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Major Policy Change for Certificates of Confidentiality (CoC)

NIH recently updated its policy for issuing Certificates of Confidentiality (CoCs) for NIH-funded and conducted research. Effective October 1, 2017, CoCs will be issued automatically for any NIH-funded project using identifiable, sensitive information that was on-going on or after December 13, 2016.

  • The CoC will be issued as a term and condition of award
  • There will be no physical certificate issued

Additionally, all CoCs issued in the past or in the future, regardless of funding sources, must comply with the requirements of the CoC policy especially the new disclosure requirements and restrictions. The new disclosure requirements prohibit disclosure of the name of research subjects or any identifiable research information, document, or biospecimen to anyone not connected with the research, except under very specific circumstances.

To read the full CoC policy, see grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-17-109.html.

Access the NIH CoC website at grants.nih.gov/policy/humansubjects/coc.htm.