When Will NIH Contact You Regarding a Missing Attachment?

NIH may contact the applicant in very specific, select situations when it identifies required attachments that are missing in an application. As explained on NOT-OD-26-025, NIH might request limited missing materials on a case-by-case basis only as an alternative to the withdrawal of substantially complete applications by NIH. Applicants who identify omissions must not contact NIH directly. 

Our goal is to ensure submitted applications go through review whenever possible. We recognize there may be situations where a required attachment may have been unintentionally omitted. When NIH requests the missing attachment instead of withdrawing the application, it can save applicants the unnecessary time and effort of resubmitting at a later date.

If identified, NIH may contact the applicant to request submission of required attachments, such as Foreign component justifications or Institutional support or eligibility letters required in certain NOFOs.

NIH will not accept:

• Revised, corrected, or replacement materials, files, or attachments (e.g., requesting changes to a research strategy, budget, or biosketch).
• Unsolicited materials.
• Applicant requests to provide or replace materials.

When NIH identifies an application missing a required attachment after submission:

• NIH would contact the Principal Investigator and the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) listed in the application.
• The AOR must then provide the requested attachment as a pdf within the designated timeframe to ensure the application can be reviewed. The pdf is uploaded to the grant folder as “Additions for Review” to become part of the official application material.
• Applicants should not contact NIH directly. 

Editor's Note: This article was updated on April 30, 2026.