NIH Common Forms - Biosketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support: Home

The NIH is implementing new Common Forms for Biosketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for due dates on or after January 25, 2026.

Use of the new Common Forms for Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) (CP(O)) Support, and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement will be required for application due dates and all JIT, RPPR, and Prior Approval submissions on or after January 25, 2026. See NOT-OD-26-018 for a table of effective dates relevant to different application, performance report, just-in-time and prior approval submission scenarios. 

Key Changes:

• Use SciENcv tool to fill out forms: You will be required to use SciENcv to complete Common Forms (i.e., Biographical Sketch and CP(O) Support) and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement to produce digitally certified PDF(s) for use in application submission.
  • SciENcv (short for Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae) is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive, or are associated with research investments from federal agencies.
  • You will need an NCBI account to create a biosketch in SciENcv. If new to My NCBI, see information on setting up a My NCBI login.
• ORCID ID required: You will be required to enter your ORCID ID in the Persistent Identifier (PI) section of the Common Forms.
  • ORCID is a free, unique, persistent identifier (PID) for individuals to use as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities.
  • To learn more about ORCID IDs and how to connect them to UNC, visit our ORCID guide.

More Details:

SciENcv is a tool designed to help researchers complete biosketches and CP(O) Support forms efficiently. This tool will link to and pull in biographical information from your eRA Commons account, publications from your NCBI My Bibliography, and your ORCID ID and publications from ORCID. SciENcv will be the required tool for completing the new NIH biosketch and CP(O) Support Common Forms beginning on January 25, 2026.

Why should I use SciENcv?

• Required by NIH as of January 25, 2026
• Eliminates the need to repeatedly enter the same information
• The researcher can control the content and edit it as needed
• Each document can be tweaked to support a particular grant application and funding agency
• Export the results as a PDF
• Grant access to other people (delegates) to view and manage your profiles

To fill out NIH Common Forms (Biosketch and CP(O) Support) using SciENcv, follow these steps:

1. Sign into My NCBI (If new to My NCBI, see information on setting up a My NCBI login).
2. Find the SciENcv box located on your My NCBI home page ("Dashboard") and select the link "Manage SciENcv"
3. Select the "New Document" button.
4. Give your document a detailed name and then select the document type. Choose "NIH Biographical Sketch Common Form" to create a biosketch or choose "NIH Current and Pending (Other) Support" to create a CP(O) Support form.
5. Choose one of the following data sources for your form:
   • Select "External Source" to pull biographical information from either ORCID or eRA Commons.
   • Select "Use an existing document in SciENcv" if you want to copy and adapt an existing SciENcv biosketch.
   • Select "Start with a blank document" to start from scratch.
6. Select "Create".
7. Fill out the form using the included instructions. When filling out your biosketch, choose citations to include from your ORCID profile or NCBI My Bibliography.
8. Export your form as PDFs and submit the PDFs with your NIH application.