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Conducting Remote Regulatory Assessments Questions and Answers: Guidance for Industry

FinalOffice of Inspections and Investigations Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Center for Devices and Radiological Health Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Center for Tobacco Products Center for Veterinary Medicine Human Foods Program Office of the Commissioner,Office of the Chief Medical Officer,Office of Combination Products06/24/2025

Description

FDA is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled “Conducting Remote Regulatory Assessments--Questions and Answers.”  The final guidance makes further revisions to and replaces the revised draft guidance entitled “Conducting Remote Regulatory Assessments--Questions and Answers; Draft Guidance for Industry,” which was announced in the Federal Register on January 26, 2024 (89 FR 5244).  FDA issued the revised draft guidance to describe the Agency’s thinking regarding its use of Remote Regulatory Assessments (RRAs), to help increase the industry’s understanding of voluntary and mandatory RRAs, and to facilitate FDA’s process for conducting remote assessments for FDA-regulated products outside of the COVID-19 public health emergency.  The revised draft guidance  reflected consideration of comments on a preceding draft guidance of the same title as well as revisions to align with 2022 changes in law (the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2022 (FDORA)), including to address a requirement to issue guidance related to section 704(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act  (i.e., requests for records in advance of or in lieu of an inspection; such requests are a type of RRA).  The final guidance additionally reflects consideration of comments from interested parties on the revised draft guidance.

Scope & Applicability

Product Classes

2
Drug

Defined in section 201(g) of the FD&C Act; Articles intended for use in diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease; Product classification based on chemical action or specific intended uses like altering pH

Device

Defined in section 201(h) of the FD&C Act; Instrument or apparatus which does not achieve primary purpose through chemical action; Product classification based on primary intended purpose and chemical action

Stakeholders

5
Importer

Must comply with registration if meeting facility/responsible person definitions

small businesses

Establishments whose size and resources are considered in RRA timeframes.

FSVP importers

Importers subject to Foreign Supplier Verification Program requirements.

Establishment

Entities making donor eligibility determinations

FSVP importer

The entity responsible for developing and implementing an FSVP.; entity responsible for foreign supplier verification

Regulatory Context

Attributes

2
Risk-based approach

Factors used to determine whether to initiate or request an RRA.

Risk Classification

Used to determine the priority of establishments for inspection.

Related CFR Sections (6)

Related Warning Letters (6)

  • CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

    Brenntag Great Lakes, LLC

    2023-11-21
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    Five Star Trading IL, Inc.

    2023-04-25
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    Allure Foods LLC

    2022-05-24
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    Agroson’s LLC

    2022-04-19
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    Green Food Ingredients, LLC

    2022-01-18
  • CGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/Adulterated

    Novel Laboratories, Inc. d.b.a LUPIN

    2021-06-29

See Also (8)