Codes of practice

The HTA's revised codes of practice came into force on 15 September 2009.

The codes of practice provide guidance and lay down expected standards for each of the sectors we regulate. The revised codes are designed to support professionals by giving advice and guidance based on real-life experience. The codes were approved by Parliament in July 2009 and have been brought into force via Directions 002/2009.

Seven of the codes have been revised to reflect the HTA's experience of regulation and an entirely new code on research has also been produced.

You can access the revised codes of practice below. The codes are provided in an interactive format which gives easy access to the different sections, with links to other relevant issues and documents and a pop-up glossary. You can also print entire codes and individual sections in pdf format using the 'print pdf' links. 

• Code of practice 1 - Consent
• Code of practice 2 - Donation of solid organs for transplantation PLEASE NOTE: this Code of Practice was revised on 8 March 2013. Read further information on the status of this Code in the document, 'Status of Code of Practice 2' on the left.
• Code of practice 3 - Post-mortem examination
• Code of practice 4 - Anatomical examination
• Code of practice 5 - Disposal of human tissue PLEASE NOTE: The HTA has revised requirements regarding the disposal of tissue, and so paragraphs 29(v), 31 and 73 have been amended. This code does not require Parliamentary approval to have effect, so can be amended by the HTA as it feels appropriate.
• Code of practice 6 - Donation of allogeneic bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells for transplantation
• Code of practice 7 - Public display
• Code of practice 8 - Import and export of human bodies, body parts and tissue  PLEASE NOTE: code of practice 8 was published in May 2007 and has not been revised.
• Code of practice 9 - Research

Between 1 August and 14 November 2008 we held a public consultation on the revision of the codes of practice. The new codes reflect the stakeholder comments that we received. We have published a rationale document which summarises the consultation responses. You can download the rationale document on the left of this page.