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What is my iD?

If you have access to your account and are logged in already, you can find your ORCID ID at the My ORCID page (https://orcid.org/my-orcid) near the top left hand corner. 

Getting your ORCID iD without signing in

Otherwise, all you need is the email address that you registered your ORCID account with, a working internet connection, a web browser, and less than a minute of your time. 

  1. Navigate to the login or reset password page. Go to the sign-in page for ORCID https://orcid.org/login and click on the red hyperlink Forgot your password or ORCID ID?. Alternatively, you can go directly to https://orcid.org/reset-password. 
  1. Select ORCID iD when prompted and enter your email address. The website will prompt you by asking the question, “Did you forget your password or ORCID iD?”. Select “ORCID iD” and then enter in your registered email address.
  1. Press the “Recover Account Details” button. The system will notify you that a message has been sent to your email account. 
  1. Look for an email from [email protected]. We will send you an email, letting you know your 16-digit ORCID identifier. 

What if my email is not registered to an ORCID iD?

Even if your email is not registered to an ORCID account, we will send you a message. This is to notify you that your email is not associated with an ORCID iD. In such cases, keep trying different personal, professional, or institutional email addresses that you might have registered with. 

Otherwise, contact us here. It would be helpful for us if you included:

  1. Your name 
  2. The email address(es) you believe you registered with
  3. Any ORCID iDs you believe could be yours

What if I do not receive an email?

If you do not receive any email within 10 minutes, it can mean one of three things: 

  1. The email address entered contains a typo. Please try again. 
  2. Our email was directed into your spam folder. Please check your spam folders for messages from ORCID. 
  3. Your mail administrator may have our messages blocked. Please contact us here if you believe this to be the case.

Why is there an X in my iD?

A common response we get once our researchers receive their ORCID iDs is, “Why does everyone else have a normal, 16-digit ORCID identifier, but mine ends in X?” As much as we wish we could tell you that you won a prize, the reason for it is much more technical. 

ORCID identifiers that end in X are very normal. Identifiers are all randomly assigned (and no, you cannot change your iD), with the last character of an identifier being 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 about the structure of an ORCID identifier here.You can also try out our handy Checksum calculation tool built in Google Sheets here.