How to Apply for an Account

Data providers use a Web-based data entry system called the Protocol Registration System (PRS) to register a clinical study and submit results information for a registered study. You must have a PRS account to register study information on ClinicalTrials.gov.

ClinicalTrials.gov establishes one PRS account for an organization (such as a company, university, or medical center). All investigators from that organization who are conducting studies are typically designated as users in this single PRS account. The organization should designate one or more PRS administrators to manage the account and create logins for additional users. If an administrator is not designated, ClinicalTrials.gov may assist in identifying appropriate individuals to act as PRS administrators for an organization. All PRS accounts should have at least one administrator.

Who Should Apply for a PRS Account?

Before applying for a PRS account, you should ensure that you are the appropriate individual to submit clinical study information to ClinicalTrials.gov. To avoid duplicate registration, studies should be registered only by the Responsible Party. To help you determine who is responsible for registering a study and submitting results, see the Elaboration of Definitions of Responsible Party and Applicable Clinical Trial (PDF).

If you are the person responsible for registering a study and submitting results, please find out whether your organization has an existing PRS account before applying for one, as described below.

Obtaining a PRS Account

Once you have determined that it is appropriate for you to register studies in ClinicalTrials.gov, take the following steps to obtain your PRS account.

1. Check the current list of organizations with a PRS account to see if your organization already has a PRS organization account. If so, submit an Administrator Contact Request Form. You will receive contact information for your organization's PRS Administrator(s) whom you can contact directly to request an account.
2. If your organization does not have a PRS account, you can identify an individual to serve as PRS Administrator for your organization and Apply for PRS Organization Account on behalf of your organization.
3. If your organization does not currently have anyone who is able to serve as PRS Administrator, you can Apply for PRS Individual Account. However, this option is not recommended for most organizations. After an individual account is created, an organization is still encouraged to identify appropriate individuals to act as PRS administrators for the organization.

For options 2 and 3, ClinicalTrials.gov will create a PRS account within 2 business days of receiving your application. Once the account has been created, you will receive an e-mail message with instructions for logging in to PRS.