Join SMART IRB (step by step)

Applies to: Agreement V3.0 · Reliance System

Joining takes place entirely in the Reliance System and ends with your Institutional Official e-signing the Joinder Agreement. The parts that take time are your institution's internal review of the Agreement and the signatory's availability.

Before you start - Confirm your institution meets the What are the eligibility criteria?. - Download and review the SMART IRB Reliance Agreement, Version 3.0 with your institutional officials and counsel. The Agreement's language cannot be modified. Review the optional Indemnification Addendum at the same time if your institution may want to join it. - Decide who will be your SMART IRB Point of Contact, Alternate POC, Institutional Official (signatory), and Contact for Notices. These do not have to be four different people.

Step 1 — Find or add your institution. Go to the Reliance System registration page and search for your institution. If it is not listed, add it: legal name, FWA (or other Assurance) number, and the email addresses of the people authorized to act for it. If you run into trouble, email help@smartirb.org and we will add the institution for you.

Step 2 — Create your account. Register with your name, work email, and institution, and choose your sign-in method. Choosing the right method matters — see Which sign-in method should I choose? For a brand-new institution there is no Site Admin yet to verify you, so the SMART IRB team activates your account.

Step 3 — Complete Institution Information and Contact Lists. In My Institutions, fill in the institution record (including whether you hold an Assurance and the date of your HRPP quality assessment) and the Contact Lists: SMART IRB POC, Alternate POC, Institutional Official, and Contact for Notices. The optional Institutional Profile (legal jurisdiction, capabilities, IRB/HRPP website) can be completed now or later. Submit for verification; the SMART IRB team reviews and may ask for corrections.

Step 4 — Generate and sign the Joinder Agreement. Once verified, go to Agreements → New Submission. The system generates a prefilled Joinder Agreement PDF. Confirm the Institutional Official's details and select Request Signature. The Official receives an Adobe Sign email, reviews, signs, and enters a one-time verification code. You can cc others on the signature request. The signature request expires after 7 days; if it lapses, regenerate it from the same screen.

Step 5 — Activation. The SMART IRB team reviews the signed Joinder, typically within one business day, and sets your institution to Active. Your Joinder's Effective Date is the date the Official signed, but your institution can take part in reliance arrangements only once it is Active. You will then appear on the Participating Institutions page.

Optional — join the Indemnification Addendum. From My Institutions → Indemnification → New Submission, the same generate-and-sign flow applies. See Join the optional Indemnification Addendum.

After you join - Invite your IRB/HRPP staff and study teams to create accounts, and set their permissions (see The Site Admin role and permissions). - Consider adding a group email so reliance notices reach a shared inbox. - Joining does not obligate your institution to cede or provide review for any study.

See also - What is the Joinder Agreement? - Which sign-in method should I choose? - Already on V1.0 or V2.0? What changes