Each role in the submission process carries specific responsibilities. Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PIs) work with the administrators at their organization to prepare the application, and pass the completed application on to their Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Only AORs have the ability to actually submit a grant application to NIH via Grants.gov.

The resources below explain the different eSubmission roles and will help guide you in choosing the appropriate individuals to fill each role.

• Definitions of roles in eRA Commons and Grants.gov
• See ASSIST Help Files on Manage Access.

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Applicant organizations must determine how best to submit their application(s). Applicant organizations can choose from one of these three options:

• ASSIST Web-Based System
  ASSIST is a web-based system used to prepare multi-project applications.
  
  
•  System-to-System
  Organizations wanting to develop their own technical solution for transmitting data can work with Grants.gov to develop their own data exchange system (XML datastream) that submits application data to NIH through Grants.gov instead of going through the ASSIST interface.
  
  
• Service Providers
  Applicant organizations may choose to establish an agreement with an established commercial company (known as a Service Provider) that has a system-to-system interface with Grants.gov to submit applications on their behalf. Service Providers offer a wide range of services — from low-cost, single transaction options through full scale, end-to-end grants management solutions.

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PDF Creator
NIH requires that all application attachments be submitted in PDF format. Users must have PDF creation software installed in order to create the necessary PDFs. Grants.gov has published a list of recommended PDF Guidelines to assist you in obtaining the necessary software. To avoid PDF problems, keep these guidelines in mind.

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Prior to submitting a grant application to NIH, an applicant organization must register with DUNS, SAM, Grants.gov and eRA Commons. Please view an overview of steps for registering (PDF - 60 KB) to learn more.

Principal Investigators do not have to register at Grants.gov, but must work with their institution to register with Commons.

Each registration is a multi-step process. Completing the 4 necessary registrations can take up to 6 weeks so be sure to start early!

• DUNS registration
• Any institution that wants to submit a grant application to the federal government requires a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number.  Since applications to the NIH have required a DUNS number since 2003 most applicant organizations, unless they are new, have already taken this step.
• If your organization has multiple DUNS numbers, the same DUNS number must be used for your Grants.gov, SAM, and eRA Commons registrations AND on the application itself.
• To register, go to DUNS.

• SAM registration
• Register your organization with the new System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly Central Contractor Registration [CCR]).
•  You must renew SAM registration annually to maintain an active entity registration.
• Use the SAM.gov "Manage Entity" function to manage  registration. Additional guidance at www.sam.gov.

Note: New businesses [i.e. those applying to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to complete the System for Award Management (Sam.gov) registration should start the process at least two months (eight weeks) prior to the grant submission date.

• Grants.gov registration (Required by Applicant Organizations Only)
  
  Grants.gov requires registration by the applicant organization.
• Grants.gov Registration Instructions for Domestic and Foreign Organizations
• Link to Get Registered (Grants.gov website)
• Flow chart of Grants.gov Registration Process (PDF - 25 KB)
• Need Assistance?  Contact the Grants.gov Contact Center
• eRA Commons Registration (Required by Applicant Organizations and Principal Investigators)
  
  eRA Commons requires registration by both the applicant organization and the Principal Investigator. The Principal Investigator must register through the organization’s Authorized Organizational Representative (also known as the Signing Official).
• To check if the organization is already registered, go to the List of Commons Registered Organizations
• Detailed steps for Commons registration (PDF - 105 KB)
• Register in Commons
• NIH demo on registering in Commons
• Need Assistance? Contact the eRA Commons Help Desk

For more information, see our list of Registration FAQs.

Registration Resources for International Applicants

• Common Questions & Answers for International Applicants (PDF - 36 KB)
• Contact Support for International Applicants (PDF - 26 KB)

Important application tips

• The DUNS number used on a grant application must match the DUNS in the application organization’s eRA Commons Institutional Profile, and the DUNS number used to register in SAM and Grants.gov.
• The PI’s Commons User ID is required to be entered on the grant application in the PD/PI section Credential log-in field on the Senior/Key Person Profile Component.

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• Prepare to Apply & Registration FAQs

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• Introduction to Using ASSIST
• Finding and Understanding a Multi-Project Funding Opportunity
• Create an Application Plan

Additional Videos

• All ASSIST Videos
• Finding ASSISTance

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