Guide
Are paid clinical trials safe? How compensation works
Some clinical studies pay participants for their time. Payment doesn't make a study more or less safe: every U.S. study involving people must be reviewed and approved by an independent ethics committee before it starts. Here's how payment works and what to check before you sign up.
Why some studies pay
Studies pay participants for three main reasons:
- Reimbursement: paying you back for costs such as travel, parking or meals.
- Compensation: paying you for your time, effort and any inconvenience, such as long visits or overnight stays.
- Encouraging people to join: helping studies recruit enough participants to produce reliable results.
Not every study pays. Some cover travel or lodging only, and some offer nothing beyond the study care itself.
What keeps studies safe
- An Institutional Review Board (IRB), an independent committee, reviews every study before it starts, including how much it pays. The IRB checks that payment isn't so high that it pressures people to ignore the risks.
- Payment is not counted as a benefit when an IRB weighs a study's risks.
- You go through informed consent before joining, so you know the risks, the schedule and what you'll be paid.
- You can leave a study at any time.
What to ask about payment
- How much will I be paid, and for what (each visit, or at the end)?
- If I leave early, will I be paid for the visits I completed?
- Are travel, parking or childcare costs covered?
- How and when will I be paid (direct deposit, card or check)?
- Will I receive a tax form? Study payments can count as taxable income. For example, the NIH Clinical Center reports payments of $2,000 or more in a year to the IRS.
Warning signs
- A study that asks you to pay to take part.
- Pressure to sign up quickly or without reading the consent form.
- No clear contact for the study team or site.
Legitimate U.S. studies are listed on ClinicalTrials.gov with a registration number that starts with "NCT".
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