Applies to: Reliance System
The SMART IRB Reliance System is the web application at app.smartirb.org where Participating Institutions join the Agreement and where institutions and study teams request, track, and document reliance arrangements for individual studies. It replaced the Joinder system and the Online Reliance System on March 17, 2025. A reliance request stays active for the life of the study, so personnel and study documents can be kept current after the determination.
What institutions use it for - Joining Version 3.0 and, optionally, the Indemnification Addendum (e-signature) - Maintaining institution details, Points of Contact, group emails, and the Institutional Profile - Managing which of their users can create requests and make reliance decisions - Recording reliance decisions and issuing determination letters
What study teams use it for - Proposing a Reviewing IRB and submitting a reliance request for a study - Adding sites, and updating site investigators, research personnel, and study documents as a study changes - Communicating local considerations to the Reviewing IRB - Tracking each site's decision and downloading the determination letter for each site
Is it required? Institutions must use it to join the Agreement. For documenting study-level reliance it is strongly recommended but not required: institutions may instead use the Letter of Acknowledgment, IREx, or another mechanism. Only institutions that are Active in the system can be included in requests.
What it is not. The Reliance System is not an IRB submission system. Once a reliance determination is reached, the Reviewing IRB's review and oversight of the study happen in that IRB's own systems.
Who can use it. Anyone at a Participating Institution — investigators, study staff, IRB/HRPP staff — can create an account. Each institution's Site Admins verify new users and set what they may do.
See also - Create your account and choose a sign-in method - How a reliance request moves through the system - The Site Admin role and permissions
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