Under the Protocol, competent national authorities (CNAs) are the entities designated to be responsible for granting access or, as applicable, issuing written evidence that access requirements have been met. When a CNA issues a permit or equivalent as evidence that prior informed consent (PIC) has been granted and mutually agreed terms (MAT) have been established, information on the permit or equivalent is then made available (published by the country's publishing authority) on the ABS Clearing-House as an Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC). Once an IRCC is published on the ABS Clearing-House a copy is sent automatically to the user of the genetic resources (when not confidential) and to the provider country’s CNA responsible for issuing the permit and ABS national focal point.