Who must sign the informed consent or parental permission document?
When a written consent or parental permission form is used that embodies some or all of the elements of informed consent required by the regulations at 45 CFR 46.116, the regulations only require that the informed consent or parental permission document be signed by the subjects or the subjects’ legally authorized representatives or by the parents of children who are subjects (45 CFR 46.117(a)) and 45 CFR 46.408(d)). Only in situations where a short form is used, stating that the elements of informed consent required by 45 CFR 46.116 have been presented orally to the subject or the subject’s legally authorized representative or to the parent(s) of a child who is a subject, are there additional requirements for signatures (45 CFR 46.117(b)(2)). For the consent or parental permission process using the short form, the regulations state that there must be a witness to the oral presentation, who then signs both the short form and a copy of the IRB-approved written summary of what is to be s
