REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) is the EU regulation that governs how chemical substances are placed on the European market. Adopted as Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 and in force since 1 June 2007, REACH shifted the burden of proof from regulators to industry: any company that manufactures or imports a chemical substance into the EU at one tonne per year or more must demonstrate to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) that the substance can be used safely. There is no general grandfathering and no fallback — without a valid registration the substance cannot lawfully be placed on the EU market.
This guide is written for compliance specialists, EHS managers, regulatory affairs professionals, and non-EU producers exporting into the EU. It explains REACH end-to-end as it actually operates in 2026, including the registration tonnage bands, the authorisation and restriction mechanisms, the latest SVHC Candidate List update, the 19.5% ECHA fee increase that took effect in November 2025, and the European Commission’s April 2026 decision to shelve the long-anticipated REACH revision and continue with the existing framework instead.
At a glance
- Regulation: Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (“REACH”), in force since 1 June 2007; most operative provisions applied from 1 June 2008.
- Geographic scope: EU-27, EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein), and Northern Ireland (under the Windsor Framework). Great Britain operates a separate UK REACH regime.
- Affected parties: EU manufacturers, EU importers, downstream users, distributors, and non-EU producers acting through an Only Representative (OR).
- SVHC Candidate List: 253 entries as of 4 February 2026 (n-Hexane and BPAF were the most recent additions).
- Annex XVII restrictions: 77 entries as of 19 June 2025 (each entry may cover multiple substances).
- REACH revision (REACH 2.0): officially shelved on 27 April 2026. The Commission will adjust REACH through comitology (annex amendments) rather than full legislative revision.
- ECHA fees: raised by 19.5% effective 5 November 2025.
- Related tools: ATE Calculator · GHS Label Constructor · H-Statements · Storage Segregation
What is REACH?
REACH replaced more than forty earlier EU chemicals directives and regulations with a single, integrated regime. The regulation rests on three principles that define how compliance works in practice. The first is “no data, no market” — substances without a valid registration dossier cannot be lawfully manufactured in or imported into the EU above one tonne per year. The second is the precautionary principle: where scientific evidence about a hazard is incomplete, regulators may still act to manage risk. The third is the reversal of the burden of proof — industry must demonstrate that substances are safe under their intended uses, not regulators that they are unsafe.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), based in Helsinki, was created by REACH and began operating on 1 June 2008. ECHA receives and processes registration dossiers, runs the Candidate List and authorisation processes, supports Member State enforcement, and maintains the central databases that compliance teams interact with daily: REACH-IT for dossier submission, ECHA CHEM for substance information, and the SCIP database for articles containing Substances of Very High Concern. The hazard classifications captured in REACH registrations feed into the EU’s classification system under CLP, and downstream into the H-statement and P-statement communication that appears on every compliant label and SDS.
REACH applies to chemical substances on their own, in mixtures, and in articles where the substance is intended to be released under normal conditions of use. Some categories are exempt or covered by different EU instruments — substances in food, medicinal products, plant protection products, biocides (largely covered by sector-specific regulations), radioactive substances, customs warehouse substances in transit, and substances listed in Annex IV (well-known low-risk substances) or Annex V (by-products, naturally occurring substances, certain hydrates).
Who must comply
REACH obligations attach to specific roles in the supply chain. A company can simultaneously play more than one role and accumulate multiple sets of obligations.
Manufacturers are EU-based legal entities that produce a chemical substance in the EU. They must register every substance they make at or above one tonne per year, classify and label it under CLP, ensure that downstream customers receive accurate safety data sheets, and keep registration dossiers up to date when tonnage, uses, or composition changes.
Importers are EU-based legal entities that bring substances into the EU from outside the customs territory — whether on their own, in mixtures, or in articles where substances are intended to be released. Importer obligations mirror those of manufacturers. Where multiple importers source the same substance from the same non-EU supplier, an Only Representative appointed by the non-EU manufacturer can carry the registration burden on behalf of all of them.
Downstream users are companies that use a substance or mixture in their industrial or professional activities — formulators of paints, adhesives, cleaning products; producers of articles; service providers; and end-product manufacturers. They do not register substances themselves but must use them within the conditions described in their suppliers’ exposure scenarios. If they cannot, they must either request the supplier to extend the registration, switch suppliers, or notify ECHA of an unsupported use under Article 38.
Distributors receive and supply substances and mixtures without further processing. Their core obligation is to pass information up and down the supply chain — safety data sheets, hazard information, and SVHC notifications under Article 33.
Non-EU producers cannot register substances directly with ECHA. The standard route is to appoint an Only Representative (OR) — an EU-based legal entity that takes on the registration obligations on behalf of one or more non-EU manufacturers. The OR mechanism is widely used: in the 2018 registration data, 23% of all registrations were submitted by ORs, with the largest non-EU shares coming from the USA (27%), China (15%), Japan (14%), India (12%), and Switzerland (6%).
The four pillars of REACH
REACH is organised around four interlocking mechanisms, named in the acronym itself.
| Pillar | Title | Core obligation | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration | Titles II–III | Submit a registration dossier to ECHA before placing the substance on the EU market | Substance manufactured or imported ≥1 t/y |
| Evaluation | Title VI | Respond to ECHA dossier checks and Member State substance evaluations | ECHA or Member State opens a check |
| Authorisation | Title VII | Apply for and obtain authorisation for specific uses of Annex XIV substances | Substance moves from SVHC Candidate List to Annex XIV |
| Restriction | Title VIII | Comply with placing-on-market and use restrictions in Annex XVII | Substance added or condition tightened in Annex XVII |
Registration is the entry ticket — without it, the substance cannot reach the EU market at all. Evaluation is ECHA’s quality control over registrations and a route to identify substances that need further regulatory action. Authorisation targets the most hazardous substances (Substances of Very High Concern, SVHCs) and forces a structured phase-out unless companies can justify continued use. Restriction is the regulatory hammer: hard limits on concentration, use, or sale that apply across the EU market without case-by-case applications. The four pillars are sequential in practice — substances move through registration, get flagged in evaluation, may be classified as SVHCs, and either end up under authorisation or under restriction.
Each REACH pillar connects to broader workflows in the GHS ecosystem: registration data flows into the CLP classification system, authorisation rests on hazard criteria that align with UN GHS, and the resulting Safety Data Sheets carry compliance information into customer supply chains.
Registration: the heart of REACH
Registration is the largest single compliance burden under REACH and the source of most non-EU producers’ first encounter with the regulation. The dossier must be submitted to ECHA through REACH-IT in the IUCLID format and must cover specific information requirements that scale with the registered tonnage.
Tonnage bands and information requirements
REACH defines four tonnage bands. The minimum dataset grows at each step because higher production volumes imply more potential exposure.
| Tonnage band | Annexes required | Chemical Safety Report |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 t/y | Annex VI + Annex VII | Not required |
| 10–100 t/y | Annex VI + VII + VIII | Required |
| 100–1000 t/y | Annex VI + VII + VIII + IX | Required |
| ≥ 1000 t/y | Annex VI + VII + VIII + IX + X | Required |
Annex VI covers general identification and use information. Annex VII covers physicochemical and basic toxicological data. Annexes VIII through X add increasingly demanding human-health, environmental, and toxicological endpoints, including longer-term studies and reproductive toxicity testing for the highest tonnage band. Substances registered at or above 10 t/y also require a Chemical Safety Report (CSR) documenting the registrant’s hazard assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterisation across all identified uses. For mixtures containing multiple registered substances, the Acute Toxicity Estimate (ATE) Calculator implements the GHS additivity formula used in EU and US mixture classifications under CLP and OSHA HCS.
A practical relief exists at the bottom of the scale: substances in the 1–10 t/y band that do not meet any criterion in Annex III (broadly, substances with no known hazardous properties or only limited exposure potential) can be registered with a reduced information set focused on physicochemical properties — and these registrations are exempt from the ECHA registration fee.
Phase-in versus non-phase-in (history closed in 2018)
REACH originally split substances into two categories. Phase-in substances were those already on the EU market when REACH entered into force (broadly, substances on the EINECS inventory). Companies that pre-registered phase-in substances before 1 December 2008 benefited from staged registration deadlines: 30 November 2010 for substances at ≥1000 t/y or with severe hazards, 31 May 2013 for 100–1000 t/y, and 31 May 2018 for the 1–100 t/y band — the final phase-in deadline. Non-phase-in substances (new substances not on EINECS) required registration before placing on the market from the start.
By the close of the 31 May 2018 deadline, 13,620 companies had submitted 88,319 registration dossiers covering 21,551 unique substances. Germany accounted for 25% of EU/EEA registrations, the United Kingdom 14%, and France 10%.
Since 1 January 2020, the phase-in distinction is no longer operational. Any company that exceeds the one-tonne threshold today must register before manufacture or import begins, and registration eligibility is calculated on the volume in the current calendar year, not a three-year average.
Current registration process (post-2018)
For a comprehensive step-by-step walkthrough of the procedure including ECHA fees under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2067 and the Only Representative mechanism, see our REACH Registration Step-by-Step guide. For a quick orientation, the workflow for a new substance entering the EU market in 2026 is:
- Inquiry to ECHA. Before registering, the company submits an inquiry through REACH-IT to find out whether the substance is already registered. If it is, ECHA puts the inquirer in contact with previous registrants so that data can be shared.
- Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF) / consortium. Joint submission is mandatory under REACH: all registrants of the same substance must share data and submit the hazard parts of the dossier jointly. A lead registrant prepares the joint dossier; member registrants pay a Letter of Access (LoA) to refer to the joint data.
- Dossier preparation. The registrant assembles the data required for the relevant tonnage band, conducts a Chemical Safety Assessment where required, and writes a Chemical Safety Report covering all identified uses.
- Submission and fee payment. The dossier and fee go to ECHA via REACH-IT.
- Completeness check. ECHA reviews the dossier within three weeks (longer near deadlines). If complete, a registration number is issued. Manufacture or import can begin only after the registration number is received — there is no provisional period for new registrations.
The cost of registration varies enormously. ECHA administrative fees range from a few thousand euros for SMEs in the lowest tonnage band to over €30,000 for large companies registering at ≥1000 t/y. The dominant cost, however, is usually the Letter of Access: for substances with extensive testing data shared across a consortium, LoA fees can run from a few thousand euros to several hundred thousand. Add data gap-filling tests (especially in vivo studies), consultant fees, and OR fees for non-EU companies, and a single substance registration can run from low five figures to seven figures.
Fees and SME discounts
ECHA fees are set under Regulation (EC) No 340/2008. Under Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, companies are categorised by size — Large, Medium, Small, and Micro — based on staff headcount and either annual turnover or balance sheet total. SMEs benefit from fee reductions ranging from roughly 30% for medium enterprises up to about 95% for micro enterprises. The discount applies not just to registration fees but to most fee-bearing ECHA actions including updates, authorisation applications, and confidentiality claims.
Two recent changes are significant for budgeting. ECHA fees were raised by 19.5% effective 5 November 2025 in response to inflation and ECHA’s operating costs, after a smaller 1.5% increase earlier in the year. And SME status must now be applied for and verified by ECHA at least two months in advance of any fee-liable submission; certification is valid for three years across REACH, CLP, BPR, and related instruments. Misclaiming SME status carries an administrative charge and the difference to the correct fee — a costly mistake.
Only Representative for non-EU producers
A non-EU manufacturer can appoint a single Only Representative, established in the EU, to register its substances and cover its EU importers as “downstream users” relieved of their own registration obligations. The OR must keep up-to-date a list of EU importers covered by each registration and have sufficient practical handling and information background. The OR mechanism is heavily used: in 2018 data, 23% of all registrations were OR-submitted on behalf of non-EU companies. For exporters into the EU, choosing a competent OR is one of the most consequential REACH decisions.
Evaluation
Once a dossier is registered, it enters the evaluation phase. ECHA must check at least 20% of dossiers per tonnage band for compliance with information requirements — in practice, ECHA opens compliance checks on a risk-prioritised subset of dossiers and issues decisions requiring the registrant to supply missing information or perform additional tests. Failure to respond by ECHA’s deadline can trigger enforcement action by national authorities.
Parallel to dossier evaluation, substance evaluation is run by Member States under the Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP). Each year, a list of substances is selected for evaluation based on hazard, exposure, and tonnage. A Member State competent authority leads the evaluation, which may extend over multiple years and culminate in a decision requesting further information from all registrants. Substance evaluation is the route by which most regulatory action — restrictions, authorisation, harmonised classification — originates.
Authorisation and Substances of Very High Concern
The authorisation route targets the chemicals of greatest concern. The process begins with identification: a substance is proposed as a Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) under Article 57. There are four main criteria — Carcinogenic / Mutagenic / Reproductive toxicant (CMR) categories 1A or 1B, typically signalled by H340, H350, and H360 hazard statements; Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT); very Persistent and very Bioaccumulative (vPvB); and “equivalent level of concern” (ELOC) for properties such as endocrine disruption or, as established for the first time in 2026, neurotoxicity.
Once added to the Candidate List, an SVHC triggers immediate legal obligations on EU suppliers even before any further regulatory step. Suppliers of articles containing an SVHC above 0.1% w/w must inform recipients under Article 33 and respond to consumer requests within 45 days. Producers and importers of such articles must notify ECHA under Article 7(2) within six months if their total tonnage of the SVHC in articles exceeds one tonne per year. Since 5 January 2021, the same articles must also be notified to the SCIP database under the Waste Framework Directive.
The Candidate List stood at 253 entries on 4 February 2026, when ECHA added n-Hexane and BPAF (4,4’-[2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethylidene]diphenol) and its salts. The n-Hexane addition is historically significant: it is the first substance ever added to the Candidate List based on ELOC for neurotoxicity rather than under the established CMR or PBT/vPvB criteria. The precedent is expected to broaden the range of properties that can trigger SVHC identification in future years.
Substances on the Candidate List may then be prioritised for Annex XIV — the Authorisation List. The 12th recommendation round was adopted by the ECHA Member State Committee on 16 September 2025 and submitted to the European Commission by the end of November 2025. The 13th recommendation round is in progress, with stakeholder consultation planned for early 2026. Each Annex XIV entry specifies a latest application date (LAD) and a sunset date: after the sunset date, the substance may not be placed on the EU market for any use unless an authorisation has been granted or the use is exempt.
Authorisation applications require a Chemical Safety Report covering the use, an analysis of alternatives, and — typically — a socio-economic analysis demonstrating that the benefits of continued use outweigh the residual risks. Applications are evaluated by ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (SEAC); the European Commission takes the final decision. Authorisation decisions are use-specific, time-limited, and often impose review periods of seven to twelve years.
A full deep-dive on the SVHC and Annex XIV process will follow as a dedicated cluster article under this pillar.
Restrictions (Annex XVII)
Annex XVII contains hard limits on the manufacture, placing on the market, or use of substances — concentration ceilings, use bans, sales prohibitions, and emissions thresholds. Unlike authorisation, restrictions apply across the EU market without case-by-case applications. As of 19 June 2025, Annex XVII contains 77 entries, with several entries aggregating substance groups (for example, the family-wide entries on phthalates or on PFAS sub-classes).
Recent restriction activity illustrates the breadth of Annex XVII. Entry 77 on formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers (introduced by Regulation 2023/1464) sets emission limits for articles, including ≤0.062 mg/m³ for wood-based articles and furniture under the Appendix 14 test method, with staggered applicability beginning 6 August 2026 for most articles and 6 August 2027 for road vehicle interiors. Entry 63 on lead in PVC was expanded under Regulation 2023/923, capping lead at 0.1% w/w in PVC effective 29 November 2024 with narrow exemptions for some recovered-PVC streams. Companies handling restricted substances alongside other hazardous chemicals should also review chemical storage segregation principles to prevent dangerous interactions in shared storage areas.
On 9 January 2026, the European Commission released a draft proposal to update Annex XVII to align the restriction of CMR substances with the new hazard classifications adopted under the CLP Regulation in 2024 and 2025. The public consultation closed on 6 February 2026; the resulting regulation will enter into force twenty days after publication in the Official Journal.
The restriction process is initiated either by a Member State or by ECHA at the Commission’s request. ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee and Socio-Economic Analysis Committee issue opinions; the final restriction is adopted by the Commission via comitology. From dossier submission to entry into force, a new restriction typically takes three to five years.
Information in the supply chain
REACH imposes structured communication requirements that move hazard and use information up and down the supply chain. Suppliers of hazardous substances and mixtures must provide a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) prepared in line with Annex II of REACH, as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/878. SDS retention is required for at least ten years. SDSs carry the substance’s hazard statements (H-codes) and the precautionary statements (P-codes) that describe recommended handling, storage, and disposal measures, alongside the GHS pictograms that can be assembled with our GHS Label Constructor.
For registered substances at or above 10 t/y, the supplier must attach exposure scenarios to the SDS, creating an “extended SDS” (eSDS) that documents the operational conditions and risk management measures under which the substance can be safely used. Downstream users must use the substance within those scenarios or take their own actions (request scenario extension from the supplier, change supplier, or notify ECHA of an unsupported use under Article 38).
For full coverage of SDS structure, mandatory sections, and recent format changes, see our dedicated Safety Data Sheets Compliance Guide.
Downstream user obligations
Downstream users sit in a comparatively quiet part of REACH — they do not register substances themselves — but their obligations are often underestimated.
The first obligation is to identify uses and communicate them to suppliers, who must then either include the use in their registration (covered use, supported by an exposure scenario) or decline to support it. A use not supported by any registrant exposes the downstream user to liability for placing on the market a substance for an unsupported use.
The second is to implement the operational conditions and risk management measures described in the supplier’s exposure scenario, or to demonstrate that equivalent risk control is achieved by alternative means (the “scaling” approach detailed in ECHA’s downstream user guidance).
The third is to react to changes. When a substance is added to the SVHC Candidate List, the downstream user must check whether it is present in the articles supplied, communicate to customers under Article 33 where the 0.1% threshold is exceeded, and submit SCIP notifications. When a substance is added to Annex XIV, the downstream user must assess whether continued use is feasible (covered by an upstream authorisation, exempt, or substitutable) well before the sunset date. When Annex XVII is updated, compliance dates must be met — these can be tight.
For non-EU companies exporting articles into the EU, downstream user obligations are often the most disruptive REACH touch-point, because the article-level disclosure obligations (Article 33 + SCIP) apply regardless of where the article was made.
Recent updates (2024–2026)
REACH revision shelved (April 2026)
The most consequential REACH news of 2026 is what is not happening. The European Commission’s planned comprehensive revision of REACH — informally called REACH 2.0 and trailed since the 2020 Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability under the European Green Deal — was officially shelved on 27 April 2026.
EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall told the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee that the Commission would not open REACH at this stage, citing the need for “certainty and predictability” in the chemicals industry. The decision followed a negative opinion from the Commission’s Regulatory Scrutiny Board in September 2025 on the impact assessment accompanying the draft proposal, internal Commission planning documents in November 2025 that excluded REACH revision from the legislative agenda, and intense lobbying from industry associations including CEFIC and the German VCI.
The REACH 2.0 plan would have introduced a ten-year validity period for registrations, mandatory re-submission of dossiers for SVHCs, and tonnage-based notification or registration of polymers. These structural changes are now off the table. Instead, the Commission will pursue comitology amendments — updates to the annexes that can be adopted without full legislative revision — and strengthen enforcement against non-compliant imports.
For compliance teams, the practical effect is reassurance: the registration framework, dossier format, and authorisation/restriction processes you operate today will continue to operate in the same form into the late 2020s. The PFAS restriction proposal remains scheduled for the end of 2026 and will move under the existing Annex XVII process.
ECHA fees raised 19.5% (November 2025)
ECHA’s fee schedule was amended effective 5 November 2025, with rates increased by 19.5% across registrations, updates, authorisation applications, confidentiality requests, and most other fee-bearing actions. The increase compounds a smaller 1.5% rise applied earlier in the year. Companies considering registrations in 2026 should budget accordingly; SME discounts remain in place but require advance certification.
Annex XVII alignment draft (January 2026)
The Commission’s 9 January 2026 draft proposal to update Annex XVII brings the restriction of CMR substances into alignment with the new and revised hazard classifications introduced under the CLP Regulation in 2024 and 2025 — including the five new hazard classes (ED-HH, ED-ENV, PBT, vPvB, PMT, vPvM) added by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/707. Companies with portfolios spanning multiple Annex XVII entries should monitor publication closely.
GB REACH divergence and extended deadlines
Following Brexit, Great Britain operates a separate UK REACH regime under the REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Northern Ireland continues to apply EU REACH under the Windsor Framework.
In December 2025, the UK Government confirmed an extension of UK REACH registration submission deadlines, moving them from 27 October 2026, 27 October 2028, and 27 October 2030 (depending on tonnage band and hazard profile) to 27 October 2029, 27 October 2030, and 27 October 2031 respectively. UK REACH fees were amended on 1 April 2025 to a flat £2,222 per registration regardless of tonnage band, with SME discounts of £740 (Medium), £399 (Small), and £57 (Micro).
The HSE in early 2026 also proposed adding DOTE, MOTE, and tetraethyl lead (TEL) to the UK Annex 14 Authorisation List, with public consultation closing on 4 February 2026 — paralleling EU activity but on a distinct UK timetable.
For companies supplying both markets, the GB/EU divergence now extends to deadline schedules, fee structures, and increasingly to substance-specific decisions. A dedicated cluster article on EU REACH versus UK REACH is planned under this pillar.
Enforcement and penalties
REACH is enforced at national level by Member State authorities — typically environmental or labour ministries, or chemicals agencies — supported by customs and market surveillance bodies. ECHA does not directly enforce REACH against companies but coordinates harmonised enforcement activity through the Enforcement Forum, which runs joint projects (the REF series) examining specific compliance themes. Recent REF projects have looked at SDS quality, restriction compliance, and online sales of chemicals.
Penalties for REACH non-compliance vary substantially by Member State. In Germany, administrative fines for missing registration can reach €100,000 per substance with criminal liability for serious or repeat offences. In the United Kingdom (UK REACH), fines are unlimited and may be accompanied by up to two years’ imprisonment for the most serious offences. In France, fines and imprisonment are available under the Code de l’environnement. Across the EU, the practical enforcement profile centres on customs interventions against non-compliant imports, market surveillance of consumer products, and follow-up to ECHA evaluation decisions that have not been actioned. Companies operating in both the EU and the United States can compare REACH enforcement with the parallel US framework in our OSHA HCS Compliance Guide.
REACH versus CLP
REACH and the CLP Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008) operate as a paired framework. Both implement the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling (GHS) in EU law, but they answer different questions. REACH governs the registration, evaluation, authorisation, and restriction of substances themselves. CLP governs how those substances and the mixtures containing them are classified, labelled, and packaged for the EU market.
The two instruments share infrastructure — ECHA’s C&L Inventory is populated by classification notifications under CLP and by classification data in REACH registration dossiers — but they target distinct compliance moments. A REACH registration tells you that a substance can lawfully be placed on the EU market; a CLP-compliant label tells you what the hazards are and how to communicate them. Both are required: a registered substance still needs a CLP label, and a CLP-classified substance still needs a REACH registration if tonnage triggers it.
For the full CLP framework, see our CLP Regulation Compliance Guide. For the underlying international system that both REACH and CLP implement, see the UN GHS Compliance Guide.
Key takeaways
- REACH controls market access for chemical substances in the EU through a single, mandatory registration system: no valid registration, no lawful placing on the market above 1 t/y.
- Registration is tonnage-scaled. Four tonnage bands (1–10, 10–100, 100–1000, ≥1000 t/y) demand progressively more data, and substances above 10 t/y require a Chemical Safety Report.
- Authorisation and restriction are sequential controls on substances already on the market. SVHC identification (253 substances on the Candidate List as of February 2026) is the gateway; Annex XIV imposes sunset dates; Annex XVII (77 entries) imposes hard limits.
- REACH revision was shelved on 27 April 2026. The existing framework remains in force, with future adjustments expected through comitology rather than legislative overhaul. The PFAS restriction proposal remains expected by the end of 2026.
- Costs are rising and divergence is real. ECHA fees rose 19.5% in November 2025, and UK REACH operates a distinct timetable and fee structure from EU REACH. US producers exporting into the EU also need to manage the intersection of REACH with OSHA HCS for products sold in both markets.
Articles in this pillar
- REACH Registration Step-by-Step: 2026 Guide & ECHA Fees — full registration workflow including the Article 26 inquiry, joint submission, IUCLID dossier, ECHA fees under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2067, and the Only Representative mechanism
Further cluster articles diving into SVHC processes, Annex XVII restrictions, and EU REACH versus UK REACH will follow under this pillar.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) — consolidated text, EUR-Lex
- European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) — REACH support pages
- ECHA — Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for Authorisation
- ECHA — Authorisation List (Annex XIV)
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/878 amending Annex II of REACH (SDS format)
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/707 — new hazard classes under CLP
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1464 — Annex XVII Entry 77 on formaldehyde
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/923 — Annex XVII Entry 63 expansion (lead in PVC)
- ECHA — Candidate List update of 4 February 2026 (n-Hexane and BPAF)
- European Commission ENVI Committee — Commissioner Roswall statement on REACH revision, 27 April 2026
- UK Health and Safety Executive — UK REACH guidance
- UK Statutory Instrument — REACH Fees and Charges amendment, 10 March 2025
- ECHA — Enforcement Forum and REF project reports
- Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC on the definition of SMEs
- Regulation (EC) No 340/2008 on REACH fees, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/864 and subsequent updates