IMPORTANT: Advance notice of essential maintenance work scheduled for Thursday 13 and Friday 14 December – information for users about expected system availability.
IRAS will not be available to users from 18.00 to 20.00 GMT Thursday 13 December 2018 and from 20.00 to 20.30 GMT Friday 14 December while essential system maintenance work is carried out. 

IMPORTANT: Information for applicants with NHS sites in Wales. 
On 16 April 2018 Health and Care Research Wales implemented an interim step to align its processes and paperwork so that there is consistency across England and Wales for researchers. As part of this change, researchers starting new applications in IRAS no longer use NHS Site Specific Information (SSI) forms for NHS sites in Wales. See the Health and Care Research Wales website for further details. 

IMPORTANT: Information for applicants to ARSAC.
On 6 February 2018 the Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC) changed the way it grants approvals for research. Please refer to ARSAC website for details

CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR: Please note that the:
IRAS Queries Line will be closed from 5pm on Friday 21 December 2018 until 9am on Wednesday 2 January 2019. 
IRAS Technical Helpdesk will be closed from 5pm on Friday 21 December 2018 until 9am on Thursday 27 December 2018. It will then close from 5pm Friday 28 December 2018 until 9am on Wednesday 2 January 2019. 
Central Booking Service (CBS; used to book in for review of “IRAS Form” applications and applications only requiring ethical review) will close at 4.30pm on Thursday 20 December 2018 and will re-open at 9am on Wednesday 2 January 2019.

23 July 2018: IRAS Privacy Policy statement updated. To review the current statement, please click on Privacy Policy. 

28 June 2018: IRAS updated to v5.9. This version update enables single electronic submission of the IRAS Form for all research conducted in NHS/HSC that is led from Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. This release also includes some minor updates to on screen guidance and an update of NHS/HSC organisation codes in Part C. Applicants should to refer to the Updates page for more information about how this version release.

 25 May 2018: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) updates.  Guidance, including question specific guidance, has been updated, where applicable. Updates include explanations to bring questions in line with GDPR. Further changes may be made as new information emerges. For more information, applicants should refer to the HRA's GDPR guidance for the health and social care research sector.

18 April 2018: IRAS updated to v5.8. This version includes a substantive revision of the MHRA Devices application form and introduction of new 'verification tool' functionality in the IRAS Form. Applicants are strongly recommended to refer to the Updates page for more information about how this version release may have affected your existing project(s).

• Is a single system for applying for the permissions and approvals for health and social care / community care research in the UK
• Enables you to enter the information about your project once instead of duplicating information in separate application forms
• Uses filters to ensure that the data collected and collated is appropriate to the type of study, and consequently the permissions and approvals required
• Helps you to meet regulatory and governance requirements

• Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC)
• Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG)
• Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC)
• Health Research Authority (HRA) for projects seeking HRA Approval
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
• NHS / HSC R&D offices
• NHS / HSC Research Ethics Committees
• Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)
  
• Social Care Research Ethics Committee