What Should I Know About the New Biographical Sketch Common Form?

The Biographical Sketch Common Form must be used for all NIH grant application, Just-in-Time, Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), and Prior Approval submissions to NIH with due dates on or after January 25, 2026 (see NIH guide notices NOT-OD-26-018 and NOT-OD-26-033).  

This Common Form—together with the required NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement—helps an applicant to clearly document: 

• Professional preparation. 
• Scientific appointments.
• Key research products. 
• Suitability for role(s) in the project, in the form of a Personal Statement.
• Academic and professional achievements and honors.
• Contributions to science. 

The form and supplement are required for: 

• All senior/key personnel identified on the application.
• Others as indicated in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, Application Guide Instructions, or RPPR Instructions. 

NIH requires the use of SciENcv to complete the Biographical Sketch Common Form and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement. Please note that while these two documents are two separate forms, they are completed together in a single user interface (UI) in SciENcv. Additionally, an applicant’s ORCID iD will need to be linked to both their eRA Commons account and SciENcv account to ensure successful completion of the forms in SciENcv.  

Please review our FAQs on this topic to learn more.  

NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement. Please note that while these two documents are

Additional Resources 

• Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support | Grants & Funding
• Instructions for Biographical Sketch Common Form
• Instructions for Biographical Sketch Supplement