21 CFR §803.52
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
You must include the following information in your reports, if known or reasonably known to you, as described in § 803.50(b). These types of information correspond generally to the format of Form FDA 3500A:
- (a)Patient information (Form FDA 3500A, Block A). You must submit the following:
- (b)Adverse event or product problem (Form FDA 3500A, Block B). You must submit the following:
- (1)Identification of adverse event or product problem;
- (2)Outcomes attributed to the adverse event (e.g., death or serious injury). An outcome is considered a serious injury if it is:
- (3)Date of event;
- (4)Date of this report;
- (5)Description of the event or problem, including a discussion of how the device was involved, nature of the problem, patient followup or required treatment, and any environmental conditions that may have influenced the event;
- (6)Description of relevant tests, including dates and laboratory data; and
- (7)Other relevant patient history including preexisting medical conditions.
- (c)Device information (Form FDA 3500A, Block D). You must submit the following:
- (1)Brand name;
- (2)Product Code, if known, and Common Device Name;
- (3)Manufacturer name, city, and state;
- (4)Model number, catalog number, serial number, lot number, or other identifying number; expiration date; and unique device identifier (UDI) that appears on the device label or on the device package;
- (5)Operator of the device (health professional, lay user/patient, other);
- (6)Date of device implantation (month, day, year), if applicable;
- (7)Date of device explantation (month, day, year), if applicable;
- (8)Whether the device is a single-use device that was reprocessed and reused on a patient (Yes, No)?
- (9)If the device is a single-use device that was reprocessed and reused on a patient (yes to paragraph (c)(8) of this section), the name and address of the reprocessor;
- (10)Whether the device was available for evaluation, and whether the device was returned to the manufacturer, and if so, the date it was returned to the manufacturer; and
- (11)Concomitant medical products and therapy dates. (Do not report products that were used to treat the event.)
- (d)Initial reporter information (Form FDA 3500A, Block E). You must submit the following:
- (e)Reporting information for all manufacturers (Form FDA 3500A, Block G). You must submit the following:
- (1)Your reporting office's contact name and address and device manufacturing site;
- (2)Your contact person's telephone number;
- (3)Your report sources;
- (4)Date received by you (month, day, year);
- (5)PMA/510k Number and whether or not the product is a combination product;
- (6)Type of report being submitted (e.g., 5-day, initial, followup); and
- (7)Your report number.
- (f)Device manufacturer information (Form FDA 3500A, Block H). You must submit the following:
- (1)Type of reportable event (death, serious injury, malfunction, etc.);
- (2)Type of followup report, if applicable (e.g., correction, response to FDA request, etc);
- (3)If the device was returned to you and evaluated by you, you must include a summary of the evaluation. If you did not perform an evaluation, you must explain why you did not perform an evaluation;
- (4)Device manufacture date (month, day, year);
- (5)Whether the device was labeled for single use;
- (6)Evaluation codes (including event codes, method of evaluation, result, and conclusion codes) (refer to FDA MedWatch Medical Device Reporting Code Instructions);
- (7)Whether remedial action was taken and the type of action;
- (8)Whether the use of the device was initial, reuse, or unknown;
- (9)Whether remedial action was reported as a removal or correction under section 519(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and if it was, provide the correction/removal report number; and
- (10)Your additional narrative; and/or
- (11)Corrected data, including:
- (i)Any information missing on the user facility report or importer report, including any event codes that were not reported, or information corrected on these forms after your verification;
- (ii)For each event code provided by the user facility under § 803.32(e)(10) or the importer under § 803.42(e)(10), you must include a statement of whether the type of the event represented by the code is addressed in the device labeling; and
- (iii)If your report omits any required information, you must explain why this information was not provided and the steps taken to obtain this information.