This publication provides guidance on meeting the requirements of IAEA Safety Standards Series No. NS-R-5 (Rev.1) relating to research and development facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle. It covers the lifetime of these facilities from site selection through to decommissioning, concentrating on design and operation. It applies to laboratories, pilot workshops and experimental facilities that store, handle and process uranium, plutonium and other transuranics, fission products and activated materials in significant quantities. Such facilities may be involved in the study of chemical, metallurgical or radiological properties of specific radioactive materials such as prototype nuclear fuels (before and after reactor irradiation) or nuclear material or radioactive waste arising from experimental processes. This Safety Guide also applies to research and development for processes and equipment that are envisaged for later use on an industrial scale for the nuclear fuel cycle (e.g. pilot workshops for active waste conditioning).