NIH Certificates of Confidentiality
October 1, 2017
Effective Oct. 1, 2017, certificates of confidentiality (CoC) will issue automatically for applicable NIH awards as part of the award terms and conditions. NIH will not determine applicability; that determination is now the responsibility of the awardee institution and investigators. Also, NIH will no longer provide a paper certificate. The award itself may be used as confirmation that CoC protections are in place. The policy applies to research commenced or ongoing on or after Dec. 13, 2016. The NIH Certificate of Confidentiality's website has now been updated and includes updated consent language and FAQs.