Click on the boxes below to find the answers to common questions asked by researchers about ORCID. If you don’t yet have an ORCID iD you can register for one for free by clicking on the following button.
Register for your ORCID iDI am a researcher. Can I use ORCID for free?
Yes. Anyone who participates in research, scholarship, or innovation can register an ORCID iD for themselves free of charge, and you can use the same iD throughout your whole career—even if your name changes or you move to a different organization, discipline, or country.
What is my ORCID iD? / Do I already have an ORCID account?
Go to our Forgot password page, select the ORCID iD option, enter your registered email address in the email field, and select the Recover Account Details button.
We will send you an email from reset@notify.orcid.org, letting you know your 16-digit ORCID identifier. Please see I forgot my ORCID iD, how do I recover it? for more information.
Why do some ORCID iDs end with an X?
ORCID identifiers that end in X are valid and correct.
ORCID identifiers are all randomly assigned and cannot be changed. The last character in an ORCID identifier is a checksum. It ranges in values from “0” – “10,” with X representing the value “10.” The checksum ensures the other 15 digits of your identifier form a coherent iD.
You can learn more by reading about the structure of an ORCID identifier.
I forgot my password. What can I do?
Go to our Forgot password page, select the Password option, enter your registered email address in the email field, and select the Recover Account Details button. We will send you an email with steps to reset your password.*
*If there is no ORCID iD associated with the email address you entered, the email you receive from us will let you know. At that point, you can try resetting your password using another one of email addresses (try both personal and professional). Please see our article on forgotten passwords for more information.
I am not getting any emails from ORCID for my password reset. What can I do?
If you do not receive any email within 10 minutes, it can mean one of three things:
- Our email was directed into your spam or junk folder. Please check your spam or junk folder for messages from ORCID.
- The email address entered contains a typo. Please try again.
- Your mail administrator may have our messages blocked. Please contact us if you believe this to be the case.
I lost access to my previously registered email. What can I do?
If you remember your password, try logging in at https://orcid.org/signin using your 16-digit ORCID iD or your previous email address as your username.
If you’ve forgotten your password AND have lost access to previously registered email, please contact us and include:
- Your name
- ORCID iD(s) you think may belong to you
- Any former email addresses you may have registered with
- A current institutional or work email address (if possible)
This information will make it easier for us to identify potential ORCID records that may belong to you and provide you with a quicker turnaround.
Please see How can I access my ORCID record if I no longer have the email associated with it for more information. Note: To prevent this from happening in the future, we recommend adding multiple email addresses to your ORCID account.
I forgot which email address my ORCID iD is associated with. What can I do?
If you have forgotten which email address you registered your ORCID account with, please go to our Forgot password page. Select the ORCID iD option, and then enter in any email addresses you may have registered with.
We will send you an email letting you know your 16-digit ORCID identifier.
If the email says we could not find an ORCID iD associated with the email address, then retry the process above with your other current email addresses (both personal and professional) to recover the ORCID iD.
When you have exhausted all other options, please contact us with your full name, your 16-digit ORCID identifier, and any email addresses you may have registered for an account with. Note: To prevent this from happening in the future, we recommend adding multiple email addresses to your ORCID account.
Why should I add more than one email address to my ORCID record?
The most common issue we hear from users is the loss of access to their former email addresses registered to their accounts.
We strongly recommend adding at least one backup email address, so you can recover access to your ORCID record in case you lose access to another email.
I have a duplicate ORCID account. How can I remove it?
You can quickly and easily remove your duplicate record by going to your Account Settings and selecting Remove duplicate record. You will then be prompted to enter in the email address or ORCID iD of the duplicate record, as well as the password.
When the duplicate record is removed, the email address attached to it will be added to your primary ORCID record, and all other information on the record will be deleted.
For more information, please see removing your additional or duplicate ORCID iD.
If you no longer have access to that email account and do not recall the password, please contact us with your full name, your 16-digit ORCID identifier, and any email addresses you may have registered for an account with.