IMPORTANT FEATURES ABOUT THE PHS 398 FORMS

Highlighted Sections. Sections of the Form/Format Pages that have been highlighted in yellow contain "Comments" that are intended to assist you in the preparation of your application. To view a comment, simply move the cursor over the highlighted section of the text. Comments do not print on the application pages.

Protected Forms. Form Pages have been protected to enable fields to be filled in without significantly changing the forms' layout.

Headers and Footers. for any page on which you wish to edit a Header, select "Unprotect Document" on the Tools menu, double-click in the Header, and enter your text. The Principal Investigator's name will automatically carry to Form/Format Pages that have the same header. NOTE of CAUTION: "Unprotecting" a document and subsequently "Protecting" a document may result in the loss of all other information that has previously been entered. To avoid this result:

Edit the Header and Footer LAST, after completion of all other sections of the document. Leave the forms "unprotected." Then, "Save" and "Print."

The PHS 398 and PHS 2590 Rich Text File (RTF) and Portable Document File (PDF) Form pages as provided are acceptable by NIH. All other sections of the application (e.g., Biographical Sketch, Introduction, if necessary, and the Research Plan) must conform to the following four requirements:

1. The height of the letters must not be smaller than 10 point; Helvetica or Arial 12-point is the NIH-suggested font.
2. Type density, including characters and spaces, must be no more than 15 characters per inch (cpi).
3. No more than 6 lines of type within a vertical inch;
4. Margins, in all directions, must be at least 1/2 inch.

You may substitute computer-generated facsimiles for government-printed forms; however, they must maintain the exact wording and format of the government-printed forms, including all captions and spacing. The PHS 398 and 2590 includes form Pages and format Pages. The format pages are intended to assist you in the development of specific sections of the application. Format Pages have been left "unprotected" to allow you to format text, insert graphics, diagrams, or tables. Alternatively, you may create a page similar to the format provided and inclusive of requisite information.

SBIR/STTR Applicants. All SBIR/STTR applications (Phase I, Phase II, and Phase I/Phase II Fast-Track) must be prepared using the PHS 398 forms in accordance with Chapter VI of the PHS 398 instructions.

Note these files are very large and may take a few minutes to download.