Once an application has been approved, the REB will issue a certificate which will cover a time period of one year from the date of approval, regardless of the proposed commencement and completion dates supplied by you on your application.
A signed hard copy of the certificate will be emailed to the principal investigator.
Once the project is complete, you must submit an Annual Renewal Form to close the file. Once an Annual Renewal Form is submitted indicating that the study is complete, the file cannot be reopened.
If no Annual Renewal Form is submitted prior to ONE MONTH before the expiry date of the certificate, the REB will send a reminder notification to the principal investigator advising that the submission of an Annual Renewal Form is required to either close the application or to extend the clearance.
If your research has changed, you must also submit an Amendment Request form.
If an Annual Renewal form to extend the clearance is received and the extension is approved, a new certificate will be issued for a second year.
Research cannot continue without a valid current certificate in place.
Clearance extensions can be issued for 5 consecutive years on any given project at the discretion of the REB, after which you will be required to submit a new application.
For more information, see TCPS2 (2022) Articles 6.3 and 6.14.