Accredited Researcher Status under the Digital Economy Act 2017 allows researchers to access certain types of secure data. Until recently, the process for acquiring this status was to use the Research Accreditation Service (RAS) provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This process has now changed. On 4 April 2025, the ONS closed the Research Accreditation Service. Two new systems are being created by the ONS as a replacement. These are the Project Accreditation Service for the Secure Research Service (PASS) and the People and Projects Service (PPS).
The new systems will be available from 29 April 2025. From Tuesday 29 April, researcher accreditation will be managed by the new People and Projects Service (PPS). Until then, researchers are unable to start accredited researcher applications.
Users with in-progress accredited researcher applications that have not been completed are being contacted directly by SRS Customer Support to complete their applications.
Any existing Accredited Researcher applications in RAS must be completed before Thursday 17 April, as only current researchers with an active accreditation will be migrated to the new system.
More information
You can find further information about the process via a dedicated page at the ONS website, which will also include links to the new PASS and PPS systems once the services become available.
If you have any questions about this process, you can contact the ONS directly. Questions about the replacement of the Research Accreditation Service or about researcher accreditation can be sent to srs.customer.support@ons.gov.uk.