Q. What is ORCiD and how do I create one?

What is ORCiD?

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributer ID) is a registry of unique identifiers for researchers and scholars. Anyone can sign up for a free account and receive their unique 16-digit identifier in minutes.  At a minimum, your ORCID should include your full name, name variations, and your current affiliation. 

Why do I need an ORCiD?

• Beginning in July 2025, the NIH will require all senior and key personnel named in grants to obtain an ORCID and link it to their eRA profiles (Notice NOT-OD-24-163). Soon, other NIH policies will also require researchers to obtain and use an ORCID when engaging with various research and publishing platforms.

• An ORCID disambiguates you from every other researcher and improves the discoverability of your work. 

• ORCID profiles can be linked with 1200+ academic and scientific service providers to automatically populate and update records of work, which lets you spend less time managing your research profile.

• An ORCID is not institution-specific. You maintain your ORCID and its associated record no matter your affiliation. 

How do I create an ORCiD profile?

1. Go to ORCID.
2. Register for a personal account or login by selecting "Access through Your Institution".
3. Make sure your account is public to Everyone.
4. Add your preferred name and name variations.
5. Add Employment - When you enter your institution, the form should begin to auto fill with the name of your organization.

 

Add Your Publications to ORCiD

1. Login to ORCiD
2. Under "Works", choose "Add".
3. "Search and Link"
4.  Choose Scopus - Elsevier.
5. You will go through a wizard to identify your Scopus profile and claim your publications. More details on this process are available on the Scopus help website here.

Grant Permission to Others to Update Your ORCiD

We know that faculty have many teaching, research, and clinical responsibilities and may not have time to keep their ORCID record up to date. You can grant permission to colleagues that may be helping you keep your research profiles up to date (e.g. Support Staff, Departmental administrators).

Please review the instructions on how to add a trusted individual to update your account on your behalf.

How to Use Your ORCID

Once you have an ORCID iD, be sure to let everyone know about it! Include your 16 digit ORCID in these ways:

• Add ORCiD to your Scopus Profile
• E-mail Signature
• Personal Websites or Blogs
• On Your Resume

ORCID recommends that you display your ORCID iD as a URL, e.g.:

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5896-4182