Information on how to electronically obtain prior approval for certain activities from the awarding agency, using the Prior Approval features in eRA Commons.
Prior Approval is the process wherein an applicant or recipient must have written approval by an authorized official to undertake a certain activity.
eRA now supports three kinds of Prior Approval requests post-award:
Basic Tasks (step-by-step instructions from the online help)*
- Requesting a No Cost Extension via Prior Approval
- Carryover Request Process
- Requesting a Change of PD/PI on a Grant
* You must be logged into eRA Commons with appropriate role(s) to complete these activities.
Main Screenshot
![Figure 1: The Prior Approval screen showing the options for request types](/https/www.era.nih.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/PriorAppLanding_1.png)
Figure 1: The Prior Approval screen showing the options for request types
Policy
- NIH Grants Policy Statement: Prior Approval Requirements
- Prior Approval Requests for Revisions to an Approved Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan Must be Submitted Using the Prior Approval Module (NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-23-185)