The Applicant Guide: Letters of Access

This guidance document relates to letters of access for applications for both the approval of pesticide products and the inclusion of adjuvants on the Official List.

What is a letter of access?

A letter of access allows us to use active substance and/or formulation data which are owned by a third party on your behalf. Access can be granted to a single study or an entire data package.

The conditions of data access are a commercial matter between the companies concerned and may be reflected in the wording of the letter of access. We will not become involved in disputes between companies over data access but we will ensure that any letters of access that are submitted in support of individual applications are valid.

When is a letter of access required?

A valid letter of access must be submitted with your application when any of the data that support your product’s approval are owned by a third party. These data include:

• Any active substance or formulation data that are being submitted with the application for the approval of your product that are owned by a third party.
• Any active substance or formulation data that have been previously submitted and evaluated in support of the approval of your product. A letter of access to data owned by a third party is required even if that data were submitted and evaluated a number of years prior to the submission of your application.

If the data supporting your product’s approval are owned by more than one third party, then valid letters of access from each data owner are required.

Letters of access are not required for data which you own or data that are no longer protected under our data protection rules.

Letters can be submitted directly to us from the data owner although we would recommend that they are submitted by the applicant so that they are clearly linked with the application.

What is considered to be a valid letter of access?

A valid letter of access can be either:

1. An original signed letter. This will be required for an application for a new product or where previous letters of access restricted access in some way (e.g. for a particular time period, application or use); or,
2. A photocopy of a previously submitted letter. This is only appropriate where the letter is sufficiently unrestricted (i.e. it does not refer to a particular time period, application or use).

The following information must be included in a valid letter of access:

1. Details of the applicant. If the applicant is not the approval holder, details of the approval holder may also be included. If the approval holder is specified on the letter and changes during the course of an application for that product then we will request a new letter of access.
2. Details of the product for which approval has been sought. This must include the product tradename, and if the product is already approved, the registration number. If the product tradename and/or registration number changes during the course of an application for that product then we will request a new letter of access.
3. Details of the data to which access is being granted i.e. all data on a named active substance; all data on a named formulation; specific active substance and/or formulation data. If access is only being granted to individual studies are specified, full details of these studies must be included.
4. Commercial restrictions agreed between the companies involved e.g. details of the specific application the letter has been given for; details of the active substance(s) in the product, the quantities of the active substance(s), uses of the product, application rates etc; details of the source of the active substance; whether a new letter is required for any future application.
5. The letter must appear on suitable headed paper and be clearly from the data owner.

The following information must not be included in a valid letter of access:

1. Restrictions on the commercial level of approval that may be granted for a product.

An example of a letter of access.(pdf)

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How can I withdraw access to data I own?

If you are a data owner and wish to withdraw access to data which supports a product that is currently approved, you should write to us referencing the relevant product and letter of access. The product will continue to be approved until the next application for that product is submitted. When we receive your letter we will write to the approval holder for the affected product informing them that access to the data has been withdrawn and, if necessary, remind them of their obligation to inform us of any changes to their product. When the next application for the product is submitted, we will check the data access bearing in mind the contents of your letter.