Exempt Consent Templates and Guidance

Consent Guidance for Exempt Research

For exempt research that involves interaction with subjects, there usually should be a process to ask subjects to participate and confirm their agreement. However, signed consent is not required for exempt research, and the consent process and documents can be much simpler than those required for non-exempt research.

Verbal or implied consent is usually sufficient for exempt research that involves interaction with subjects. For some purely observational research, consent may not be necessary.

What changes are not allowed?

As described on the Modification page, you can make some minor modifications to the study – including the consent materials – without notifying the IRB. However, certain revisions are not allowed in the consent documents:

  • Do not remove any of the required consent information (see above).
  • Do not add coercive language.
  • Do not highlight payment by bold or larger type.
What if I'm enrolling children in my study?

If you are enrolling children in your study and it is appropriate to obtain consent, there generally should be a plan to obtain permission from the parents and the agreement of the children to participate in the study.

Reminders:

  • Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA, 34 CFR Part 99), schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release information from a student's education record.
  • Children cannot be enrolled in exempt category 2 research (educational tests, surveys, interviews or observations of public behavior).

Exempt Consent Templates

 
 

Note: These templates are appropriate for exempt research only. Use the regular consent and assent form templates for expedited or full committee research studies.

Template by Type of ResearchLast Updated

Anonymous Survey

May 2022

Confidential Survey

May 2022
Education Survey Information SheetDecember 2015
Focus Group Information SheetMay 2022
Interview Information SheetMay 2022

Verbal Consent

December 2015

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