IRB Review Fees

• Studies Subject to IRB Review Fees 
• IRB Recharge Rates
  • Fee Chart 1 (Fees for Studies Reviewed by the UCSF IRB)
  • Fee Chart 2 (Fees for Multi-Site Studies where UCSF is the sIRB* (UCSF is serving as the single IRB of Record for all participating sites))
  • Fee Chart 3 (Fees for Studies Relying on an External (Non-UCSF) IRB)
  • Examples of sIRB Study Fee Assessments
• FAQs

Studies Subject to IRB Review Fees

The IRB charges for the review of the following types of human research studies:

• All studies funded by private industry
• All studies submitted on behalf of UCSF-affiliated institutions. This includes the following entities: NCIRE, Gladstone Institutes, Institute on Aging, SF Coordinating Center, Vitalant and the Vitalant Research Institute, SFDPH, ZSFG, and SFVAHCS.
• Multisite studies for which UCSF is the sIRB

IRB Fee Schedule

The following rates are in effect as of July 1, 2024. These rates reflect current operating costs and are in line with national standards. Contact our office with billing questions. UCSF departments (not including “UCSF affiliated institutions”) pay the IRB fees through the recharge process.

Fee Chart 1: Fees for Studies Reviewed by the UCSF IRB

Note: This table does not include fees for (a) reviews of submissions for relying sites for studies where UCSF is the sIRB, or (b) studies where UCSF is relying on an external IRB. For those rates, see Fee Charts 2 and 3. 

Fee Chart 2: Fees for Multi-Site Studies where UCSF is the sIRB* (UCSF is serving as the single IRB of Record for all participating sites)

Important information about this table:

• These fees will be implemented on new sIRB studies submitted to the IRB for Initial Review on or after October 1, 2024. Studies that have IRB approval prior to October 1st and then add relying sites on/after October 1st will not be subject to these fees.
• These fees are for each relying site.
• These fees are additional to the costs of the review for the UCSF study site, which are outlined in Table 1. 

*Guidance about the sIRB Mandate is available here: /nih-single-irb-mandate

Examples of sIRB Study Fee Assessments

*The NIH provided further guidance through various scenarios to illustrate how costs are handled in different sIRB arrangements. See  https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-16-109.html#_ftn1

Fee Chart 3: Fees for Studies Relying on an External (Non-UCSF) IRB

Studies that use external IRBs first need to obtain permission from the UCSF IRB. This review process will be charged the expedited review rate from Table 1. These fees should be budgeted into the clinical trial agreement. Charging for the reliance on an external IRB has been our standard practice for some time, ensuring that we can adequately support the necessary review processes.

Important Note: There will be no charge for adverse event reports or violation/incident reports submitted to the IRB for review and processing. For additional information, please review the FAQs below.

Continuing reviews occur at intervals defined by the IRB, typically annually. However, continuing reviews may occur more frequently. 

FAQs

The following questions are the most common ones that have been asked about the recharge for IRB review for industry-sponsored studies and studies being conducted by the affiliated institutes.