ongoing and committed research support across roles and projects.

Both forms must be created, certified, and exported as PDFs from SciENcv. NIH system validations will check usage, and after early February 2026, using incorrect or uncertified forms will produce errors that prevent submission. Learn more here https://grants.nih.gov/policy-and-compliance/implementation-of-new-initiatives-and-policies/common-forms-for-biosketch

Who Must Use SciENcv

All applicants, senior/key personnel, and awardees will be required to:

  • Log into SciENcv and generate the Common Forms for each senior/key person on the project.
  • Certify their own SciENcv-generated documents (delegates cannot certify on someone’s behalf).
  • Create and link an ORCID iD to both their SciENcv and eRA Commons accounts, because the Common Forms pull the ORCID identifier and use it in the persistent identifier section of the forms.

What Happens If You Don’t Comply

If a submission uses old biosketch or Other Support format pages instead of SciENcv-generated Common Forms, the NIH submission system (eRA, ASSIST, etc.) will produce a validation warning and then an error, leading to the application being withdrawn or rejected until corrected. This applies to new applications, RPPRs, JITs, and prior approval submissions for due dates on or after January 25, 2026.

Why This Change Matters to You

This shift isn’t cosmetic. It transforms how NIH collects professional and support disclosures and ties your application infrastructure (SciENcv, ORCID, eRA Commons) to the submission workflow itself. NIH’s strict enforcement means you must prepare now if you plan to submit to NIH in 2026 or later.

What’s At Stake

🧾 Submission eligibility — Without SciENcv-generated, certified forms, your application can’t be submitted.
🔗 Compliance and accuracy — ORCID and linked profiles are now core parts of the disclosure workflow.
⚙️ Workflow changes — Delegates can populate data, but senior/key personnel must certify their forms personally.

What You Should Do Next

Get your SciENcv and ORCID accounts sorted now. Set up or update your ORCID ID and link it to SciENcv and eRA Commons. Log into SciENcv and get familiar with the Common Forms interface well before your next NSF or NIH submission.

Start creating your forms early. Don’t wait until the week your proposal is due; generating and certifying Common Forms for every senior/key person takes time, especially if you’re onboarding delegates or new personnel to the process.

If you’re preparing NIH proposals in 2026 or beyond, incomplete or uncertified personnel forms can stop your submission cold. You want a smooth, compliant process that doesn’t get rejected for a technicality.

Let EBHC guide your NIH SciENcv transition strategy. We’ll walk you through setting up ORCID, linking accounts, and building compliant Common Forms before submission deadlines.

👉 Schedule a SciENcv readiness review
We’ll evaluate your current profiles, help you link SciENcv and ORCID, and ensure your biosketch and support forms are submission-ready.

📌 Request NIH compliance support
We’ll align your personnel documentation workflows with NIH’s new requirements so you avoid errors on submission day.

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Schedule a Consult Call

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