Linking a Scopus Author ID to an ORCID iD is a five-minute task, but two points trip people up: it does not merge the two identifiers into one, and it is not the always-on, automatic sync many researchers assume. This guide covers the actual connection process from Elsevier’s own Scopus support documentation, what “linking” does and does not do, how to handle duplicate Scopus profiles before you connect, and what to check when it does not seem to have worked.
Before you start: you need both identifiers already
Linking only works between two identifiers that already exist. You cannot create either one as part of this process:
- An ORCID iD. Free, researcher-registered, self-service at orcid.org/register. If you don’t have one yet, or aren’t sure whether you already registered one years ago, see CASRAI’s guide on how to register, find, and search for ORCID iDs.
- A Scopus Author ID. This is different: you cannot register one directly. Elsevier’s matching algorithm generates it automatically once you have two or more Scopus-indexed documents. If you don’t know your Author ID, or suspect your work is split across more than one profile, see CASRAI’s guide on how to create, find, and fix a Scopus Author ID before continuing here — a split profile should be merged before you connect it to ORCID (more on why below).
See the Scopus Author ID and ORCID iD dictionary entries for how the two identifiers differ structurally: one is Elsevier-internal and algorithmically generated, the other is researcher-registered and works across publishers, funders, and platforms.
How to connect a Scopus Author ID to ORCID
Per Elsevier’s Scopus Support Center, there are two equivalent entry points into the same connection flow:
Option A — from an Author Details page
- Search for your profile via Scopus Author Search and open its Author Details page (see the linked guide above if you need to find or confirm your Author ID first).
- Select “Connect to ORCID.”
- You’ll be prompted to sign in to ORCID (or register, if you don’t already have an iD) and authorize the connection.
- Follow the prompts to send your Scopus-indexed publication list to your ORCID record.
Option B — from your own Scopus author profile
- Sign in to Scopus and open your own author profile.
- Select “Edit profile.”
- Select “Connect to ORCID” and follow the same authorization and send prompts as above.
Once connected, the ORCID iD becomes visible on your Scopus Author Details page, and the publications you sent appear as works in your ORCID record, sourced from Scopus.
Does it keep syncing automatically, or is it a one-time push?
This is the point most commonly misunderstood, and it’s worth being precise rather than assuming. Elsevier’s own support documentation for the “Connect to ORCID” flow describes it as sending or importing your current publication list to ORCID at the time you complete the connection — it does not document the connection itself as an ongoing, automatic, no-action-required sync that keeps pushing every future Scopus-indexed publication into your ORCID record on its own. In practice, that means: when new work of yours gets indexed in Scopus later, the documented path is to go back and repeat the send/connect action so the new items get added — not to assume they’ll appear on their own.
Separately, ORCID itself operates a general mechanism called auto-update, in which a researcher grants a “trusted organization” a long-lasting permission (per ORCID’s own support documentation, up to 20 years, or until revoked) to keep updating specific parts of the ORCID record automatically going forward. This is the correct term for genuine ongoing, no-action sync in the ORCID ecosystem, and it’s used by some organizations (major DOI registration agencies among them) — but Elsevier’s own “Connect to ORCID” documentation for Scopus does not describe the standard author-initiated flow above as this kind of auto-update grant. If continuous, hands-off syncing matters to your workflow, don’t assume the basic “Connect to ORCID” button provides it — treat re-sending periodically as the reliable default, and check your ORCID record’s trusted-organization/permissions settings (see the ORCID record permissions entry) if you want to confirm exactly what access, if any, has been granted.
Multiple Scopus Author ID profiles: merge before you connect
Elsevier’s own documentation acknowledges its author-matching algorithm can’t always group all of one person’s documents into a single profile — a name spelled differently, an affiliation change, or a shift into a new subject area can leave a researcher with two or more separate Scopus Author IDs. If that’s your situation, resolve it before connecting to ORCID, not after:
- Connecting a single (incomplete) Scopus profile to ORCID only sends the publications attached to that one profile — anything sitting under a second, unmerged profile won’t come across.
- Merging afterward doesn’t automatically re-sync your ORCID record with the newly merged document list; you’d need to repeat the connect/send step once the merge is complete.
Requesting a merge is a standing, documented Elsevier workflow — select the duplicate profiles from an Author Search results list, choose “Request to merge authors,” and submit via the Author Feedback Wizard. Elsevier reviews merge requests manually rather than applying them instantly, and processing commonly takes on the order of a few weeks. Full step-by-step detail is in CASRAI’s Scopus Author ID guide.
Troubleshooting
“Connect to ORCID” can’t find my Scopus profile
Confirm you actually have a generated Scopus Author ID first — this requires at least two Scopus-indexed documents. Search Scopus Author Search by name and affiliation (see the linked guide above) before assuming the connection tool is broken; if no profile exists yet, there’s nothing to connect.
My Scopus profile is already connected to a different ORCID record
This can happen if a profile was connected under an old or incorrect ORCID account (a duplicate registration, for example) or by someone else entirely on a shared-name profile. Elsevier’s support documentation does not publish a self-service “disconnect and reconnect” toggle distinct from the connect flow itself; if reconnecting through “Connect to ORCID” (Option A or B above) doesn’t resolve it, use the Author Feedback Wizard’s correction/feedback path from the Author Details page, or contact Scopus Support directly, to have the association corrected.
Publications aren’t showing up in ORCID after connecting
Check three things in order: (1) whether the missing publications are actually attached to the Scopus Author ID you connected — if they’re sitting under a second, unmerged profile, they were never sent (see above); (2) whether you completed the ORCID authorization prompt fully, since an interrupted sign-in can leave the connection incomplete; and (3) whether the works arrived in ORCID but are hidden by your own visibility settings for that source, rather than missing outright.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Scopus subscription to connect my Author ID to ORCID?
Full document-level browsing in Scopus typically requires institutional or personal subscription access, and many universities provide this through library access. The Author Details page and its “Connect to ORCID” option are part of the same subscriber-facing interface.
Can I connect more than one Scopus Author ID to a single ORCID iD?
If you have duplicate/split Scopus profiles, the documented Elsevier path is to merge them into one Author ID first via the Author Feedback Wizard, then connect that single, consolidated profile to ORCID — rather than connecting each split profile separately.
Does connecting Scopus to ORCID replace or merge the two identifiers?
No. They remain two separate identifiers serving different purposes — the Scopus Author ID stays Elsevier-internal and only resolves within Scopus, while your ORCID iD continues to work across publishers, funders, and other platforms. Connecting them just lets each system reference the other and lets Scopus send publication data into your ORCID works list.
Will new papers I publish automatically appear in my ORCID record after I connect once?
Not reliably, based on Elsevier’s own documentation of the connection flow — see the sync-behavior section above. Treat “Connect to ORCID” as a send action you may need to repeat as new work gets indexed, rather than a set-and-forget automatic sync, unless you’ve separately confirmed a standing auto-update/trusted-organization permission is in place.
Related CASRAI resources
- How to Create, Find, and Fix a Scopus Author ID
- How to Register, Find, and Search for ORCID iDs
- How to Add Google Scholar Publications to Your ORCID Profile — the equivalent workflow for a platform with no direct sync at all
- ORCID Profile Optimization for Research Discoverability
- Identifier Crosswalk: Connecting DOI, ORCID, ROR, and Institutional IDs in Practice
- ORCID record permissions
- ORCID work assertion
- Scopus vs Web of Science vs OpenAlex
- CRIS & Researcher Identifiers pillar
