U.S. flag An official website of the United States government

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  1. Home
  2. Regulatory Information
  3. Search for FDA Guidance Documents
  4. Certificates of Confidentiality
  1. Search for FDA Guidance Documents

GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

Certificates of Confidentiality Guidance for Sponsors, Sponsor-Investigators, Researchers, Industry, and Food and Drug Administration Staff November 2019

Download the Draft Guidance Document Read the Federal Register Notice
Draft

Not for implementation. Contains non-binding recommendations.

This guidance is being distributed for comment purposes only.

Submit Comments by

Submit Comments Online

Although you can comment on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 10.115(g)(5)), to ensure that the FDA considers your comment on a draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the guidance, submit either online or written comments on the draft guidance before the close date.

If unable to submit comments online, please mail written comments to:

Dockets Management
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Rm 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

All written comments should be identified with this document's docket number: FDA-2019-D-3592

Docket Number:
FDA-2019-D-3592
Issued by:
Guidance Issuing Office
Office of Policy
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Center for Devices and Radiological Health
Center for Tobacco Products
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Center for Veterinary Medicine
Office of the Chief Scientist

This draft guidance describes FDA implementation of the revised provisions applicable to the request for, and issuance of, a Certificate of Confidentiality (CoC). The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) (Public Law 114-255) amended the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), section 301(d) (42 U.S.C. 241(d)) relating to the issuance of CoCs. A CoC is intended to help protect the privacy of human subject research participants from whom identifiable, sensitive information is being collected or used in furtherance of the research. Historically, a CoC generally protected a researcher from being compelled to disclose identifiable and sensitive information about the research participant, created or compiled for purposes of the human subject research. As amended, the statute broadened the protections by affirmatively prohibiting holders of CoCs from disclosing such information unless a specific exception applies.