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Home / Regulations / REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006

REACH

The EU regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. What it covers, who has duties under it and where the safety data sheet fits in.

Sources last checked: 14 October 2026 General information, not legal or professional advice. Always check the current consolidated text on EUR-Lex.
2007 REACH in force since 1 June 2007 (Art. 141)
1 t Per year and registrant – threshold for registration (Art. 6)
10 t Per year – threshold for a chemical safety report (Art. 14)
Title IV Information in the supply chain, including the SDS (Art. 31–36)

What REACH is

REACH aims to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment and the free circulation of substances on the internal market. It applies to substances on their own, in mixtures and in articles that are manufactured, placed on the market or used in the EU.

The regulation also established the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which manages the technical, scientific and administrative aspects of REACH. As a regulation, REACH applies directly in all Member States; national law adds rules on enforcement and penalties.

Source: REACH, Art. 1, 75 and 141

The four processes

Title II

Registration

Manufacturers and importers of a substance in quantities of 1 tonne or more per year register it with ECHA. “No data, no market”: without the required registration, the substance cannot be manufactured or placed on the market.
Title VI

Evaluation

ECHA and the Member States check registration dossiers and evaluate substances that may pose a risk, and can ask registrants for more information.
Title VII

Authorisation

Substances of very high concern are first placed on the Candidate List and may then be included in Annex XIV. Substances in Annex XIV may only be used if an authorisation has been granted.
Title VIII

Restriction

Annex XVII sets conditions or bans on the manufacture, placing on the market or use of certain substances, on their own, in mixtures or in articles.
Source: REACH, Art. 5, 6, 56, 57, 59 and 67 · ECHA – Candidate List

Where the SDS fits in

Title IV of REACH deals with information in the supply chain. The safety data sheet is its main tool.

Source: REACH, Art. 31–37 and Annex II
  • Article 31 – when an SDS is required, its language, format and updates. Who must provide an SDS
  • Annex II – what the SDS must contain, in the version set by Regulation (EU) 2020/878. Annex II guide
  • Article 31(7) – exposure scenarios from the chemical safety report are attached to the SDS (the “extended SDS”)
  • Article 32 – information for substances and mixtures that do not need an SDS
  • Article 33 – information on Candidate List substances in articles
  • Article 37 – duties of downstream users using the information they receive

Need an SDS under REACH?

We prepare safety data sheets that follow Article 31 and Annex II of REACH, in the languages of the countries you sell in.

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Sources

Sources last checked: 14 October 2026. Always use the consolidated version on EUR-Lex.