Previously Announced
- 9/25/2025 NOT-OD-25-152 Preview of NIH Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support in SciENcv
- 12/3/2025 NIH's Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026.
- 12/17/2025 RA Town Hall 12.17, Other Support and NIH Biographical Sketch Form Pages, Form Conversion on SciENcv and Office Hours.
- 12/23/2025 OSR Resources and Office Hours for New NIH Other Support and Biographical Sketch Common Forms
1/08/2026 NIH Biosketch and Commons Forms Office Hours January 8th
- 1/13/2026 NIH Biosketch and Commons Forms Office Hours January 13th
- 1/20/2026 NIH Common Form, Biographical Sketch and Supplement: Known Issues, NIH Training Requirements Summary & New Office Hours
1/28/2026 NIH Updated Leniency for Common Forms
NOT-OD-26-033 NIH has announced an adjusted timeline for implementing the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support. To reduce burden and allow institutions more time to adapt, NIH is extending the leniency period through May 2026. This new timeline will allow full alignment of the certifications on the Common Forms with Research Security Training Requirements for NIH outlined in NOT-OD-26-017.
The certifications on the Common Forms with Research Security go into effect on May 25, 2025. OSRs' current understanding is that the leniency ends for application submissions due on or after May 25, 2026.
A future NIH Guide Notice (expected Spring 2026) will announce when (the date) warnings will be escalated to errors that block non-compliant submissions. OSR is seeking additional information and will update the community as soon as we know more.
What this means:
- NIH will continue to accept the current NIH Biosketch and Other Support formats through May 2026.
- During this period, system validations will remain at the warning level; applications will not be withdrawn for not using the Common Forms.
- NIH encourages applicants to begin using the Common Forms as soon as feasible, but compliance will not be enforced until after the leniency period ends.
Why the change:
Following the December 2025 rollout, NIH received a high volume of technical inquiries regarding SciENcv and eRA Commons, including issues with system latency and account-merger backlogs. The extension allows time to resolve these issues, align certifications with Research Security Training requirements, and give institutions time to update internal systems and procedures.
What is next:
Updated instructions, FAQs, and training resources will continue to be released. This adjusted timeline applies to NIH, AHRQ, CDC, and VA awards.