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NIH Updates Late Policy - Again!

Mar 26, 2020, 17:23 PM by Melodi Moore
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Today, March 26, NIH once again updated their late application policy due to COVID-19 public health emergency.  Notice: NOT-OD-20-091 titled UPDATE: NIH Late Application Policy Due to Public Health Emergency for United States for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  This latest notice provides additional guidance on the dates acceptable for late submissions.

NIH will be highly accommodating of late applications submitted through May 1, 2020. This includes those FOAs that indicate no late applications will be accepted. Neither advance permission by the institution nor a cover letter providing justification is required.

This round of applications will be reviewed in the council round to which they were submitted (e.g. August or October 2020).  Applicants that are unable to submit by May 1 should assume that their applications will not be reviewed until October-November 2020.

Because NIH is aware that the COVID-19 public health emergency may adversely affect the applicant's ability to submit applications in a timely manner, all grant applications submitted late for due dates between March 9, 2020, and May 1, 2020, will be accepted through May 1, 2020.

The notice also provides for FOAs that expire prior to May 1, 2020, NIH will extend the expiration date for 90 days to accommodate the submission of late applications. 

  • Reference Letters for Fellowships and Career Development Award applications submitted during this interval will also be accepted through May 1, 2020.
  • Non-AIDS applications eligible for continuous submission (NOT-OD-20-060) will also be accepted through May 1, 2020.
  • Some Institute/Center (IC)-reviewed FOAs with due dates during this time may be able to accept applications beyond the May 1, 2020 deadline. However, applicants must contact the IC first, to confirm that a later deadline is possible. The notice pertains to applications reviewed by CSR and does not supersede the IC's discretion nor authorities to make these decisions on case by case basis.

This notice does not apply to contract proposals. Contact the Contracting Officer listed in the individual solicitation for questions about proposal submission deadlines.