Office for National Statistics to close the Research Accreditation Service this week
31 March 2025
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has provided dates for when it will replace the Research Accreditation Service. Important information has been sent to accredited researchers and users of the Secure Research Service and the Integrated Data Service, prior to the Research Accreditation Service closing on Friday 4 April.
The Project Accreditation Service for the Secure Research Service (PASS) and People & Projects Service (PPS) will provide a new route, for all project applications and researcher accreditation, when they are introduced on Tuesday 29 April.
The Research Accreditation Service is closing
In preparation for the switch to the new services, please be reminded that the Research Accreditation Service will be closed from Friday 4 April to migrate data to the two replacement services.
What does the closure mean for you?
- No new applications can be started or submitted in the Research Accreditation Service from Friday 4 April.
- The two replacement services will then be available from Tuesday 29 April.
This means that in the transition period (between Friday 4 April and Tuesday 29 April), users will not be able to start accredited researcher applications, new project applications, or request changes to live projects.
Researchers and users with applications or requests in progress are being contacted directly.
Read more about the two services
- People & Projects Service (PPS): This service will serve as the researcher accreditation and project application system for all IDS users. It will also take over researcher accreditation for SRS users. It is integrated into the infrastructure of the IDS. By being developed in-house, this service eliminates dependency on third-party systems.
- Project Accreditation Service for SRS (PASS): This service will take over all project application functionality for Secure Research Service users. It has been developed separately to meet their different user needs.
Stay updated on the ONS website
Follow a dedicated page on the ONS website for further information and live updates on the progress of the two replacement services. This page will be updated with links to access both the Project Accreditation Service and People & Projects Service once they have launched.
Contact the ONS teams
Please contact srs.customer.support@ons.gov.uk to discuss any specific circumstances for your project in more detail.
For any concerns related to an Integrated Data Service project application, please contact ids.customer.support@ons.gov.uk.
