In the global academic community, ensuring that your research work is correctly and consistently attributed to you is paramount. With countless researchers sharing similar names, how can you make sure your publications, grants, and other scholarly contributions are unmistakably yours? The solution is the ORCID iD.
If you’re a researcher, student, or academic, having an ORCID iD is no longer just a good idea—it’s an essential part of the modern research ecosystem. This guide will explain exactly what an ORCID iD is, why you need one, and how to register in just a few minutes.
Think of an ORCID iD as a unique, persistent digital identifier for researchers, much like a social security number or a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is for a publication.
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor iD) is a global, non-profit organization. It provides a 16-digit number (formatted like 0000-0001-2345-6789) that you own and control. This iD stays with you throughout your entire career, regardless of whether you change your name, institution, or field of study.
The primary purpose of an ORCID iD is to solve the problem of name ambiguity. A common name like "John Smith" or "Wang Wei" could belong to thousands of different researchers, making it incredibly difficult to track one person's complete body of work. Your unique ORCID iD eliminates this confusion.
Solves Name Ambiguity: It ensures all your research outputs—publications, datasets, grants, peer reviews—are correctly attributed to you and only you.
Connects Your Research Activities: Your ORCID record acts as a central hub or a digital CV that links all your professional activities. You can connect your publications from Scopus, Web of Science, and other databases, list your education and employment history, and showcase your funding awards.
Saves You Time and Effort: Over 7,000 journals and numerous grant application systems are integrated with ORCID. When you submit a manuscript or apply for a grant, you can often sign in with your ORCID iD to automatically fill in your profile and publication history, saving you from repetitive data entry.
Meets Funder and Publisher Mandates: A growing number of major journal publishers (including Springer Nature, Wiley, and Elsevier) and funding organizations around the world now require or strongly encourage authors and applicants to have an ORCID iD.
Registering for your free ORCID iD is a simple and quick process.
Open your web browser and navigate to
On the homepage, click on the button labeled “Sign In / Register” or look for a direct link to register.
You will be asked to provide some basic personal information:
First Name & Last Name: Enter your professional name.
Email Address: This is the most critical field. It is highly recommended to use a long-term, personal email address (e.g., Gmail, Outlook) rather than an institutional email (@university.edu). Your institutional email may expire if you change jobs, making it difficult to recover your account. You can add a university email as a secondary address later.
Create a Password: Choose a secure password for your account.
ORCID gives you control over who can see your information. For each item on your profile, you can choose one of three settings:
Everyone (Public): The information is visible to anyone.
Trusted Parties (Limited): Only applications that you have authorized can access the information.
Only Me (Private): The information is visible only to you.
For your ORCID iD to be most effective, it is recommended to set the visibility of your profile to "Everyone." This allows journals, funders, and colleagues to easily find and connect with your work.
Check the box to agree to the terms of use, complete the security check (like a CAPTCHA), and click "Register." ORCID will then send a verification link to the email address you provided. You must click this link to activate your account.
Registration is just the first step. To get the most out of your ORCID iD, you need to populate your record.
Add Your Information: Fill in your employment and education history ("Affiliations").
Link Your Works: This is the most powerful feature. Go to the "Works" section and click "Add works" -> "Search & link." Use the provided wizards to connect to databases like Scopus, Web of Science, and CrossRef. This will automatically import your existing publications into your ORCID record.
Add Funding and Peer Reviews: If applicable, you can also manually add or link funding you have received and peer review activities you have completed.
Use Your iD! Start including your ORCID iD in your email signature, on your CV, on your personal website, and, most importantly, during the submission process for manuscripts and grants.