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When requesting access to the SEER data, you must acknowledge and initial the data use agreement, any data limitations, and best practices for securing the data. The requirements may change with each annual data submission and by data product.
The documents are provided below for reference and cannot be used to request the data.
Current Data Release
November 2020 Submission
- SEER Research Data Agreement, 1975-2018
- Best Practices Assurance for Securing NCI-supported Registry Data
- SEER Acknowledgment of Treatment Data Limitations, 1975-2018
Previous Data Releases
November 2019 Submission
November 2018 Submission
- SEER Research Data Agreement, 1975-2016 (PDF, 659 KB)
- SEER Acknowledgment of Treatment Data Limitations, 1975-2016 (PDF, 683 KB)
November 2017 Submission
- SEER Research Data Agreement, 1973-2015 (PDF, 672 KB)
- SEER Acknowledgment of Treatment Data Limitations, 1973-2015 (PDF, 661 KB)
Data Use Clarifications
SEER has received questions about data use as it relates to the language included in the SEER Research Data Agreement. The following sections attempt to clarify some of the more frequently asked questions.
Data Linkage
"No Data Linkage. Authorized User will not link or attempt to link the Data with information in another database, nor will permit others to do so."
This clause pertains to individual, patient level data, which cannot be linked to other sources. However, you can link calculated statistics to other data sources. For example, you can produce county-level statistics in SEER*Stat and link those to county-level attributes.
Release to Others
"No Release to Others. Authorized User will not release, nor permit others to release, the Data to any other person."
This clause pertains to individual-level or raw data, not summarized statistics (e.g, rates). If a user is publishing a paper based on statistics calculated using the data, those calculated summary statistics can be shared with the journal as part of the approval process or published accompanying the article.
