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NoticeOpen for Comment2026-186462026-09-14

Draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards

Health and Human Services Department, National Institutes of Health

Abstract

As the world's largest public funder of biomedical research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is committed to ensuring that gold-standard science is conducted under gold-standard biosafety conditions. To achieve this goal, NIH is proposing a new policy that modernizes and strengthens biosafety practices to ensure that oversight keeps pace with evolving risks. NIH is requesting public input on a new, comprehensive biosafety policy proposal that, when finalized, will replace the current NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (https://osp.od.nih.gov/wp-content/ uploads/NIH_Guidelines.pdf).

Action & Dates

Action
Request for information.
Dates
To ensure consideration, comments must be submitted on or before October 19, 2026.

Public Comment

Comments Close
2026-10-19 — Open for comment

Document Excerpt

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS. ACTION: Request for information. SUMMARY: As the world's largest public funder of biomedical research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is committed to ensuring that gold-standard science is conducted under gold-standard biosafety conditions. To achieve this goal, NIH is proposing a new policy that modernizes and strengthens biosafety practices to ensure that oversight keeps pace with evolving risks. NIH is requesting public input on a new, comprehensive biosafety policy proposal that, when finalized, will replace the current NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules ( https://osp.od.nih.gov/​wp-content/​uploads/​NIH_​Guidelines.pdf ). DATES: To ensure consideration, comments must be submitted on or before October 19, 2026. ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted electronically to: https://osp.od.nih.gov/​comment-form-draft-nih-biosafety-policy-for-research-involving-biohazards/​ . Comments are voluntary and may be submitted anonymously. You may also voluntarily include your name and contact information with your response. Other than your name and contact information, please do not include in the response any personally identifiable information or any information that you do not wish to make public. Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should not be incl

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Full Document

Citation: 91 FR 58132

Draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards — Federal Register 2026-18646 | Open Gov by Base