NIH submission checklist

The NIH submission checklist

This is the mechanical stuff that gets applications withdrawn before review — filenames, PDFs, margins, and type that eRA systems and reviewers check. It takes about five minutes to work through.

Run a free check

These are NIH's general application-guide requirements; other funders publish their own, and your specific funding opportunity always governs.

Items marked Recensa checks this are verified automatically by the deterministic package check. The rest are quick manual confirmations.

File and naming

Attachment filenames are 50 characters or fewer, including spaces.Recensa checks this
Filenames use permitted characters only, with single spaces between words, no leading space, and no space before the .pdf extension.Check this yourself
Every attachment filename is unique across the package.Recensa checks this
Every attachment is a PDF. Compressed formats (ZIP, RAR, Adobe Portfolio) are not accepted.Recensa checks this
No attachment is zero bytes.Recensa checks this
No attachment exceeds 100MB.Recensa checks this

PDF integrity

Every PDF is flattened.Recensa checks this
No PDF is encrypted, password-protected, or secured in a way that blocks processing.Recensa checks this

Page setup

Margins are at least half an inch on all four sides, with no applicant-supplied content inside them.Recensa checks this
Page size is no larger than letter.Recensa checks this
Every page-limited attachment is within the limit stated in your NOFO.Check this yourself

Typography

Body text is 11 points or larger. Smaller text inside figures, graphs, diagrams, and charts is acceptable only if it stays legible at 100%.Recensa checks this
Type density is no more than 15 characters per linear inch, including spaces.Recensa checks this
Line spacing is no more than six lines per vertical inch.Recensa checks this

Fields

The project title is 200 characters or fewer.Check this yourself

What the portal won't catch

Passing the portal is not the same as being safe.

NIH's policy notice on complete and compliant applications gives the example itself — placeholder attachments pass eRA's system-enforced validations, and applications containing them are incomplete and will be withdrawn.

Paraphrased from NIH's application guide and policy notice NOT-OD-26-025 — not a verbatim quotation. Verify requirements against your current NOFO.

Limits measured in lines of text are not systematically enforced.
Requirements specific to your funding opportunity may not be checked by the system at all.
System validations don't replace the review NIH staff perform after submission.
Finding a problem after the deadline doesn't help: correcting an on-time submission is not an accepted reason for a late application, and post-submission materials aren't meant for fixing errors.

This is why the last read before you submit matters more than the portal's green light.

Recensa checks every mechanical item on this list automatically.

The first check is free.