ARC Requirements

An investigator's laboratory may be used as a study area or survival surgery area provided such use is approved and certified by the ARC. ARC certification of these areas is valid for a 6-month period after the date of inspection and must be renewed every six months if a laboratory remains in an active status. Continued certification is contingent upon the maintenance of acceptable standards in the animal facility.

For an interactive overview of what the ARC generally looks for during semiannual facility inspections, please see the online tutorial entitled "An IACUC Member's Guide to Animal Facility Inspections."

Study Areas

The ARC defines "study area" as any investigator-managed building, room, area, enclosure, or other containment site in which USDA-regulated animal species are housed for periods longer than 12 hours, or in which non-USDA-regulated animal species are housed for periods longer than 24 hours.