Join the optional Indemnification Addendum

Applies to: Agreement V3.0 · Reliance System

Version 3.0 offers an optional Indemnification Addendum (Exhibit C to the Agreement). Signing it is encouraged but never required, and joining or declining it has no effect on your institution's eligibility to participate in the Agreement (§4.10).

Who can join. Any Participating Institution that has joined Version 3.0, at the same time as the Joinder or at any later time. Each legally separate entity signs its own Addendum Joinder, and the legal name and address must match the institution's Joinder. Federal agencies may join but do not indemnify other institutions (§4.10).

How to join. A Site Admin goes to My Institutions → Indemnification → New Submission in the Reliance System, downloads the prefilled Indemnification Addendum Joinder, confirms the Institutional Official, and selects Request Signature. The Official signs through Adobe Sign with a verification code, as for the main Joinder. SMART IRB reviews and records the signature, and the Indemnification column on the Participating Institutions page updates.

What you are agreeing to. See The optional Indemnification Addendum for the substance — who indemnifies whom, how public and private institutions are treated differently, and how the scope can be narrowed for a given study.

See also - The optional Indemnification Addendum - Join SMART IRB (step by step)