NIH Common Forms
NIH Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support
Effective January 25, 2026 | Applies to NIH Applications, JIT, RPPR, Prior Approvals
The Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support refers to standardized documents used across multiple federal government agencies to standardize disclosure requirements. The NIH Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support are exclusively available in SciENcv.
SciENcv is an application developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to help researchers create and maintain Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support forms. Upon implementation, the NIH will require all Senior/Key Personnel to link both their eRA Commons account and their ORCID iD account to their SciENcv account to complete Common Forms and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.*
An ORCID iD is a free, unique, persistent identifier for individuals to use. All Senior/Key Personnel must have an ORCID iD and must link their ORCID iD to their SciENcv account to complete NIH Common Forms and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.* If you do not already have an OCRID iD, register for an ORCID iD here. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Note: NIH will enforce the use of the Common Forms via eRA system validations immediately as a warning when the wrong form is used. NIH will withdraw any application that does not comply with the use of the Common Forms beginning with the February 5, 2026 standard application due date. Moreover, by February 6, 2026, the warning will be elevated into an error preventing submission of the incorrect or uncertified forms. Failure to utilize the correct forms will cause NIH to withdraw your application from consideration.
With Common Forms implementation, the NIH requires all Senior/Key Personnel to link both their eRA Commons account and their ORCID iD account to their SciENcv account to complete Common Forms and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.*
What Investigators and Administrators can do now to prepare for NIH Commons Forms Implementation
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Investigators
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Access your SciENcv account, and if you have not already, link both your eRA Commons account AND your ORCID iD to your SciENcv account.
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If you have never accessed SciENcv before:
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Navigate to the SciENcv login page.
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Click More Options >> other login options >> more login options. Type Albany Research Institute and select to sign as a Partner Organization.
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Click on your username in the top-right corner of the screen. From the ACCOUNT menu that opens, click Account Settings.
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Scroll down to Linked Accounts and click Add Account. A new 3rd-party account pop-up window will open. Search for either eRA commons or ORCiD. Select whichever you would like to link first and proceed with the on screen instructions. Repeat the Add Account function for whichever account you did not add initially/already.
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If you have previously accessed SciENcv:
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Navigate to the SciENcv login page and login using the login option you used before, e.g., eRA Commons, ORCiD, NSF/Research.gov
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Once logged into your SciENcv account, in the top-right corner of the screen, click on your username. From the ACCOUNT menu that opens, click Account Settings.
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Scroll down to Linked Accounts and click Add Account. A new 3rd-party account pop-up window will open. Search for either eRA commons or ORCiD. Select whichever you would like to link first and proceed with the on-screen instructions. Repeat the Add Account function for whichever account you did not add initially/already.
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Note: When you link your eRA commons account to your SciENcv account, any NIH Biosketch you generate from SciENcv will display your eRA Commons Person ID # and NOT your eRA Commons User Name. This is by design, and is NOT an error. The eRA Commons person ID is an alternate unique identifier from eRA Commons. Investigators MUST link BOTH their eRA Commons account and their ORCID iD account to their SciENcv account to be able to complete NIH Common Forms.
2. Grant ARI delegate access to your SciENcv account.
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Step-by-step instructions for delegating SciENcv access are available on the ORA SciENcv Resources page.
Note: While administrators can assist with the preparation of investigator disclosure documents through SciENcv delegate access, certification of disclosure documents must be completed by each senior/key person from their own SciENcv account and may NEVER be delegated. Moreover, once a disclosure document is investigator certified, no changes may be made. If needed edits are identified on an investigator certified disclosure document, those edits should be entered in SciENcv, and then the investigator must re-download and re-certify the given disclosure document.
Notable Differences between the Current NIH Biosketch and Other Support Forms and the Common Forms
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Biosketches
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Two Forms (SciENcv will combine the two forms into one PDF document when investigators download and certify a NIH biosketch from SciENcv):
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Biographical Sketch Common Form (Professional Preparation, Appointment and Positions, Products)
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Up to 10 products total will be allowed on the NIH Common Form, categorized into two subsections:
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Up to 5 products most closely related to the proposed project (aligns with products formerly in Personal Statement).
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Up to 5 Other Significant Products (aligns with products formerly in Contributions to Science).
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Narrative text will be captures in the Biographical Sketch Supplement.*
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*NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement (Personal Statement, Contributions to Science, and Honors)
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Personal Statement - 3,500 character limit
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Contributions to Science - up to 5 entries, each no more than 2,000 characters
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Honors - 15 entries max
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Current and Pending (Other) Support
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Form Name Change from Other Support to Current and Pending (Other) Support.
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Consulting activities must be disclosed under the proposals and active projects section of the CPS form when any of the following scenarios apply:
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The consulting activity will require the senior/key person to perform research as part of the consulting activity;
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The consulting activity does not involve performing research, but is related to the senior/key person’s research portfolio and may have the ability to impact funding, alter time or effort commitments, or otherwise impact scientific integrity; or
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The consulting entity has provided a contract that requires the senior/key person to conceal or withhold confidential financial or other ties between the senior/key person and the entity, irrespective of the duration of the engagement.
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Please refer to the complete NIH Common Form Current and Pending (Other) Support Instructions for additional information about how to report disclosable consulting activites.
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Effort: Report only in Person Months* rather than Calendar or Academic/Summer.
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*Person Months: Enter how much time the individual anticipates is necessary to complete the scope of work on the proposal, active project, consulting or in-kind resource. Enter the number of person-months (even if unsalaried) for the current budget period and enter the proposed person-months for each subsequent budget period. If the time commitment is not readily ascertainable, a reasonable estimate should be provided.**
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**Note: SciENcv requires at minimum 0.01 person months to be entered for any person month entry, and no entry may exceed 12.
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If you are reporting person months for a project year that spans two calendar years, you should enter the latter year in SciENcv for each project year for which you are reporting person months.
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For example, for a budget period of July 2025 - June 2026, you would enter 2026 for the year in SciENcv and report the person months for the July 2025 - June 2026 budget period for that project and so on and so forth for additional budget periods for the project.
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Individuals have a maximum of 100% time or 12 person months in a year. Note, there is NOT a system check for person month entries across all projects exceeding 12 in any listed year. Rather, this is reviewed by agency staff upon receipt of a Current and Pending Support submission.
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Keeping in mind one of the primary purposes of a Current and Pending document/disclosure is for sponsors to assess the capacity of investigators to take on new projects, the Person-Month(s) or (Partial Person-Months) per year listed for projects should always be a reasonable approximation of how much time the investigator is spending or planning to spend to complete each project, inclusive of unsalaried time and even if a project entirely does not require the direct charging and/or cost sharing of the time the investigator spends completing the project.
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Lastly, note any time investigators spend completing projects that is not direct charged and/or cost shared to the benefiting projects:
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Cannot be charged to any other sponsored project, and...​
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Must be charged to a non-sponsored source of funding.
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Major Goals changed to Overall Objectives.
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In-Kind Contributions only must be reported if estimated value is at $5000 or more and it requires a commitment of the individual's time. In-kind contributions with an estimated value of less than $5000 need NOT be reported.
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Overlap now reportable on an individual entry basis.
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Note: The Supporting Documentation (copies of contracts specific to senior/key-personnel foreign appointments and/or employment with a foreign institution for all foreign activities and resources) reported with Current and Pending (Other) Support are NOT added in SciENcv. They will be added as a separate flattened attachment in eRA JIT, RPPR and Prior Approval modules.