Linking Login Service Account to the Portal

To complete the portal registration, a user must link their login service account to their portal user profile.  Most portals allow users to login with one of the following identity or login service providers:  Login.gov, IMS Login Service, NIH Login, or IMS Employee Login.

When a login service account is linked, the account username/ID and the associated Login Service Provider are displayed in the Account info column of the Users table (see image below). 

  • If the format is "(Login.gov)", then the user is linked via a Login.gov account.
  • If the format is “username (IMS Employee Login)”, then the user is linked via an IMS Employee Login account.
  • If the format is "username (IMS Login Service)", then the user is linked via an IMS Login Service account (to be retired in May 2025).
  • If the format is "10-digit number (NIH)", then the user is linked via an NIH Login account.  The 10-digit number is the NED ID.

Note:  Some portals may have different login service options than those listed above. 

When an account is not yet linked, “(This account is not linked) - ## days until removal.” is displayed in place of the username/ID and/or login service provider.

Reset the Number of Days until Account Removal

For security purposes, new portal users are removed after 30 days if they have not completed the registration process by linking their login service accounts to the portal (Step 2 of the registration email).

Users Table

To prevent a new user from being removed, use the Re-register checkbox to resend a registration email to that user, at which time the account linking period is reset to 30 days until removal.

  • If no action is taken after 30 days, the user account is removed.
  • If an account is removed, the Site Administrator can re-register the user.
  • Users who activate or link their login service accounts to the portal (Step 2 of the registration email) are not removed. 

See the User Account Expiration Report to get a list of users who have not linked their accounts, and to reset the number of days until removal for multiple/all pending registrations at the same time.  This, however, does not send a notification email to the users.