Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A new R01 application submitted under a Parent Announcement targets one of the three R01 standard new-application due dates — February 5, June 5, or October 5 — rather than a date the applicant or their Institute chooses.
- Is an instance
A K99/R00 resubmission (A1) targets the K-series standard resubmission due date of March 12, July 12, or November 12 — one month after the corresponding K-series new-application dates of February 12, June 12, and October 12 — because it is a resubmission of a standing-mechanism application, not a new one.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
An application submitted against a specific RFA (e.g., an RFA-CA-26-xxx solicitation) follows the single receipt date stated in that RFA itself, not a standard due date — even if that date happens to fall near a standard cycle date, it is not drawn from NIH's recurring PA-cycle calendar, and there is no next standard cycle to fall back to if it is missed; see CASRAI's guide to the NIH RFA.
Editorial commentary
NIH Standard Due Dates are the recurring submission deadlines NIH publishes for applications to its standing, non-set-aside funding opportunities — Parent Announcements, PARs, and PAS (see CASRAI’s Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) term for how these fit into NIH’s broader announcement taxonomy). Rather than each Institute or Center setting its own recurring calendar, NIH sets one shared set of standard due dates by policy notice, and every standing announcement that says “this FOA/NOFO uses standard due dates” automatically inherits them. This is the deadline structure most investigators and research administrators plan around day-to-day — distinct from a Request for Applications (RFA), which sets its own single, one-time receipt date independent of this calendar (see CASRAI’s guide, NIH RFA: What It Is and How It Works).
The three-cycle-per-year structure, by activity code
NIH standard due dates fall in three annual rounds, informally called Cycle I, Cycle II, and Cycle III (roughly winter/spring, early summer, and fall submissions). Every activity code group has its own fixed day-of-month on the same three months, and — for most groups — a separate, later day-of-month for renewal, resubmission, and revision applications. All standard due dates fall due 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization on the stated date.
| Activity code group | New applications | Renewal / Resubmission / Revision |
|---|---|---|
| R01 (research project grants) | Feb 5, Jun 5, Oct 5 | Mar 5, Jul 5, Nov 5 |
| R03, R21, R33, R21/R33, R34, R36, U34, UH2, UH3, UH2/UH3 | Feb 16, Jun 16, Oct 16 | Mar 16, Jul 16, Nov 16 |
| K series (career development) | Feb 12, Jun 12, Oct 12 | Mar 12, Jul 12, Nov 12 |
| R15 (AREA) | Feb 25, Jun 25, Oct 25 | Feb 25, Jun 25, Oct 25 (same dates for all types) |
| F series (individual NRSA fellowships) | Apr 8, Aug 8, Dec 8 | Apr 8, Aug 8, Dec 8 (same dates for all types) |
| T and D series (institutional training grants), P series (program project/center grants) | Jan 25, May 25, Sep 25 | Jan 25, May 25, Sep 25 (same dates for all types) |
AIDS and AIDS-related applications, across every activity code above, use a separate shared calendar: May 7, September 7, and January 7, rather than the code-specific dates in the table. A funding opportunity’s own text always states whether it is AIDS/AIDS-related for this purpose — don’t infer it from the science alone.
Why new and resubmission dates are offset by about a month
For most activity-code groups, a renewal, resubmission, or revision application is due roughly one month after the corresponding new-application date — R01 new applications are due February 5, but a resubmission (A1) of an R01 targets March 5, one cycle-month later. The gap gives NIH’s Center for Scientific Review time to route and assign new submissions before the (typically smaller) batch of resubmissions arrives, and reflects that a resubmission is responding to specific prior peer-review critique rather than starting review from a clean slate. NIH’s current resubmission policy permits one resubmission (A1) of a given new, renewal, or revision application; if that A1 is unsuccessful, the same project idea can be submitted again only as a new (A0) application at a subsequent standard due date. A resubmission must also be received within 37 months of the original application’s receipt date (NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-12-128); after that window, NIH treats any further submission of the idea as new, not as a resubmission.
What changed in 2026: the end of Continuous Submission and a narrower late-application policy
For years, NIH allowed Continuous Submission — R01/R21/R34 applications from a PD/PI who was an appointed member of a chartered NIH study section, Board of Scientific Counselors, or advisory council could be submitted roughly up to two months after the standard due date without being treated as late. Per NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-26-064 (issued March 31, 2026, reported via multiple corroborating research-office bulletins; grants.nih.gov’s own notice page could not be independently fetched this session — treat the exact wording as unverified pending direct confirmation), NIH is ending Continuous Submission, with final acceptance tied to the June/July 2026 standard due dates for assignment to the January 2027 council round. The same notice narrows NIH’s general late-application policy: for due dates on or after May 25, 2026, a late application must be received within two calendar weeks of the original standard due date, and only a shorter list of PD/PI-specific circumstances (including recent service on an NIH peer-review panel) qualifies — fellowship, small business, and international-collaboration applications are no longer eligible for late acceptance at all under the revised policy. Anyone relying on either the old Continuous Submission allowance or a broad late-acceptance policy should re-verify current terms directly against the live NIH Guide notice before assuming either still applies.
Standard due dates vs. an RFA’s own receipt date
The practical test for a research administrator: does the funding opportunity you’re reading state “applications… are due on standard dates” (or reference the table above), or does it state its own specific receipt date directly in the announcement? The first is a standing, PA-family opportunity — miss one standard due date and the next one is roughly four months away, not gone. The second is an RFA, with a fixed pot of set-aside money and (usually) a single competition; miss it, and unless the Institute reissues a similar solicitation under a new number later, there is no next cycle for that specific opportunity. See CASRAI’s guide, NIH RFA: What It Is and How It Works, for the full mechanics of how an RFA’s funding and review process differs, and NIH Grants: An Overview for how standard due dates fit into the broader NIH application, review, and award lifecycle.
Counter-example
An application submitted against a specific RFA follows the single receipt date stated in that RFA itself, not a standard due date — even when that date happens to land close to one of the dates in the table above, it is not drawn from NIH’s recurring PA-cycle calendar, has no built-in “next cycle” if missed, and is reviewed by a dedicated panel convened for that competition rather than a standing study section.
Related terms and CASRAI resources
- Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) — the umbrella document type (PA/PAR/PAS or RFA) that references standard due dates or sets its own.
- NIH RFA (Request for Applications): What It Is and How It Works — how a one-time, set-aside-funded solicitation differs from a standard-due-date opportunity.
- NIH Grants: An Overview — the full NIH mechanism-family, NOFO, and peer-review orientation guide.
- Career Development (K) Awards: The NIH Mechanism Family, Eligibility, and Review Process — K-series specifics, including its standard due dates.
- K99/R00 Grant (NIH Pathway to Independence Award): A Research Administrator’s Guide — a K-series mechanism that runs on this due-date calendar.
- Grants Management pillar — the broader funding-lifecycle and research-administration context this term sits within.
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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