Volume 10 of the publication "The rules governing medicinal products in the European Union" contains guidance documents applying to clinical trials.
Set of documents that are applicable to clinical trials authorised under the Clinical Trials Regulation (EU) No 536/2014
- Quick guide for sponsors - Regulation 536/2014 in practice
- Questions and Answers Document - Regulation (EU) 536/2014
Annex II of the Q&A provides the language requirements for part I documents. Annex III of the Q&A provides lists of Member States websites specifying national requirements and contact details for Part I and Part II application
Recommendation paper on decentralised elements in clinical trials |
| This recommendation paper (October 2025) was developed as priority action of the ACT EU initiative of the European Commission, the Heads of Medicines Agencies, and the European Medicines Agency. The document was endorsed by Clinical Trials Coordination and Advisory Group (CTAG). |
Recommendation paper on frequent issues |
| This recommendation paper (October 2025) was created as part of the Clinical Trials Coordination and Advisory Group (CTAG) priority activities and as part of the priority action of the ACT EU initiative of the European Commission, the Heads of Medicines Agencies, and the European Medicines Agency. The document was endorsed by Clinical Trials Coordination and Advisory Group (CTAG). |
Recommendations to sponsors on managing the impact of the war in Ukraine on clinical trials |
| The Clinical Trials Coordination Group (an HMA working group of experts in the classification, assessment and oversight of clinical trials from National Agencies) has published a set of recommendations focusing on the transfer of trial participants from centres in Ukraine to centres in the EU/EEA within the same multinational clinical trial. |
Guidance on the management of clinical trials during COVID-19 pandemic |
| Guidance document (UPDATED VERSION v5 - 10 February 2022) Slides of the webinar about the Guidance on the management of clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic Webinar about the Guidance on the management of clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic |
Chapter I - Application and application documents
- Templates documents for FORM section of the CTIS
- Part II application document templates
- Compensation for trial participants - Template: PDF/Word
- Investigator Curriculum Vitae template: PDF/Word
- Declaration of interest template: PDF/Word
- Site suitability form: PDF/Word
- Informed consent and patient recruitment procedure template: PDF/Word
A new version (v2.0) of the template on recruitment and informed consent procedures is now available and will replace the previous version. The template has been developed by the MedEthicsEU group and endorsed by the Clinical Trials Coordination and Advisory Group (CTAG) with the aim of harmonising Part II templates across EU/EEA. Each section of the template allows for specifying additional information related to the Member State concerned (MSC), i.e. national legislative requirements. The revised template is applicable for all new Part II submissions (i.e. initial, additional MSC, Part II submissions to complete the application in an article 11 submission). This means that it will not be required to implement retrospectively in already authorised trials or trial applications under review. It is highly recommended to use the new version (v2.0) from the date of publication on Eudralex volume 10, however, a transition period is foreseen until full implementation on September 1, 2026. - Compliance with applicable rules for biological samples: PDF/Word
Chapter II - Safety reporting
For more guidance on safety reporting please refer to the Q&A document on the Clinical Trials Regulation in Chapter V
Chapter III – Quality
- Guideline on the responsibilities of the sponsor with regard to handling and shipping of investigational medicinal products for human use in accordance with Good Clinical Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice
- Template for the qualified person's declaration equivalence to EU GMP for Investigational Medicinal Products manufactured in third countries : PDF version - Word version (may 2013)
- Detailed Commission guideline of 8 December 2017 on the good manufacturing practice for investigational medicinal products pursuant to the second paragraph of the Article 63(1) of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014
- Template for IMP batch release (applicable as from the date of entry into application of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 on Clinical Trials)
- Union Basic Format for Manufacturer's Authorisation (June 2013)
- Guideline on the requirements to the chemical and pharmaceutical quality documentation concerning investigational medicinal products in clinical trials (revision 2 – January 2022)
- Guideline on the requirements for quality documentation concerning biological investigational medicinal products in clinical trials (Revision 2 - January 2022)
- Auxiliary medicinal products in clinical trials (rev. 4, October 2025)
Chapter IV – Inspections
- Guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections (August 2017)
- Annex I – to guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections – investigator site (September 2017)
- Annex II – to guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections – clinical laboratories (August 2017)
- Annex III – to guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections – computer systems (September 2023)
- Annex IV – to guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections – sponsor and CRO (August 2017)
- Annex VI – to guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections – record keeping and archiving of documents (June 2017)
- Annex VII – to guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections – bioanalytical part, pharmacokinetic and statistical analyses of bioequivalence trials (June 2017)
- Guidance for the preparation of good clinical practice inspections (August 2017)
- Guidance for the preparation of GCP inspection reports and communication of inspection findings (February 2022)
- Guidance for coordination of GCP inspections requested in the context of marketing authorisation applications for mutual recognition and decentralised procedures and cooperation between Member States (March 2018)
- Annex V – to guidance for the conduct of good clinical practice inspections – Phase I unit (November 2022)
Chapter V - Additional documents
- Guideline on reporting serious breaches
- Appendix III b – Information to be submitted with a notification of a serious breach
- Accelerating clinical trials in the EU (ACT EU) - Delivering an EU clinical trials transformation initiative
- Q&A on Complex clinical trials (May 2022)
This document has been developed in close collaboration between the European Medicines Agency, the Clinical Trials Coordination Group and the Clinical Trial Expert Group. It was endorsed by those groups and by the ACT EU Steering Group. - Q&A on the interface between Regulation (EU) 536/2014 on clinical trials for medicinal products for human use (CTR) and Regulation (EU) 2017/746 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDR)
This document has been developed and endorsed by the Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) and the Clinical Trial Expert Group (CTEG). - Question and Answers on the interplay between the Clinical Trials Regulation and the General Data Protection Regulation (April 2019)
This document is applicable under the Clinical Trials Regulation except for question 11 which explains the current situation under the Clinical Trials Directive. - Guideline on strategies to identify and mitigate risks for first-in-human and early clinical trials with investigational medicinal products - EMEA/CHMP/SWP/28367/07 Rev. 1 (July 2017)
- Guideline for good clinical practice - ICH E6(R2) - EMA/CHMP/ICH/135/1995 (2016)
- Risk proportionate approaches in clinical trials (April 2017)
- Summaries of Clinical Trial Results for Laypersons (version 2 - February 2018)
- Good Lay Summary Practice Guidance
- Ethical considerations for clinical trials on medicinal products conducted with minors
- Guideline on the content, management and archiving of the clinical trial master file
- List of national contact points
- Recommendations on criteria regarding the selection of a reporting Member State (October 2025)
This document was developed in close collaboration and endorsed by Clinical Trials Coordination and Advisory Group (CTAG).
Chapter VI – Legislation
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2239 of 6 September 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards labelling requirements for unauthorised investigational and unauthorised auxiliary medicinal products for human use
Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on clinical trials on medicinal products for human use, and repealing Directive 2001/20/EC
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/556 of 24 March 2017 on detailed arrangements for the good clinical practice inspection procedures pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1569 (for linguistic versions, click here) of 23 May 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) 536/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council by specifying principles and guidelines for good manufacturing practice for investigational medicinal products for human use and arrangements for inspections (applicable as from the date of entry into application of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 on Clinical Trials)
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/20 of 7 January 2022 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards setting up the rules and procedures for the cooperation of the Member States in safety assessment of clinical trials (Text with EEA relevance)
Set of documents applicable to clinical trials authorised under Directive 2001/20/EC
General information (July 2006)
Chapter I - Application and application form
- Detailed guidance for the request for authorisation of a clinical trial on a medicinal product for human use to the competent authorities, notification of substantial amendments and declaration of the end of the trial.
- Annex 1 revised : PDF version - Word version (revision 4 of November 2009 ; updated on 22 of November 2019). EudraCT Version 8.0 uses the Revision 4 dated November 2009 of the Clinical Trials Application Form (updated on November 22, 2019). For more information please refer to the EudraCT website.
- Substantial Amendment Notification Form : PDF version - Word version (revision 3 of June 2010)
- Declaration of the End of Trial Form : PDF version - Word version (revision 19 of June 2019)
- Detailed guidance on the application format and documentation to be submitted in an application for an Ethics Committee opinion on the clinical trial on medicinal products for human use (revision 1 of February 2006)
- Detailed guidance on the European clinical trials database (EUDRACT Database) (revision of April 2004)
Chapter II - Safety reporting
- Detailed guidance on the collection, verification and presentation of adverse event/reaction reports arising from clinical trials on medicinal products for human use ("CT-3")
- ICH guideline E2F - Note for guidance on development safety update reports (September 2010)
Chapter III - Quality of the investigational medicinal product
- Template for the qualified person's declaration equivalence to EU GMP for Investigational Medicinal Products manufactured in third countries : PDF version - Word version (may 2013)
- Good manufacturing practice for investigational medicinal products
- Good manufacturing practices for manufacture of investigational medicinal products (February 2010)
- Detailed Commission guideline of 8 December 2017 on the good manufacturing practice for investigational medicinal products pursuant to the second paragraph of the Article 63(1) of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 (applicable as from the date of entry into application of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 on Clinical Trials)
- Template for IMP batch release (applicable as from the date of entry into application of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 on Clinical Trials)
- Union Basic Format for Manufacturer's Authorisation (October 2014)
- Guideline on the requirements to the chemical and pharmaceutical quality documentation concerning investigational medicinal products in clinical trials
- Guideline on the requirements for quality documentation concerning biological investigational medicinal products in clinical trials (September 2018)
- Guidance on Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) and "non investigational medicinal products" (NIMPs) (rev. 1, March 2011)
Chapter IV - Inspections
- Guidance for the preparation of GCP inspections (June 2008)
- Recommendation on inspection procedures for the verification of good clinical practice compliance (July 2006)
- Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspections (June 2008)
- Annex I to Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspections - Investigator site (June 2008)
- Annex II to Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspection - Clinical laboratories (June 2008)
- Annex III to Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspections - Computer systems (June 2008)
- Annex IV to Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspections - Sponsor and CRO (June 2008)
- Annex V to Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspections - Phase I Units (November 2008)
- Annex VI to Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspections - Record keeping and archiving of documents (March 2010)
- Annex VII to Guidance for the conduct of GCP inspections - Bioanalytical part, Pharmacokinetic and Statistical Analyses of Bioequivalence Trials (November 2008)
- Guidance for coordination of GCP inspections and co-operation between GCP inspectors, the reference and concerned Member States and CMD(h), in the context of the evaluation of the GCP compliance of marketing authorization applications for mutual recognition and decentralized procedures (June 2009)
- Guidance for exchange of GCP Inspection Reports according to Article 15(2) of Directive 2001/20/EC (revision 1 - May 2009)
- Guidance for the communication on GCP inspections and findings (June 2008)
- Procedure for standardisation of GCP inspection entries in EudraCT (November 2008)
- Guidance for the preparation of Good Clinical Practice inspection reports (June 2008)
- Recommendations on the qualifications of inspectors verifying compliance in clinical trials with the provisions of Good Clinical Practice (July 2006)
Chapter V - Additional information
- Guideline on strategies to identify and mitigate risks for first-in-human and early clinical trials with investigational medicinal products - EMEA/CHMP/SWP/28367/07 Rev. 1 (July 2017)
- Guideline for good clinical practice - ICH E6(R2) - EMA/CHMP/ICH/135/1995 (2016)
- Guidelines on Good Clinical Practice specific to Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products(2019)
- Guideline on the content, management and archiving of the clinical trial master file
- "Questions & Answers" Document - Version 11.0 (May 2013)
- Ethical considerations for clinical trials on medicinal products conducted with the paediatric population:
- Original version (2008)
- Guideline 2008/C168/02 on the data fields from the European clinical trials database (EudraCT) that may be included in the European database on Medicinal Products
- List of fields contained in the "EudraCT" clinical trials database to be made public, in accordance with Article 57(2) of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and its implementing guideline 2008/C168/02 (June 2019)
- Guideline 2009/C28/01 on the information concerning paediatric clinical trials to be entered into the EU Database on Clinical Trials (EudraCT) and on the information to be made public by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), in accordance with Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 1901/2006
- List of fields to be made public from EudraCT for Paediatric Clinical Trials in accordance with Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 1901/2006 and its implementing guideline 2009/C28/01 (June 2019)
- Guidance on posting and publication of result-related information on clinical trials in relation to the implementation of Article 57(2) of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and Article 41(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1901/2006
- Technical guidance on the format of the data fields of result-related information on clinical trials submitted in accordance with Article 57(2) of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and Article 41(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1901/2006 (January 2013)
- EudraCT - List of additional fields contained in EudraCT (reasons for negative opinions of the Ethics Committee) (November 2010)
Chapter VI - Legislation
- Directive 2001/20/EC OF the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 April 2001 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the implementation of good clinical practice in the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products for human use
- Commission Directive 2005/28/EC of 8 April 2005 laying down principles and detailed guidelines for good clinical practice as regards investigational medicinal products for human use, as well as the requirements for authorisation of the manufacturing or importation of such products
- Commission Directive 2003/94/EC of 8 October 2003 laying down the principles and guidelines of good manufacturing practice in respect of medicinal products for human use and investigational medicinal products for human use (OJ L 262, 14.10.2003, p. 22-26)
