Related Guidance:
- 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
After evaluating the number and types of recent technical inquiries we received to both the SciENcv and eRA Service Desks, we recognize the difficulties these issues have had on the community’s ability to comply with the original timeline of January 25, 2026.
To allow for a period of leniency, NIH will provide a warning when the Common Forms are not used but will not withdraw applications that don’t comply with the use of the Common Forms. We expect the leniency to be in place through May 2026. NIH will issue a Guide Notice announcing the date when the validation will be changed to an error, and the requirement to use the Common Forms will be system-enforced.
As of 1/28/2026, the FAQ only includes language for leniency in grant applications. OSR is attempting to confirm if this also applies for JIT/RPPR/ Other submissions.