IRAS ID

The IRAS ID is the unique identifier, which is generated by IRAS when you first create a project. The IRAS ID will be used by everyone involved in the project, whatever the type of health and social care research and the approvals required. Stakeholders across the UK have agreed to adopt the IRAS ID as the common study identifier. This will enable traceability across a whole study lifecycle - from funding through to delivery and dissemination. It will enable data sharing with organisations across the research landscape and streamline services for users.

You will need to provide the IRAS ID to others, for example:

• to support funding applications to a wide range of UK funders
• when completing an interactive Costing Tool (iCT) or a Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT)
• when seeking study support services to help plan, place and perform research in the NHS/HSC, social care or public health across the UK
• when contacting an organisation in relation to an application you have submitted
• when making a change to approved research
• when confirming that your study has ended and providing your final report
• to link supporting documents to your project, such as agreements or participant facing information

The IRAS ID is a sequence of numbers.

To support the goal of all studies having a common identifier, the IRAS platform is now open to all health and care researchers to generate an IRAS ID, including those that do not need to apply for research approvals through IRAS.

When to get your IRAS ID

Obtaining an IRAS ID is the first step in your research pathway. The IRAS ID is allocated as soon as you create a project in the system. To create a project, you only need a small amount of information about your study. The identifier is displayed on screen and can be used straight away

There are no restrictions on when you can create a project in IRAS. This means that you can create a project and obtain your IRAS ID whenever you first need to provide it to others. For example, so you can include it in the funding application for your study, or access services via Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS). You do not need to wait until you are ready to apply for approvals, and you can obtain an IRAS ID even if you do not need to apply for research approval through IRAS.

How to obtain your IRAS ID (new projects)

The route to obtain your IRAS ID depends on the type of study.

• For new Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMP) and new combined CTIMP / devices:
  1. Log into the new part of IRAS (if you do not have an account you can set one up from the login screen)
  2. Go to the tab labelled ‘New Project’, which is at the top of the screen
  3. Confirm whether you will be the Chief Investigator or Project Deputy (someone who is able to complete information about the project but who is not formally taking role of Chief Investigator)
  4. Select the button labelled ‘Create Project’
  5. On the next screen add the basic information about your project. As a minimum enter the short title for your project
  6. Select the button labelled ‘Save’
  7. The IRAS ID for your project is displayed in square brackets towards the top of the screen. The next steps in the system are appropriate if you are ready to complete information for research approvals. If you are not at this stage and only need to obtain an IRAS ID then you can make a note of the identifier and log out at this point



• For all other research:
  1. Log into IRAS (if you do not have an account you can set one up from the login screen)
  2. Click the button labelled ‘New Project’
  3. The project filter page for your new project will be displayed. As a minimum enter the short title for your project
  4. The IRAS ID for your project is displayed towards the top of the screen on the right-hand side
  5. If you are ready to complete information for research approvals, then you should complete the remainder of the project filter page. If you only need to obtain an IRAS ID then you can make a note of the identifier, click save and log out at this point

How to find your IRAS ID (projects that have previously been created in IRAS)

• For Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMP) and new combined CTIMP / devices using combined review:
  1. Log into the new part of IRAS
  2. Go to the tab labelled ‘My Projects’, which is at the top of the screen
  3. Use the short title to locate the row containing the relevant project. The IRAS ID for the project is displayed in the row
  4. If you are working in the project the IRAS ID is always shown towards the top of the screen. It is the sequence of numbers shown in square brackets



• For all other research:
  1. Log into IRAS
  2. The first page you see displays all of the projects in your account. Use the short title to locate the row containing the relevant project. The IRAS ID for the project is displayed in the row
  3. If you are working in the project the IRAS ID is always shown towards the top of the screen on the right-hand side

Page last updated: 08 February 2022