Are you making changes to your ongoing research? If so, you must report this to the CCD. We categorise changes as notifications or amendments. Is the number of animals or the cumulative discomfort in your ongoing research increasing? If so, you need to submit an amendment.
Notification or amendment?
Whether you need to submit a notification or an amendment depends on the type of change. You should first coordinate this with the Animal Welfare Body of your institution. The ‘Notifications in the context of a project licence’ policy framework' (website in Dutch) sets out exactly which changes require you to submit a notification or an amendment.
The decision tree below shows you when to submit a notification or an amendment.
A change to your research involving animal procedures
When should you submit a notification, an amendment or a new application?
Are you adding or changing the main objective? YES/NO
Are you adding a sub-objective? YES/NO
Are you adding an extra “appendix description animal procedure”? YES/NO
Is the experiment non-recovery, or has the animal already died? YES/NO
Are you adding a sub-objective? YES/NO
Are you adding more animals, or will the animals experience more discomfort? YES/NO
Are you conducting a pilot for a 3R method? YES/NO
Are the changes to your project urgent? An urgent change is possible under certain conditions*. YES/NO
Do the changes fall under a special procedure category or special animals category? YES/NO
Does the method lead to ‘less discomfort and more animals’ or ‘more discomfort and fewer animals? YES/NO
Are you adding an experimental group? YES/NO
Are you using a different strain or species? YES/NO
Are you renewing the licence? YES/NO
Are you conducting a pilot with the aim of reducing the discomfort? YES/NO
Do you expect to exceed the maximum term of five years? YES/NO
action—> Submit amendment
action—> Submit notification
action—> New application
*You can make urgent changes to your animal procedure if:
- there is an emergency; and
- there is a risk that ongoing experiments will be lost; and
- the situation is incidental.
Amendment fees
You are required to pay a fee for amending a licence. You can find the applicable fees on our Fees page.
How to submit a notification?
Contact the Animal Welfare Body (AWB)
- Consult the establishment’s AWB about whether the change to your research requires a notification.
- Submit the notification to the CCD using our digital form in Mijn RVO.
CCD processes your notification
- You will receive confirmation of your notification within ten working days.
How to submit an amendment?
The step-by-step plan below sets out the procedure for submitting an amendment.
The ‘Amending your licence’ infographic gives a visual representation of the five-step process for amending a CCD licence.
Step 1: You inform us of the amendment
Contact your AWB, which will then determine whether the change qualifies as an amendment.
You submit the amendment to us. This marks the start of the processing period.
Step 2: We forward your amendment to the DEC
We provide the DEC with information about your amendment.
Step 3: The DEC evaluates your amendment
The DEC shares its advice with us within 20 working days. If anything is unclear, the DEC asks you for more information.
The DEC sends its advice to us, together with the latest version of the amendment.
Step 4: We evaluate your amendment
We will complete the evaluation within 20 working days. If anything is unclear, we may ask you or the DEC for more information.
We discuss your amendment at one of our meetings, which take place once every three weeks.
Step 5: You receive our decision. We may decide as follows:
We approve your amendment. This means you can implement your amendment. We may impose certain conditions.
We approve part of your amendment. This means you are permitted to implement some aspects of your amendment.
We reject your amendment. This means you are not permitted to implement any part of your amendment.
We intend to reject your amendment. This means you are not (yet) permitted to implement your amendment. You will have the opportunity to respond. In that case we will ask the DEC to provide a further advice, which we will take into account when we make a new decision.
Submitting your amendment request
You submit your amendment request using our online form in Mijn RVO. If you have any questions about how to complete the form, or about the amendment itself, please contact us. We will be happy to help.
