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Home / UFI and PCN CLP · Article 45 and Annex VIII

UFI and PCN

Hazardous mixtures placed on the EU market must be notified to poison centres (PCN) and carry a Unique Formula Identifier – the UFI code – on the label. Who submits, what triggers an update and where the UFI goes.

Sources last checked: 14 October 2026 · CLP consolidated version of 1 July 2026 General information, not legal or professional advice. The binding text is the consolidated CLP Regulation on EUR-Lex.
UFI: Prefix in capitals before the code on the label
2021 From 1 January, Annex VIII applies to consumer and professional mixtures
2024 From 1 January, also to mixtures for industrial use
2025 1 January – end of transition for older national notifications

What the UFI is

The UFI (Unique Formula Identifier) is a unique alphanumeric code that unambiguously links the composition information submitted to poison centres to a specific mixture or group of mixtures. The submitter creates it free of charge with ECHA's UFI Generator. When someone calls a poison centre, the UFI on the label lets staff find the exact formulation quickly.

The code has 16 characters in four blocks and is always preceded by UFI:. It must be clearly visible, legible and indelibly marked. It goes in the supplemental information on the label, or on the inner packaging next to the other label elements. For unpackaged mixtures it is given in the safety data sheet, and for packaged mixtures supplied to industrial sites the supplier may put it in the SDS instead of on the label. In the SDS it belongs in subsection 1.1.

Source: CLP, Article 25(7) and Annex VIII, Part A, Section 5 · Canton of Zurich (code format)

Who must submit

Annex VIII, Part A, 3.1

Importers and downstream users

Anyone who places on the market a mixture classified as hazardous on the basis of its health or physical effects. The information is submitted before the mixture is placed on the market, in every Member State where it is sold.
Annex VIII, Part A, 2.2

Exemptions

Mixtures for scientific research and development or for product and process oriented R&D, and mixtures classified only as gases under pressure or explosives. For bespoke paints tinted for a customer at the point of sale, the submitter may opt not to submit; the label then lists the UFIs of the mixtures it contains (Art. 25(8)).
Source: CLP, Annex VIII, Part A, Sections 1 to 3; Article 25(8)

What goes into a submission

The submission is sent electronically in the XML format that ECHA provides free of charge, in the official language of each Member State where the mixture is sold unless that state provides otherwise. Mixtures for industrial use only may use a limited submission, provided a 24/7 telephone line gives rapid access to further product information.

In Slovakia the appointed body is the National Toxicological Information Centre (NTIC) at University Hospital Bratislava. It receives submissions through the ECHA Submission portal, in Slovak and free of charge.

Source: CLP, Annex VIII, Part A, 2.3 and 3.1–3.3; Part B · NTIC – information for producers
  • Product identifier, all trade names and the UFI
  • Details of the submitter and contact point
  • Classification and label elements: pictogram codes, signal word, H and P statement codes
  • Toxicological information as required in section 11 of the SDS
  • Packaging (for consumer and professional use), colour, physical state, pH, product category and use
  • Components and their concentrations or concentration ranges

When to update

Before placing a changed mixture on the market, the submitter sends a submission update when:

Part B, 4.1

Identifier or classification

The product identifier or the UFI changes, or the classification of the mixture for health or physical hazards changes.
Part B, 4.1

New toxicological data

Relevant new toxicological information on the mixture or its components, of the kind required in SDS section 11, becomes available.
Part B, 4.1 and Table 4

Composition change

A component is added, substituted or deleted, a concentration leaves the notified range, or an exact concentration changes beyond the Table 4 limits (±5 % to ±30 % depending on concentration).
A composition change of this kind also requires a new UFI. Exceptions apply to perfume changes in a group submission and to interchangeable component groups (Part A, 5.1). Several mixtures with the same classification and the same components can share one group submission (Part A, Section 4). Source: CLP, Annex VIII, Part A, Sections 4 and 5; Part B, Section 4

SDS with the UFI in section 1

We author and translate safety data sheets in line with REACH Annex II, including the UFI in subsection 1.1 where the mixture has one.

SDS authoring SDS translation

Sources

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