Guidance: How to Submit Information in Electronic Format to CVM Using The FDA Electronic Submission Gateway

108
Guidance for Industry
How to Submit Information in Electronic
Format by E-Mail
(THIS VERSION OF THE GUIDANCE REPLACES THE VERSION MADE AVAILABLE IN
MAY 2004)

This guidance document is intended to provide instructions on how to submit
information in electronic format by e-mail to the Center for Veterinary Medicine
(CVM or the Center). The guidance was revised to update the web links and the
contact email and phone number.
Comments and suggestions regarding this document should be sent to Division of
Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers
Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
Submit electronic comments to
http://www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments. All comments should be identified with the
exact title of the document.
E-mail submissions that follow this guidance will be compatible with CVM’s current
information technology capabilities. This will help ensure the confidentiality,
integrity, security, and authenticity of data submitted to the Center. If a regulated
sponsor or person wishes to use an electronic approach other than that set forth in this
guidance document, the Center will, on request, discuss alternative methods of
submitting information.
For questions regarding this document, contact Margaret Zabriski, Center for
Veterinary Medicine (HFV-016), Food and Drug Administration, 7519 Standish
Place, Rockville, MD 20855, 240-276-9143, e-mail: margaret.zabriski@fda.hhs.gov.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, a collection of information
should display a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this
information collection is 0910-0454. The time required to complete this information
collection is estimated to vary between 5 and 20 minutes per response, including the
time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the necessary data,
and complete and review the information collection.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
Center for Veterinary Medicine
January 17, 2006

Table of Contents
I.

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................3

II.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CVM AND INDUSTRY ...................................4

III.

REGISTRATION TO SEND ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS LISTED IN
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS DOCKET ..............................................................4

A.
B.
C.
D.
IV.

PROCESSING PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS ...............8
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

V.

Agency Certification:...............................................................................................4
Center Registration: ................................................................................................4
SPONSOR REGISTRATION AND PASSWORD INITIALIZATION .............................................5
Example of Registration Letter ................................................................................6
CREATING INDIVIDUAL PASSWORDS AND USING THE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION SYSTEM
(ESS) ..............................................................................................................................7
ADDING NEW PARTICIPANTS TO A REGISTERED SPONSOR ..............................................7
OTHER CHANGES TO THE SPONSOR REGISTRATION ........................................................7
GATEWAY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ...........................................................8
E-MAIL ADDRESS ..........................................................................................................10
SUBJECT LINE OF E-MAIL ..............................................................................................10
PDF FILE OF ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION ........................................................................11
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE ..............................................................................................11
SECURITY MEASURES FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS ........................11

A. DISCLOSURE/NON-DISCLOSURE ...................................................................................12
Protecting the Confidentiality of the Information in Electronic Submissions.......12
Authentication Verification....................................................................................12
Unique Two-Part Electronic Signature .................................................................12
Verification of the Sender's Identity.......................................................................13
B. VERIFICATION OF DATE OF SUBMISSION .......................................................................13
C. SUBMISSION INTEGRITY ................................................................................................13
VI.

CHECKLIST FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS ............................................13

Page 2

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS

GUIDANCE FOR INDUSTRY 1
HOW TO SUBMIT INFORMATION IN ELECTRONIC
FORMAT BY E-MAIL

This guidance represents the Agency’s current thinking on how to submit
information in electronic format by e-mail to the Center for Veterinary
Medicine. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does
not operate to bind FDA or the public. You can use an alternative approach if
the approach satisfies the requirements of the applicable statue and
regulations. If you want to discuss an alternative approach, contact the FDA
staff responsible for implementing this guidance. If you cannot identify the
appropriate FDA staff, call the appropriate number listed on the title page of
this guidance.

I.

INTRODUCTION
This guidance provides general standards which should be used for the submission of
any information in electronic format to the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) by
e-mail.
FDA’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally
enforceable responsibilities. Instead, guidances describe the Agency’s current
thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless
specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited. The use of the word
“should” in Agency guidances means that something is suggested or
recommended, but not required.
CVM’s ability to receive and process information submitted electronically is limited by
its current information technology capabilities and the requirements of the Electronic
Records; Electronic Signatures regulation, 21 CFR 11. The Center will accept certain
types of submissions by e-mail with no requirement for a paper copy. The list of these
submissions is published in the Electronic Submissions Docket No. 92S-0251 (available
on the FDA Home Page, http://www.fda.gov).
The Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures regulation (21 CFR 11) requires that the
Agency identify in the Electronic Submissions Docket the types of documents or parts of
documents acceptable for official electronic submission.
1

This guidance has been prepared by CVM at FDA. For additional copies, access the document on the
Internet at the CVM Home Page (http://www.fda.gov/cvm/default.html) or send a request to the
Communications Staff, HFV-12, 7519 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855.

Page 3

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
This guidance implements provisions of the Government Paperwork Elimination Act,
Pub. L. No. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681 (1998), which requires that executive agencies, by
October 21, 2003, provide: (1) for the option of the electronic maintenance, submission,
or disclosure of information, if practicable, as a substitute for paper; and (2) for the use
and acceptance of electronic signatures when practicable.

II.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CVM AND INDUSTRY
Successful electronic submission of information for review and evaluation by e-mail
requires a successful partnership between CVM and regulated industry. Information
needs to be exchanged and errors need to be resolved. The Center has set up a hotline
to resolve any problems and questions (301-827-8277). The sponsor should identify
one person to be the Sponsor Coordinator who will be responsible for communication
with the Center.

III.

REGISTRATION TO SEND ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS
LISTED IN ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS DOCKET
Agency Certification:
To participate in CVM’s electronic submissions by e-mail, the sponsor provides
certification to the Agency’s Office of Regional Operations that the sponsor’s
electronic signature is the legally binding equivalent of the signer’s handwritten
signature as required by 21 CFR 11.100(c).
The suggested certification statement to provide is:
“Pursuant to Section 11.100 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, this is to
certify that [Company Name] of [Company Address] intends that all electronic
signatures executed by our employees, agents, or representatives, located anywhere in
the world, are the binding legal equivalent of traditional handwritten signatures.”
Center Registration:
In addition, CVM needs other information to ensure the confidentiality, integrity,
security, and authenticity of data submitted to the Center in electronic format by
e-mail. This information includes the password that will be used by individuals to
submit information electronically on the sponsor's behalf. Use of the password to
encrypt information sent by e-mail will help assure the security of submissions and
together with an individual e-mail address will constitute an electronic signature (21
CFR 11.200(a)).
Sponsors wishing to provide regulatory submissions in electronic format to CVM
register once for all types of submissions listed for CVM in the Electronic
Submissions Docket. If a regulated sponsor or person wishes to use an electronic
Page 4

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
approach other than that set forth in this guidance document, the Center will, on
request, discuss alternative methods of submitting information.
A.

Sponsor Registration and Password Initialization
Sponsors wishing to submit information electronically should send a single,
original, signed paper registration letter to CVM. In an attachment to this letter,
the sponsor should identify:
•

The name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address of the
Sponsor Coordinator;

•

The name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address for each
person who will be submitting information electronically;

•

The password used to encrypt the electronic registration letter that will be
submitted by e-mail. This password will be used by CVM to encrypt the
response to the registration letter; and

•

The subject of the letter should be Registration Letter for Electronic
Submission to CVM to clearly identify the purpose of the letter.

An encrypted, identical electronic copy of the registration letter should be sent
by e-mail to cvmdcu@fda.hhs.gov with the subject line of the e-mail reading
REGISTER. CVM will decrypt the electronic registration letter with the
password identified in the paper copy of the registration letter.
The Center will send two acknowledgements to the sponsor: (1) a paper letter
acknowledging receipt of the registration and stating that the sponsor appears
to be able to make electronic submissions that are compatible with CVM's
current technology, (2) after CVM successfully accesses the electronic
registration letter, an electronic receipt for the registration letter, by e-mail, to
the Sponsor Coordinator as an encrypted Portable Document Format (PDF)
file (compatible with Adobe® Acrobat® version 5.05) 2 .

2

FDA use of specific products does not constitute an endorsement of that product.

Page 5

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
Example of Registration Letter
_________________________________________________________________

HFV-199
Attention: Lesley Groves
Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation
Center for Veterinary Medicine
7500 Standish Place
Rockville, Maryland 20855
Subject: Registration Letter for Electronic Submission to CVM
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter notifies the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) of our intent to use
e-mail to submit documents listed in the Electronic Submissions Docket No.
92S-0251. An attachment to this registration letter contains the name of the person
who will serve as our Sponsor Coordinator and the names of the persons who will be
submitting electronic information, along with their mailing addresses, phone
numbers, e-mail addresses, and a password for initializing the Electronic Submission
System.
We have certified to the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Regional
Operations, that the electronic signatures used to submit information on our behalf
are intended to be the legally binding equivalent of traditional handwritten signatures.
We are submitting an electronic copy of this request to cvmdcu@fda.gov encrypted
with our password.
We look forward to receipt of CVM's letter acknowledging our intent to submit
information by e-mail and stating that we appear to be able to make electronic
submissions that are compatible with CVM's current technology.
Sincerely yours,
Attachment
_______________________________________________________________

Page 6

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
B.

Creating Individual Passwords and Using the Electronic Submission
System (ESS)
After receiving the paper and electronic acknowledgements, the Sponsor
Coordinator and each person submitting electronic submissions should choose
an individual password and notify CVM ESS of the new password using
FORM FDA 3538 (Electronic Submission System Participant Password or
Addition) by an e-mail message sent to cvmdcu@fda.hhs.gov.
•

Each person should fill out part I of FORM FDA 3538.

•

The subject line of this e-mail message should be MANAGE.

•

Passwords should be changed prior to sending your first electronic
submission to the ESS. The new password should not be used until the
acknowledgment has been received from CVM of a successful password
change

Passwords should be changed after an appropriate period of time to assure
security. CVM will monitor the aging of passwords and suggest
re-initialization periodically. Changes to passwords follow the same process
used to establish the initial password change using FORM FDA 3538.
Any registered user can send a blank e-mail message with the subject line of
ECHO to confirm that they are recognized by the ESS. The system will
respond with basic information confirming the identity of the sender and that
the ESS is functioning.
C.

Adding New Participants to a Registered Sponsor
The Sponsor Coordinator may add participants to the ESS by using FORM
FDA 3538 sent to cvmdcu@fda.hhs.gov.

D.

•

The Sponsor Coordinator should fill out all fields in part II of FORM FDA
3538.

•

The subject line of this e-mail message should be MANAGE.

Other Changes to the Sponsor Registration
The Sponsor Coordinator may request changes in electronic submission
registration. These changes may include, but are not limited to, removing an
authorized sender, adding or removing a Sponsor Coordinator, changes to
e-mail addresses, changes to sponsor names, etc.
To request a change, the Sponsor Coordinator should send an e-mail message
to cvmdcu@fda.hhs.gov with the subject line of CHANGE. The e-mail
message should have a PDF file attached that has been encrypted by the
Sponsor Coordinator’s password. The attached PDF file should contain the
specified change(s) that the Sponsor Coordinator is requesting.

Page 7

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
This does not include any changes to an individual password. See Section
III.B of this document for those changes.

IV.

PROCESSING PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS
Information transmitted to CVM by e-mail should adhere to minimum standards to
ensure confidentiality, integrity, security and authenticity. CVM can process only
submissions that comply with the Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures
regulation. In addition, procedures described in this guidance take into consideration
the current information technology capabilities of CVM. Adherence to these
standards is verified by the Center's e-mail processing, and generally only
submissions in full compliance can be successfully processed as electronic
submissions. If sponsors wish to use a different approach, they should discuss it first
with CVM.
Sponsors should send each electronic submission as a PDF file (compatible with
Adobe® Acrobat® version 5.05) attached to an e-mail. Each e-mail with the attached
submission should be sent to cvmdcu@fda.hhs.gov. Submissions are acknowledged
with a receipt issued within two working days from CVM confirming the submission
was successfully processed.
A.

Gateway Information and Communication
The configuration of a sponsor's e-mail software or Internet gateway is critical
to the successful interchange of electronic information with CVM over the
Internet. Electronic mail formats are not completely standardized, however,
most gateways can be configured to accommodate the more recent and
reliable formats. Many gateways limit the size of attachments allowed.
Therefore, for the purpose of interchange with CVM, the attachment size
should be limited to no more than 50 Megabytes (50 MB).
The CVM gateway should have a MIME type e-mail encoding of the level
that allows 8-bit or binary attachments for sending e-mail with an attachment.
The sponsor's e-mail software or Internet gateway should be configured to
generate "MIME-Version: 1.0" in the header field and recognize the
Content-Transfer-Encoding header field in the e-mail message. It should be
able to decode all received data encoded by either quoted-printable or Base64
implementation and be able to encode and label 8-bit or binary data using a
Content-Transfer-Encoding type of either quoted-printable or Base64 as
appropriate. This will allow attached password-encrypted PDF files to be
transmitted as part of the transmission package.
The sponsor’s e-mail software or Internet gateway should explicitly handle
the following media type values:
Text:
•

It should recognize and display "text" mail with the character set
US-ASCII.
Page 8

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
•
•

It should recognize other character sets at least to the extent of being able
to inform the user about what character set the message uses.
It should recognize the ISO-8859 character sets to the extent of being able
to display those characters that are common to the ISO-8859 and
US-ASCII, namely all characters represented by octet values 1-127.

Multi-part and application:
•
•
•

It should at a minimum provide facilities to treat any unrecognized
subtypes as if they were "application/octet-stream.”
It should offer the ability to remove either of the quoted-printable or
Base64 encoding defined in this document if they were used and put the
resulting information in a user file.
It should recognize a mixed subtype and display all relevant information
on the message level and the body part header level and then display or
offer to display each of the body parts individually.

The following is an example of the items in an Internet e-mail header that
CVM uses to identify the sender, the function, or the type of the e-mail.
The table below shows most of the fields in a typical RFC822 header.
Field
From:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Date:
Importance:
Mime-Version:
Content-Type:
Content-TransferEncoding:

Example
Sponsorcontact@sponsor.com
Cvmdcu@fda.hhs.gov
Sponsorcoordinator@sponsor.com
Email Configuration
11 May 1998 16:11:43 –0400
Normal
1.0
Multipart/mixed;
boundary="__NextPart__11:05:1998_(27624)"
7bit

When a multipart MIME message is assembled, the text will have a set of
lines such as this in front of it, including the part boundary string that was
specified in the header.
The example immediately below uses the ISO-8859-1 character set rather than
US-ASCII, but limits the characters to 7-bit, that is octets ranging from 1-127:
__NextPart__11:05:1998_(27624)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The lines in the example below might precede an attached file called
cvmform.pdf:
Page 9

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
__NextPart__11:05:1998_(27624)
Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name=cvmform.pdf
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Note that the content is identified simply as "application/octet-stream". If
PDF had been defined to the originating e-mail agent, it might have been
identified as "application/pdf". If PDF was defined to the receiving agent as a
type that should be processed by Adobe® Acrobat®, the agent would launch
Acrobat® to view the file. When the receiving agent does not recognize the
Content-Type, it should treat it as "application/octet-stream,” decode it, and
offer the recipient the option to save it as a user file.
B.

E-mail Address
Sponsors should register their e-mail addresses with CVM as outlined in
Section III. This will allow CVM to process the sponsors’ submissions. The
e-mail address registered with CVM should match exactly the e-mail address
of the received submission.

C.

Subject Line of E-mail
The subject line is an integral part of CVM’s processing of electronic
information submitted by e-mail. Each electronic submission of information
is identified, checked, and processed based on the subject line of the e-mail
message. The subject line for an e-mail message containing an attached
submission should be the single word identified in the appropriate guidance.
It should be only the single word, capitalized, non-quoted, and should contain
no special characters. Any additional information in the subject line will
cause a fatal error and CVM will not be able to process the submission.
The following are subject lines which should be used for electronic
submission to CVM.

Subject Line
REGISTER
CHANGE
MANAGE

ECHO

Type of Electronic Submission
Electronic copy of registration letter specifying
sponsor's intent to submit information electronically
Electronic notification of changes in conditions of
registration
Electronic request to change an individual password or
add new participants to registered sponsors using FORM
FDA 3538
No submission – blank e-mail will respond with
electronic acknowledgement to registered sender

Page 10

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
D.

PDF File of Electronic Submission
For purposes of any electronic submission, the sponsor should use the
appropriate format provided by CVM, which should be submitted to CVM as
an encrypted PDF file (compatible with Adobe® Acrobat® version 5.05)
attached to an e-mail message. Forms for electronic submissions are available
on CVM’s Home Page, http://www.fda.gov/cvm.
There should be only one PDF attachment per e-mail, and it should be no
larger than 50 Megabytes (50 MB) in size. It should conform to the format
and standards for the specific type of electronic submission as detailed in the
appropriate guidance. The Center's automated processing performs a check of
the number of attachments and will not process an electronic submission with
more than one attachment.
Sponsors should use ISO 9660 Interchange Level 1 file naming convention,
i.e., up to 8 characters (A-Z, 0-9, and _) for the file name and PDF for the file
extension (8.3 naming convention); an example using this convention would
be filename.PDF.

E.

Electronic Signature
Each person who intends to submit electronic submissions will have a unique
electronic signature to verify the sender's identity. The unique electronic
signature will consist of the sender's e-mail address and the individual’s
password.
This password should consist of 12 case-sensitive alphanumeric characters.
The sender uses the password to encrypt the file before transmitting it to
CVM. Only CVM's electronic submission system and the person who
submits the electronic submission should know the password and be able to
open the file.
CVM will acknowledge each electronic submission by creating a new e-mail
message (i.e., not by using a "Reply" feature) and sending the
acknowledgement to the sender. CVM’s acknowledgement will be a
password-encrypted message attached to an e-mail message. CVM will use
the individual’s password to encrypt the file.

Individuals who submit information electronically must follow the electronic
signature requirements described in 21 CFR 11.100-11.300. These requirements
must be followed for CVM to accept electronic submissions as the official copy,
instead of paper. If sponsors are not capable of meeting these requirements sponsors
must submit information on paper.

V.

SECURITY MEASURES FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS
Corporations have used the Internet as an expeditious vehicle for the exchange of
information for several years. However, many corporations and government agencies

Page 11

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
have avoided using the Internet for the exchange of sensitive and/or confidential
information because of concerns about security. In developing an electronic
submission project using the Internet as the message-carrying vehicle, four areas of
security should be addressed adequately by all participants prior to its adoption.
A.

Disclosure/Non-Disclosure
Information submitted to CVM is subject to the Freedom of Information Act
and FDA's regulations on public information at 21 CFR Parts 20 and 514.
Some information, such as trade secrets, certain commercial and financial
information is confidential in nature and is non-disclosable. Therefore, using
the Internet to submit confidential information can be done only with adequate
encryption. CVM currently recommends that this encryption be in the form of
a password-protected PDF file. CVM will continue to monitor and assess the
adequacy of this level of security and determine whether or not a different
encryption method is necessary.
Protecting the Confidentiality of the Information in Electronic
Submissions
The ESS will only accept encrypted PDF files to protect the confidentiality of
submitted information. The person submitting the electronic information
should encrypt the file with his/her password.
Authentication Verification
Currently, CVM receives paper submissions from sponsors by US Postal
Service, Federal Express, United Parcel Service, etc. With these submissions,
there is a cover letter on sponsor letterhead signed by an authorized sponsor
official. This information allows CVM to authenticate that the submission is
from the stated sponsor. Any electronic submission should also provide a
means by which CVM can authenticate the origin of the electronic document,
such as the unique two-part electronic signature.
Unique Two-Part Electronic Signature
The registration letter should contain the name and e-mail address for each
authorized sender. Subsequent to the receipt of CVM's acknowledgment
letter for the registration, each sender should submit to CVM ESS a password
change using FORM FDA 3538 as described in Section III.B of this guidance.
The unique combination of the e-mail address and the password will serve as
the electronic signature under 21 CFR 11.200(a)(1) and will authenticate the
identity of the sender. CVM will maintain a database of electronic signatures
and will automatically reject any electronic submission received that does not
match the unique combination of e-mail address and password.

Page 12

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
Verification of the Sender's Identity
An additional precaution will be taken to ensure that the e-mail message
received at CVM did indeed come from the sender designated. CVM will
acknowledge receipt of the electronic submission as described in section IV.
If a sender receives an acknowledgment but has not sent an e-mail to CVM,
he/she should immediately report this to CVM by telephone to 301-827-8277.
B.

Verification of Date of Submission
Currently, time-sensitive information is submitted by certified mail so that the
sponsor has a record verifying the date and name of an individual who
received the information at CVM. This also provides a legal basis by which
drug sponsors can assert their compliance with laws and regulations.
Currently, CVM uses the date on the cover letter to determine whether
information was submitted within the time required by statute or regulation.
If CVM is able to open and read the file, the date within the file will serve as
the date of submission.

C.

Submission Integrity
The integrity of the content of a submission to CVM is the responsibility of
the sponsor. If sections of a paper submission are missing or illegible, CVM
requires the sponsor to provide copies of the missing or illegible information.
A remote possibility exists that intentional or unintentional changes could be
made to an electronic submission that could not be made to a paper
submission. For example, unintentional "scrambling" of the submission may
occur during transmission so that CVM receives a corrupted, unusable file.
Further, a submission could be intentionally changed if a message is
intercepted en route, changes are made to the content and then the message is
sent on as if from the original sender.
CVM will rely on the password encryption of the PDF file to ensure the
integrity of the electronic submission. If the file is received by CVM intact
and can be decrypted and opened by Adobe® Acrobat®, then CVM will
assume no changes occurred to the submission once it was e-mailed from the
sponsor. If CVM receives a corrupted file and can identify who the sender is,
CVM will notify the sender that its file was corrupted and the sender should
resubmit the file.

VI.

CHECKLIST FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS
To make electronic submissions, sponsors should:
•
•

Have MIME (base64) compliant access to the Internet. See Section IV.A for
details.
Use the appropriate form provided by CVM.

Page 13

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS
•

•

Conform to an ISO 9660 Interchange Level 1 compatible naming convention for
PDF files e-mailed to CVM. The name of the attached file should be 8 characters
or less with the letters PDF as an extension, i.e., xxxxxxxx.PDF. See Section
IV.D for details.
Register with CVM once for all types of submissions listed in the Electronic
Submissions Docket.

REGISTRATION PROCESS (See Section III for details.):
1.

Send a single, original, signed registration letter to CVM. See Section III.A.
for an example of the registration letter. The letter should contain:
a)
b)
c)
d)

the name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address of the
Sponsor Coordinator;
the names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses
for each person who will submit electronic submissions;
a 12 character, case-sensitive alphanumeric character sponsor
password. See Section III.A for details; and
the subject of letter should be Registration Letter for Electronic
Submission to CVM to clearly identify the purpose of the letter.

2.

Create a PDF copy of the registration letter. Encrypt the PDF file with the
sponsor password, attach it to an e-mail message, and send it to
cvmdcu@fda.hhs.gov. The subject line of the e-mail message should be the
word REGISTER.

3.

CVM will send an e-mail to the Sponsor Coordinator named in the
registration letter. The message will have an encrypted PDF file attached
containing an acknowledgment of receipt of the registration letter. The
password necessary to decrypt the PDF file receipt will be the sponsor
password sent in the registration letter. A paper response will also be sent. If
the sponsor has not received both of these acknowledgments within 30 days
contact CVM by calling the electronic Document Control Unit at 301-8278277.

4.

The Sponsor Coordinator and each identified contact should choose an
individual password before sending an electronic submission. Directions for
informing CVM of the new individual password will be included in the
Center's response to the registration letter. The subject line of the e-mail
message should be MANAGE. See Section III.B of this guidance for
details.

5.

The sponsor should not send an electronic submission until CVM
acknowledges the receipt of an individual password by e-mail.

Page 14